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From: john@physiol.OZ (John Mackin)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Re: line comments (## vs. //)
Message-ID: <84@physiol.OZ>
Date: Thu, 29-Nov-84 21:09:56 EST
Article-I.D.: physiol.84
Posted: Thu Nov 29 21:09:56 1984
Date-Received: Sat, 1-Dec-84 19:19:11 EST
References: <6072@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Organization: Physiology, Uni of Sydney, Australia
Lines: 21

Referrring to:

#define	// /*

 writes:

> Now you
> should see why the #define won't work.  Where will you get the */ from?

But there are even better reasons: the "/*" will be taken by the
cpp to mean "start a comment here"!  In other words, all code
following will be commented out, up to the next "*/" if there is one.
"//" would be defined as a space, IF it was possible to define
it at all.  K&R, section 12.1: "A control line of the form
	#define identifier token-string
... "
Now, // sure isn't an identifier.  (Our cpp calls it an "illegal
macro name".)

John Mackin, Physiology Department, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
...!decvax!mulga!physiol.su.oz!john