Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!bellcore!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mandrill!gatech!uflorida!novavax!proxftl!bill
From: bill@proxftl.UUCP (T. William Wells)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Appreciation for ANSI C committee (was Re: Bug in new K&R?)
Message-ID: <233@proxftl.UUCP>
Date: 29 May 88 03:42:38 GMT
References: <7861@alice.UUCP> <7860@brl-smoke.ARPA> <7288@bellcore.bellcore.com> <266@sdti.UUCP>
Organization: Proximity Technology, Ft. Lauderdale
Lines: 12

In article <266@sdti.UUCP>, mjy@sdti.UUCP (Michael J. Young) writes:
) There is a big difference between designing a completely new language from
) scratch and standardizing an existing language.  The former is best done by
) a small number (perhaps one) of capable language designers.  The latter is
) best done by a committee.  Language design is a creative act, and committees
) are not very creative.  A large part of standardization is finding common
) ground between all the different implementations of an existing language.
) In that process it is important to have as many perspectives as possible;
) hence, a committee.

Agreed, as long as the committee's actions are constrained by
respect for the original work.