lvc@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Lawrence V. Cipriani) (01/05/88)
Is ANSI C appropriate for systems programming? Maybe I just have cold feet with ANSI C but I'm not convinced its all that great. Standardization is fine when the final product is good, but is it? ANSI C may be very good for the majority of applications C is being used for today, however, C was not intended for them. A friend suggested the alternative names C-, or better, --C to mean that ANSI is a step backwards! I suggest S for stupid. What do you think are the advantages or disadvantages of ANSI C for systems programming? -- Larry Cipriani AT&T Network Systems at cbosgd!osu-cis!tut!lvc Ohio State University
gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) (01/06/88)
In article <3806@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> lvc@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Lawrence V. Cipriani) writes: >Is ANSI C appropriate for systems programming? Not only is it appropriate, it's practically essential if you're concerned about maximal portability of your "system programs". On the other hand, people who like to slap code together any-which-way will probably be annoyed at the diagnostics an ANSI C compiler will produce when fed their code. Those who have developed more careful coding habits won't notice much difference, other than the improved environment (standard library, etc.). Some of the new ANSI C features are actually quite useful, so once one can rely on the presence of widespread ANSI C support, programming (particularly portable programming) will become easier and more enjoyable.