This one bit me today

Ray Dunn ray at philmtl.philips.ca
Sat Oct 7 05:58:03 AEST 1989


In article <568 at sppy00.UUCP> dwb at sppy00.UUCP (David Burhans) writes:
>In article <2432 at hub.UUCP> dougp at voodoo.ucsb.edu writes:
>4>   c=b/*p;
> > First real flaw in the C grammer I have found.
>
>This is not a flaw in the C grammer, it is a flaw in the c programmer.

This, as we all know by now of course, is a matter of religion. So let me
restate the principles of *my* sect:

No this *is* a flaw in the C grammer, because it does not take into account
what a perfectly reasonably human is likely to do erroneously.

To say that it is not the fault of 'C' which leaves this pitfall (and the
others we know and love), for we mortals to fall into, is like blaming the
driver in an accident caused by the car's gas and brake pedals being
positioned too close.

Obviously the driver is not operating the controls properly, but it is the
design of the controls that makes it *easy* to make the mistake.
-- 
Ray Dunn.                    | UUCP: ray at philmt.philips.ca
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