[OT] Dennis Ritchie dies at 70

[Arne Vajhøj]

No he didn't.


No it isn't.

It explains what is known about the question and why it is so.

That is the best possible reply.

When something is a best possible reply I would call it
an answer.

Arne

 

[Arne Vajhøj]

GOD is REAL unless declared INTEGER.

That is FORTRAN not C!

Arne

 

[Arne Vajhøj]

15.10.2011 01:09, Arne Vajhøj kirjoitti:

Implicit type. Tsk tsk.

The point was K&R C

main()
int argc;
char *argv[];
{
printf("<S>\n");
exit(0);
}

The arguments is a nice R touch.

Hmm - digging in memory - shouldn't i be:

main(argc, argv)
int argc;
char *argv[];

?

It is a different syntax that is perfectly fine.

The default int return type is just ugly.

Arne

 

[Volker Borchert]

That is FORTRAN not C!

Of course it is.

 

[B1ll Gat3s]

That is the best possible reply.

But it's *not* the best possible reply, unless you believe the man's
C.O.D. is known to no-one and never will be known.

 

[Tom Anderson]

It explains what is known about the question and why it is so.

That is the best possible reply.

When something is a best possible reply I would call it an answer.

I wouldn't. At least, if you mean "best possible reply that someone could
make here and now", rather than "best possible reply that we can imagine
someone making".

It seems rather nihilistic to adopt the former definition. "How did the
universe begin?", "We don't know.", and there's an answer!

tom

--

 

[B1ll Gat3s]

This is not a definitive answer but at
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Ritchie under "Death and legacy" is says
he was being treated for prostate cancer and heart disease.

Ah, much better.

 

[Arne Vajhøj]

But it's *not* the best possible reply, unless you believe the man's
C.O.D. is known to no-one and never will be known.

If the cause of death has not been made public yet, then
even those that know could not post a a better answer.

The best answer today may not be the best answer tomorrow. But
that does not make it possible to provide a better answer today.

Arne

 

[Arne Vajhøj]

I wouldn't. At least, if you mean "best possible reply that someone
could make here and now", rather than "best possible reply that we can
imagine someone making".

It seems rather nihilistic to adopt the former definition. "How did the
universe begin?", "We don't know.", and there's an answer!

I would definitely consider "according to source XX then we don't know
how the universe began" to be an answer.

And that is a better analogy to this context than "We don't know".

Arne

 

[Paul Cager]

'Palin becomes frustrated with this, insisting that he paid for an argument, and "an argument is an intellectual process, while contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of anything the other person says."'

"No it isn't."

 

[B1ll Gat3s]

If the cause of death has not been made public yet, then
even those that know could not post a a better answer.

Of course they could. How do you think they'd make it public?

The best answer today may not be the best answer tomorrow. But
that does not make it possible to provide a better answer today.

Did I claim it was, on any particular day?

 

[David Lamb]

Combined with<[email protected]> we have now

main(argc, argv)
int argc;
char *argv[];
{
printf("Goodbye, World.\n");

#ifdef ATHEIST
exit(0);
#else
return 0;
#endif
}

Can this be agreed upon?

I suppose the pedants among us might argue for

#DEFINE RITCHIE_LIFE_STATUS 0
main(argc, argv)
int argc;
char *argv[];
{
printf("Goodbye, World.\n");

#ifdef ATHEIST
exit(RITCHIE_LIFE_STATUS);
#else
return RITCHIE_LIFE_STATUS;
#endif
}

 

[Gene Wirchenko]

[snip]

I suppose the pedants among us might argue for

#DEFINE RITCHIE_LIFE_STATUS 0

0 is used as a return code for success. I think that
EXIT_FAILURE would be a more descriptive return value.

main(argc, argv)
int argc;
char *argv[];
{
printf("Goodbye, World.\n");

#ifdef ATHEIST
exit(RITCHIE_LIFE_STATUS);
#else
return RITCHIE_LIFE_STATUS;
#endif
}

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

 

[Tom Anderson]

Combined with<[email protected]> we have now

main(argc, argv)
int argc;
char *argv[];
{
printf("Goodbye, World.\n");

#ifdef ATHEIST
exit(0);
#else
return 0;
#endif
}

Can this be agreed upon?

I suppose the pedants among us might argue for

#DEFINE RITCHIE_LIFE_STATUS 0
main(argc, argv)
int argc;
char *argv[];
{
printf("Goodbye, World.\n");

#ifdef ATHEIST
exit(RITCHIE_LIFE_STATUS);
#else
return RITCHIE_LIFE_STATUS;
#endif
}

Oh, definitely. Makes it much more reusable.

tom

 

[Jan Burse]

Combined with<[email protected]> we have now

main(argc, argv)
int argc;
char *argv[];
{
printf("Goodbye, World.\n");

#ifdef ATHEIST
exit(0);
#else
return 0;
#endif
}

Can this be agreed upon?

return(0);

So that the newbee thinks return is a function.

Bye

 

[Daniel Pitts]

Combined with<[email protected]> we have now

main(argc, argv)
int argc;
char *argv[];
{
printf("Goodbye, World.\n");

#ifdef ATHEIST
exit(0);
#else
return 0;
#endif
}

Can this be agreed upon?

return(0);

So that the newbee thinks return is a function.

Bye

Actually, I would just suggest this evil alternative:

#ifdef ATHEIST
#define return exit
#endif

main(argc, argv)
int argc;
char *argv[];
{
printf("Goodbye, World.\n");
return(0);
}

Yes, I can be evil when I want to be.

 

[Arne Vajhøj]

Of course they could. How do you think they'd make it public?

If and when they get authorization to make it public then they
can tell.

Did I claim it was, on any particular day?

No.

But you can obviously only get todays answer today.

Arne

 

[B1ll Gat3s]

If and when they get authorization to make it public then they
can tell.

They *can* tell anything they know. Perhaps they *may* not, according to
some rule or regulation, but they *can*.

No.

But you can obviously only get todays answer today.

But I didn't demand an answer by any particular time.