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From: Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Why is this happening?
Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2026 22:31:46 -0700
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Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> writes:
> scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) writes:
>> Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com> writes:
>>> Lawrence D <<E2>> ??Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:
>>>> On Fri, 27 Mar 2026 10:15:23 +0100, Josef M@C3{B6}llers wrote:
>>>>>      diffns += 1000000000UL;
>>>>
>>>> Can you write
>>>>
>>>>       diffns += 1_000_000_000UL;
>>>>
>>>> yet?
>>>
>>> Not in C.  C23 introduces the apostrophe as a digit separator, copied
>>> from C++:
>>>
>>>      diffns += 1'000'000'000UL;
>>
>> Or diffns += 1000ul * 1000ul * 1000ul;
>>
>> or diffns += 1 * NS_PER_SEC;
>>
>> with
>> #define NS_PER_SEC ((1000ul * 1000ul * 1000ul))
>>
>>> (I would have preferred underscores, but that would have conflicted
>>> with C++'s user-defined literals.)
>>
>> Likewise, I'd prefer the underscore.
>
> Ditto.  And there is no reason C could have allowed both,
> and C++ be damned.

(I think you omitted a "not".)

Using apostrophes is IMHO far better than either allowing two
arbitrarily distinct syntaxes or a gratuitous incompatibility
with C++.

-- 
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com
void Void(void) { Void(); } /* The recursive call of the void */