Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watmath.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!atbowler From: atbowler@watmath.UUCP (Alan T. Bowler [SDG]) Newsgroups: net.lang.c Subject: Re: YAAO (yet another assignment operator) Message-ID: <10983@watmath.UUCP> Date: Fri, 18-Jan-85 01:59:44 EST Article-I.D.: watmath.10983 Posted: Fri Jan 18 01:59:44 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 18-Jan-85 03:04:00 EST References: <209@cmu-cs-k.ARPA> <529@vu44.UUCP> <4654@rochester.UUCP> <508@ncoast.UUCP> Reply-To: atbowler@watmath.UUCP (Alan T. Bowler [SDG]) Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 11 Summary: Just a bit of history. The original B compiler (the one that evolved into the Unix C compiler), had more assignment operators. Back then the form was =(i.e. =+ =- =& etc). The operators ===, =<, =>, =<=, and =>= were present. They were indpendantly dropped by both Waterloo (in subsequent B compilers), and by Bell Labs in the evolving C compiler. The reason was simply that they were never used and made for language clutter. The is of course the small point that trying to support every case of = means that "<=" becomes ambiguous. (i.e. a<=b can then mean "set a to 0 if the current value of a is greater than or equal to b)