What Can't C Do?

[rcd at opus.UUCP]

<>
The referenced article was mostly on the track of "there are some minor
problems, but let's leave well enough alone..."  But then...

 > I'll leave you with about the only change I'd like to see in C that doesn't
 > increase generality: string comparison operators.
I wish this idea would die.  It's often useful to look at the language
material written by the authors of the language - it provides useful
insights.  From "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan & Ritchie (the
blue and white book):
	Although the absence of some of these features may seem like a
	grave deficiency ("You mean I have to call a function to compare
	two character strings?"), keeping the language down to modest
	dimensions has brought real benefits.
It's useful to realize that the authors not only though about string
comparison operators; they decided at that time that they were not
appropriate to the level or size of the language.

Languages don't get "large" all at once.  It happens a feature at a time.
Sure, everybody likes the language, and it's really OK as is, but there's
just this ONE thing that really ought to be changed...only nobody's "just
one thing" is the same as anybody else's.

And when it comes to standardization, remember that it's a long process
even when everyone is in near-perfect agreement at the start.  If you open
up the just-one-thing bag, you'll still be waiting for a standard ten years
from now.

-- 
{hao,ucbvax,allegra}!nbires!rcd