Conformant Arrays in C

[Bakul Shah]

Multi-dimensional arrays are a useful feature and David Hough / Richard
O'Keefe's proposal of conformant arrays is usable & implementable.  But
the proposed conformant arrays are not elegant and, in my opinion, it is
a *bad* idea to add them to C (atleast as bad as adding structure
comparison or nested procedures or name-your-favorite-non-C-feature).

Such things are best left for C++.  No new features are needed to
implement multi-dimensional arrays in C++, Chris Torek's ``row vectors''
would do just fine AND, and the machinery will be hidden (what O'Keefe
wants in a >sensible< language).

If they are added to C, C++ will be forced to carry them (thereby
introducing an unneeded hack)  OR, C++ will *not* be upward compatible
to C.  Since conformant arrays do not exist in C today, only new code
will use this feature (if added).  Why not use C++ or Chris Torek's idea
for new code?

C just doesn't have the bandwidth to do many sensible things.  Attempts
to increase this bandwidth in an elegant way is extremely difficult, if
not impossible.

My two cent's worth.
-- 
Bakul Shah

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