comment style

[Tim McDaniel]

iverson at ivy.uucp (Tim Iverson) screwed up, I'm afraid.

   #include <stdio.h>
   /*   e.g. these lines are commented out /* even if they have comments */
   /*   You can also grep for "^/**/" to find where they all are.
   /**/
   main() { printf("Hello world\n"); exit(0); }

   gcc -Wall -ansi -pedantic 72.c
   72.c:2: warning: `/*' within comment
   72.c:3: warning: `/*' within comment
   72.c:3: unterminated string or character constant

The `*/' on line 3 ends the comment block.  Iverson's scheme works
only if all existing comments fall at the end of the line.

In any event, the comment is wrong.  `*' is a metacharacter for the
grep program, so the pattern matches lines starting with one or more
`/'s.  "^/\*\*/" is more correct, when such comments are not indented.

(To forestall a misunderstanding: a C comment cannot be nested within
another comment, as in
   /* comment comment /* nested comment */ more comment */
Never.  If your compiler allows it, it is not compiling C at that
time.  It is compiling a language that misleadingly resembles C.  It
will fail to compile the following program, which has been legal C
since Cambrian times.
   #include <stdio.h>
   main() {/* int x; /* a count */ printf("Hello world!\n"); exit(0);}
)
--
Tim McDaniel                 Applied Dynamics Int'l.; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Work phone: +1 313 973 1300                        Home phone: +1 313 677 4386
Internet: mcdaniel at adi.com                UUCP: {uunet,sharkey}!amara!mcdaniel