Compiler Specific Operators

[peters at cubsvax.UUCP]

In article <mit-eddi.2526> barmar at mit-eddie.UUCP (Barry Margolin) writes:
>							...why not
>write the operations as function calls, and teach compilers to open-code
>calls to certain functions.
>
>Fortran, PL/I, and Lisp compilers have been doing this for years.  Just
>because something is written as a function call does not mean that it
>has to be implemented as one.

Yes;  I tried to send off a similar comment on the original posting, but
it never made it off site.  What I'd like to know is whether the draft
standard permits this, and what the net guru's think about it.

In Chris Torek's comment on the original posting, he proposes a workaround
permitted by the draft ANSI, and notes that it is bug-prone.  If this means that
the draft standard doesn't permit "function calls" to be implemented 
otherwise, I'm curious what the objections are to this practice.

Peter S. Shenkin	 Columbia Univ. Biology Dept., NY, NY  10027
{philabs,rna}!cubsvax!peters		cubsvax!peters at columbia.ARPA