Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!mcnc!gatech!cuae2!ihnp4!inuxc!pur-ee!j.cc.purdue.edu!k.cc.purdue.edu!ag0 From: ag0@k.cc.purdue.edu (Colin Jenkins) Newsgroups: comp.lang.c Subject: Re: C Review Message-ID: <1690@k.cc.purdue.edu> Date: Wed, 14-Jan-87 18:46:04 EST Article-I.D.: k.1690 Posted: Wed Jan 14 18:46:04 1987 Date-Received: Fri, 16-Jan-87 02:00:39 EST References: <2313@brl-adm.ARPA> Reply-To: ag0@k.cc.purdue.edu.UUCP (Colin Jenkins) Organization: Purdue University Computing Center Lines: 45 In article <2313@brl-adm.ARPA> Peter@adm.UUCP writes: >I am currently finishing up a new text book on C with a colleague >of mine and we just received the last of several technical reviews. >This particular reviewer makes some statements that we find hard >to accept. However, we're just two people, so we decided to get >some opinions from other C programmers. Below is a list of some >his statements. Is this guy for real? Your comments would be >greatly appreciated. > >"... 95% of all C programmers couldn't give you a good >explanation of the term lvalue..." > >"... Switch/case could be classified as rarely used and should be >kept till later. > >"... very few C programmers know much about sizeof..." > >"... 99% of all professional C programmers have no idea >what typedef is all about, couldn't care less and probably >won't ever need it." > >"... 99% of all professional C programmers have no idea >what the comma operator is all about, couldn't care less and >probably won't ever need it." > >"... Leave the comma operator altogether. An intro book is no >place for obscure and unmaintainable tricks..." > >"... Pointers to functions ... few C programmers understand >them or would ever need them..." > >"... a C programmer never needs to know what a byte is..." Well, personally, I think this guy is pulling your leg. I use the switch/case construct all the time and I also depend heavily on the comma operator in my for loops. I cannot believe that a C programmer doesn't need to know about bytes. Machine dependancies can creep in lots of obscure places, and for C programmers certain implimentation details (like knowing what a byte is) are important to know when writing code that is easily portable. Seriously, the comments made by this programmer(?) make 99% of all C programmers appear as little more than barely inteligent. I have a hard time believing that these were comments made by a real C programmer. Colin