Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site sftri.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxj!mhuxn!mhuxm!sftig!sftri!boris From: boris@sftri.UUCP (B.Altman) Newsgroups: net.lang.c Subject: Re: Can #define `token-string' be empty? Message-ID: <365@sftri.UUCP> Date: Sat, 2-Mar-85 18:46:21 EST Article-I.D.: sftri.365 Posted: Sat Mar 2 18:46:21 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 3-Mar-85 05:23:59 EST References: <151@cci-bdc.UUCP> <282@cmu-cs-k.ARPA>, <363@sftri.UUCP> <5124@utzoo.UUCP> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Summit N.J. Lines: 24 > > This is not necessary on System V release 2 C compiler. You can omit extern > > everywhere. ld will be able to handle those constructs. > > It is necessary for portability, however -- something AT&T cares less > and less about these days. AT&T to the contrary, Vr2 is not the whole > world. Thank God. > -- > Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology > {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry I guess I should put a disclaimer. The opinion presented here is my own and not of ATT or anyone else. The section 7.2 External data definitions of "Draft proposed C standard" indicates that you CAN omit "extern". When the standard gets acceptance, I do not think argument "standard is not the whole world" will be sufficient reason to "play tricks" just to be able to compile on some nonconforming C compiler. To give you just a bit of history, when Bell Labs were trying to enforce K&R rule on externs many people were very unhappy, since it broke a lot of code. That is why "multiple externs" were implemented in SVR2. Boris Altman AT&T Bell Labs, Summit NJ {ihnp4,ucbvax}!attunix!boris