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From: ron@brl-tgr.ARPA (Ron Natalie )
Newsgroups: net.lang.pascal,net.lang.c
Subject: Re: PASCAL as a system's programming language
Message-ID: <7185@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 10-Jan-85 15:32:28 EST
Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.7185
Posted: Thu Jan 10 15:32:28 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 12-Jan-85 07:39:12 EST
References: <252@harvard.ARPA> <4881@utzoo.UUCP>
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab
Lines: 21
Xref: watmath net.lang.pascal:179 net.lang.c:3818

> > ...  Unfortunately, 'C' can be adapted only with great difficulties
> > to other architectures, like the Cyber 173, the DEC-20, &c. (not to be
> > misunderstood, 'C' compilers for these machines exists, it is just that
> > practically no program that Joe Random Hacker produces on a VAX will
> > run on them unaltered).
> 
> Actually, practically no program that Joe Random Hacker produces on a
> VAX will run on a PDP11 unaltered...
> -- 
> 				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
> 				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry

Nobody ever claimed C guarantees that you will your code to portable, but
only that it allows you to write portable code.  The thing that makes C
so appealing for system programming is that it allows you to break the
rules.  Systems Programmers do not necessarily want to do things in a
portable or even structured manner.  They should be of a level of skill
that they know enough to be careful when using the questionable features
of the language.

-Ron