Lattice/UNIX incompatibility

[g-frank at gumby.UUCP]

> >>	3. Every declaration of an external variable but
> >>	   one must say 'extern'.
> 
> > For any linker that supports FORTRAN, this restriction shows a lack of
> > imagination on the part of the c compiler writers.  Don't get me started
> > on this; it's a favorite flame.
> 
> Or, perhaps, just a desire for C to work correctly.  K & R specify this
> behavior and doing otherwise invites nonportable code.
> -- 

I realize that it's normal under UNIX to be able to declare the same
variable multiple times and count on the linker to resolve it to a single
location.  I also realize that it's convenient to do this because one might
want to include such a declaration in a header file, to be read by all
compilands of a particular program.

Nonetheless, my common sense rebels.  A particular variable "belongs" to a
particular module, and is "external" to all other modules.  Real languages
enforce this restriction in a meaningful way (as does C++, I believe).
There IS semantic meaning to where a variable is declared.