C's syntax (was Re: Python Formatted C Converter (PfCC))

[Erik Max Francis]

Alex Martelli wrote:

> I strongly disagree.  C's syntax has glaring flaws, such as being
> unparsable "locally" -- i.e., without knowing what typedef's have
> been previously met.  For example:
> 
>     foo * bar;

That's just the way the language works.  It's neither good nor bad. 
It's certainly not ambiguous and confusing unless you _try_ to write
pathological code.

> Even from a human-factors point of view, such syntactic
> tripwires (over which people DO keep stumbling...) as
>     if(a=0) ...       /* oops, an assignment...! */

Any reasonable compiler will warn about this.

> or
>     foo* bar, baz;    /* NOT two pointers... */

That's a programmer error.  In declaring pointers, the * is a declarator
and binds to the variable, not the type.  That's why coding styles such
as writing `int* p' end up only causing problems, because they imply
that the * binds to the type when it does not.

> or
>     struct foo {
>         int bar;
>     }    /* forgot a semicolon... */

So what?

>     /* int can be omitted and is implied -- how CRAZY! */

Not in C99.

-- 
 Erik Max Francis / max at alcyone.com / http://www.alcyone.com/max/
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