C needs BCD (ANSI People: Please Listen)

[Doug Gwyn <gwyn>]

> The mode for adding random extensions to the languages that are of
> interest to a small number of implementations or machines is to make
> them look like functions.  This is OK, even if they aren't implemented
> as functions.  I.e.
> 
> 	a = bcdadd(b, 10);
> 
> Could produce equally good code as
> 	a = b bcdaddopt 10;
> 
> If bcdadd was recognized by the compiler/loader and switched to inline
> code.  We do exactly that for the memory synchronization primitives on
> the HEP C compiler.  It allows new things to be added without breaking
> the syntax of the language.

Quite right!  Same as the reason for not having string operators
built into the language.