"Vectorizing C compiler for the Cray"

[Guy Harris]

brooks at lll-crg.ARPA (Eugene D. Brooks III) writes:
> A committee ... is implementing the full C language with one minor
> modification.  In order to have compatibility with Fortran all subroutine
> parameters will be passed by address.

10 million readers write something on the order of:

> "minor" modification?  You've got to be out of your cotton-pickin' minds!
> That's not C any more!

Somebody else then writes:

> As a consultant to the above committee, I should mention that, in fact,
> TWO minor modifications to standard C semantics were proposed: ...
> and another ... we are adding "equivalence" as a valid storage class.

OK.  Would Mr. Brooks, or somebody else associated with the first and/or
third postings, please settle once and for all whether this was an April
Fool's joke or not?  The combination of the two proposed changes reads to
*me* like such a joke; I think it was even posted around April 1.  However,
either 1) it's not a joke or 2) a hell of a lot of readers didn't get the
joke.  If it is a joke, would somebody confirm it so we can stop debating
the merits of such a change to the language?

	Guy Harris