From: clemc@ccc.com (Clem Cole)
Subject: [TUHS] origin of C header files
Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2017 15:31:54 -0500 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <CAC20D2OEHZ8X4BUSaR9WgahawM81guaxzCFEzAvR5FeWyC9eXw@mail.gmail.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <CABH=_VTZLbJjgidBL92PpyYTXsA8zwbBsfeMqkA=kaam-E5rEA@mail.gmail.com>
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On Fri, Dec 29, 2017 at 2:28 PM, Paul Winalski <paul.winalski at gmail.com>
wrote:
>
> When higher-level languages came along, programmers moving from
> assembly code to a HLL would want the same sort of preprocessor
> functionality. I know that IBM PL/I had %include, and I suspect that
> other HLLs of the day had similar features.
>
> What's very clear is that C did not invent include files or
> conditional compilation, it merely carried on existing tradition.
>
I'll +1 Paul's comment and add a couple of observations. Languages such
a PL/1 and FORTRAN would could support a preprocessor and conditional
compilation, were more easy to use to build 'products' - as opposed to
Pascal. Folks did splice an backwards conditional compiling scheme with
include files into some Pascal flavors but it was non-standard.
Fortran folks used tools like RATFOR or m4, but the key was the there was
some why to preprocess code for different targets. In a production shop,
particularly where your 'target' customer was different, this ability
becomes more and more of an requirement.
I've always said as contemporary production systems programming languages,
while BLISS had a better Macro system then C, the include file and
conditional scheme worked much better/was much cleaner - to the point that
ifdef is abused and the cause of much pain in actual code. But the truth
is that is a success problem. When used properly, the C header scheme,
while not invented by the BTL crew, was pretty much what people needed.
No too fancy, but all the features you really needed and has been lasting.
Clem
ᐧ
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next prev parent reply other threads:[~2017-12-29 20:31 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 9+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2017-12-29 8:26 Wesley Parish
2017-12-29 10:58 ` Nigel Williams
2017-12-29 19:28 ` Paul Winalski
2017-12-29 20:31 ` Clem Cole [this message]
2017-12-30 1:06 ` Steve Johnson
2017-12-30 1:52 ` Paul Winalski
2018-01-23 4:27 ` Steve Johnson
2017-12-31 2:32 Doug McIlroy
2018-01-12 8:44 Lars Brinkhoff
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