From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Message-ID: <3e1162e60601180937i3fe0a0ccyd08750aac72f6aac@mail.gmail.com> Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2006 09:37:21 -0800 From: David Leimbach To: Fans of the OS Plan 9 from Bell Labs <9fans@cse.psu.edu> Subject: Re: [9fans] Brdline In-Reply-To: <775b8d190601180857j25f1f4d1u83aed1f4ff6cb09c@mail.gmail.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="----=_Part_9193_31948262.1137605841128" References: <20060117014256.9D9991140EA@dexter-peak.quanstro.net> <1bd979c8293b4bbbeae8a22108c1a590@terzarima.net> <775b8d190601170845u477ecaebj413ad9b379dad329@mail.gmail.com> <1aba9f7b0601172138v738e6810r8a0a672e35569381@mail.gmail.com> <5E58BDCB-0337-4EFE-8F88-9DAD558ADCFA@telus.net> <775b8d190601172211v2c1d7198pbe9037bcfbbc649@mail.gmail.com> <3CB6185C-C035-42AF-AEC6-4D5D43F0707F@telus.net> <43CE7123.5000608@village.com> <775b8d190601180857j25f1f4d1u83aed1f4ff6cb09c@mail.gmail.com> Topicbox-Message-UUID: dedc297e-ead0-11e9-9d60-3106f5b1d025 ------=_Part_9193_31948262.1137605841128 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline On 1/18/06, Bruce Ellis wrote: > > how about someone (or two) experts write the standard? > worked for K&R. What's worse is standards with no reference implementation. Both C an C99 seem to have suffered from this disease. C++ hasn't been implemented as 1998's spec has erm... specified to my knowledge without any bugs. [EDG comes closest and Intel and other compile= r vendors are just using their front end, and paying for it as a result]. C99 has implementation issues like tgmath.h that are actually impossible to implement in just C99. You absolutely will need compiler extensions to implement that header properly. Perhaps the best way to specify a standard is to define it in a reference implementation then talk about it. Not specify on paper and dream about ho= w it should work then find out how far off you were when you start trying to prototype it. Dave brucee > > On 1/19/06, Wes Kussmaul wrote: > > Paul Lalonde wrote: > > > > > Standards are for when there are too many cooks in the kitchen. By > > > their very nature they have to compromise. > > > Give me the work of a standards committee before the the work of a > > > single idiot; but most of all give me the work of a brilliant expert > > > before that of the committee. And for God's sake, please don't turn m= y > > > expert into an idiot by throwing him onto a committee! > > > > How about all standards committees advising one individual, the > > standards czar, your brilliant expert, with a background in law and > > social science as well as technology, who is able to apply duly > > constituted public authority to a standard. He/she cannot have any > > alliances with anyone but the ITU. > > > > -- > > Wes Kussmaul > > CIO > > The Village Group > > 738 Main Street > > Waltham, MA 02451 > > > > 781-647-7178 > > > > > > My uncle likes to say that the world's biggest troubles started when th= e > serpent said, "Try this fruit, and by the way if a bunch of people > collectively calling themselves Arthur Andersen signs something it's the > same as if a person named Arthur Andersen signed it." I don't get the > serpent and fruit part. Must be some Swiss mythology thing. He can be a b= it > obscure. > > > > P.K. Iggy > > _How I Like Fixed The Internet_ > > (Tales from the Great Infodepression of 2009 > > and the prosperity that followed) > > > > > > > > > ------=_Part_9193_31948262.1137605841128 Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Disposition: inline

On 1/18/06, Bruce Ellis <bruce.= ellis@gmail.com> wrote:
how about someone (or two) experts write the standard?
worked for K&= R.


What's worse is standards with no reference imp= lementation. Both C an C99 seem to have suffered from this disease.

C++ hasn't been implemented as 1998's spec has erm... specified to my k= nowledge without any bugs.  [EDG comes closest and Intel and other com= piler vendors are just using their front end, and paying for it as a result= ].

C99 has implementation issues like tgmath.h that are actually impos= sible to implement in just C99.  You absolutely will need compiler ext= ensions to implement that header properly.

Perhaps the best way to s= pecify a standard is to define it in a reference implementation then talk a= bout it.  Not specify on paper and dream about how it should work then= find out how far off you were when you start trying to prototype it.

Dave

brucee

On 1/19/06, Wes Kussmaul < wes@village.com> wrote:
> Paul Lalonde wrote:
>
> = > Standards are for when there are too many cooks in the kitchen. By
= > > their very nature they have to compromise.
> > Give me t= he work of a standards committee before the the work of a
> > single idiot; but most of all give me the work of a brilliant= expert
> > before that of the committee. And for God's sake, plea= se don't turn my
> > expert into an idiot by throwing him onto a c= ommittee!
>
> How about all standards committees advising one individual= , the
> standards czar, your brilliant expert, with a background in l= aw and
> social science as well as technology, who is able to apply d= uly
> constituted public authority to a standard. He/she cannot have any=
> alliances with anyone but the ITU.
>
> --
> Wes = Kussmaul
> CIO
> The Village Group
> 738 Main Street
> Waltham, MA 02451
>
> 781-647-7178
>
>
>= My uncle likes to say that the world's biggest troubles started when the s= erpent said, "Try this fruit, and by the way if a bunch of people coll= ectively calling themselves Arthur Andersen signs something it's the same a= s if a person named Arthur Andersen signed it." I don't get the serpen= t and fruit part. Must be some Swiss mythology thing. He can be a bit obscu= re.
>
>          = ;            &n= bsp;  P.K. Iggy
>        = ;            &n= bsp;    _How I Like Fixed The Internet_
>  &= nbsp;           &nbs= p;            (Tales= from the Great Infodepression of 2009
>     = ;            &n= bsp;         and the prosperity tha= t followed)
>
>
>
>

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