Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: What is alloca()? [Generated by bison from flex]
Message-ID: <1989Sep25.172824.18692@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <3823.2518c141@uwovax.uwo.ca> <1989Sep24.050214.13898@utzoo.uucp> <6361@thor.acc.stolaf.edu>
Date: Mon, 25 Sep 89 17:28:24 GMT

In article <6361@thor.acc.stolaf.edu> mike@stolaf.edu (Mike Haertel) writes:
>>>... What does alloca() do?
>>It's a nonstandard botch (originating in some poorly-designed ancient Unix
>>systems) that some of the Gnoids are really fond of...
>I think alloca() originated in one of the early VAX BSD's.  My guess
>would be that it was invented for use implementing Franz Lisp...

It goes back farther than that.  The first occurrence I'm aware of was in
PWB circa 1977.  (PWB was a pdp11 Unix variant, sort of a neolithic ancestor
of System V.)  It showed up in SCCS (PWB's biggest, uh, contribution to the
user interface) in particular.
-- 
"Where is D.D. Harriman now,   |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
when we really *need* him?"    | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu