Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B UNSW 1.0 3/14/84; site physiol.OZ Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!genrad!decvax!mulga!munnari!basser!physiol!john 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