🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <1639@enea.UUCP> sommar@enea.UUCP (Erland Sommarskog) writes:
>To get I/O-routines (or whatever scanf() is) with variable parameter lists,
>there seems to be four ways:
>1) Make them standard routines recognized by the compiler. The best alter-
>   native. Specially in a small langauge like C.

This is bad because it cannot be extended, not without hacking the
compiler.

>2) Introduce a syntax that allows this. Possible, but not very attrcative.

This is `not very attractive' because it clutters up the syntax?

>3) Skip checking of parameter count. To be straight: Ridiculous.

This is bad because it does not do something that could be done, and
that has proven worthwhile in similar cases.

>4) Forget the whole thing. 

This is bad because it makes the language harder to use.

I claim that the proper solution is 1 and/or 2:  What is needed is
a way of telling the compiler, `this routine takes arguments
described by . . .' that is general enough to cover printf, scanf,
execl, and so forth, yet simple enough so that new ones can be
introduced as necessary, and so that the syntax is not unduly
cluttered.  The real problem is in conveying the `described by'
part.  System V lint has /*PRINTFLIKE*/ and /*SCANFLIKE*/ pragmas
in its lint library, which takes care of printf and scanf and
variants, but not execl.  Would adding /*REPEATING*/ suffice?  I
cannot say.
-- 
In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 7690)
UUCP:	seismo!mimsy!chris	ARPA/CSNet:	chris@mimsy.umd.edu