"Numerical Recipes in C" is nonport

[Henry Spencer]

In article <3981 at bsu-cs.UUCP> dhesi at bsu-cs.UUCP (Rahul Dhesi) writes:
>>But the fact is, many C
>>implementors are not in a position to improve the linker that
>>will of necessity be used with the object code their compiler
>>generates.
>
>I think Doug Gwyn exaggerates in saying "many" and "of necessity".

No.  The world does not consist primarily of Unix systems with sources, or
of hobbyist-owned micros that can abandon standard software whenever it's
convenient to do so.  Most C compilers have to fit into existing environ-
ments, which the compiler writer cannot change without greatly diminishing
the market for his compiler.  Given a choice of conforming to ANSI C or
conforming to the de facto standards set by the operating system in question,
most compiler writers know which side their bread is buttered on.  Speaking
as an amateur compiler writer with professional compiler-writer friends,
we don't like this any more than you do.  We don't like income tax, either.
We have no illusions about being able to change either problem.
-- 
NASA is into artificial        |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
stupidity.  - Jerry Pournelle  | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry at zoo.toronto.edu