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From: gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn )
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: portability and standards
Message-ID: <6093@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Thu, 9-Jul-87 20:41:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-smok.6093
Posted: Thu Jul  9 20:41:06 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 12-Jul-87 07:11:11 EDT
References: <8113@brl-adm.ARPA> <1068@aldebaran.UUCP>
Reply-To: gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) )
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 9

In article <1068@aldebaran.UUCP> jimp@cognos.UUCP (Jim Patterson) writes:
>ANSI C has adapted REF/DEF because it is compatible with the
>majority of existing implementations.

More importantly, many linkers place unacceptable restrictions on
COMMON storage (e.g.: 4Kb alignment for each external COMMON name;
no more than 256 distinct COMMON names).  The C implementor often
does not have much if any control over the linker that he must use.
Practically all linkers have usable DEF/REF support.