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| From | Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> |
|---|---|
| Newsgroups | comp.lang.c |
| Subject | Re: Understandability |
| Date | 2015-05-13 10:53 -0700 |
| Organization | None to speak of |
| Message-ID | <874mnge54g.fsf@kst-u.example.com> (permalink) |
| References | (12 earlier) <mis8ap$dsq$1@dont-email.me> <9ae7e6d2-f4ec-49f9-9a8f-276403ac1ef3@googlegroups.com> <miusbt$hio$1@dont-email.me> <87d224ecdp.fsf@kst-u.example.com> <5536bb22-069c-4262-8a7a-0f136872dcea@googlegroups.com> |
David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> writes:
> On Wednesday, May 13, 2015 at 8:16:43 AM UTC-7, Keith Thompson wrote:
>> David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> writes:
>> [...]
>> > I don't think anyone objects to calling gcc a "program", and we can all
>> > be happy with only a vague definition of "program". (I doubt that this
>> > group could ever agree on a precise definition of "program" !)
>>
>> The C standard doesn't have a formal definition of "program", but the
>> meaning is specified reasonably clearly in section 5.1.1.1 "Program
>> structure".
>>
>> But you're right, just because the standard defines a term that doesn't
>> mean everyone here is going to agree on the definition.
>>
>> And it's not unreasonable to use the word "program" to define something
>> other than a "C program" -- for example a command that might invoke one
>> or more other executables, but that still appears to the user as a
>> single command.
>
> It seems to me that you are "defining" program to mean "that which is
> executed by a single command".
Not quite. I'm saying that it's not unreasonable to use the word that
way (though it's inconsistent with the way the C standard uses the
word).
> 5.1.1.1 seems to be thinking of "program" as a collection of enough code
> that the whole is executable. 5.1.2.2.1 (I am reading the C90 standard)
> says "the function called at program startup is named 'main'." This
> suggests that my original suggestion that programs correspond to "main"
> functions was what was intended (in 1990 at least). But, as you note,
> that really applies only to "C programs" and the word "program" can be
> used for other kinds of executables.
>
> That is - A C program is a main function plus everything else needed to
> make the whole executable.
Programs can be written in any of a number of languages, using
any of a nearly unlimited set of techniques. As a user, I don't
necessarily care whether typing "gcc" at the command line invokes
a single C program (statically or dynamically linked) or internally
invokes other executables to do part of its job.
In that context, I suppose "command" is a more precise term than
"program"; "command" also has the advantage of not conflicting with the
terminology used by the C standard.
If someone calls gcc a "program", I may or may not quibble with the use
of the word, depending on the context.
--
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) kst-u@mib.org <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
Working, but not speaking, for JetHead Development, Inc.
"We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this."
-- Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, "Yes Minister"
Back to comp.lang.c | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread
Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-01 17:55 -0700
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-01 19:41 -0700
Re: Understandability wssimms@gmail.com - 2015-05-01 20:45 -0700
Re: Understandability Bartc <bc@freeuk.com> - 2015-05-02 10:38 +0100
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-02 09:15 -0700
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-04 09:26 +0200
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-04 12:52 -0700
Re: Understandability Noob <root@127.0.0.1> - 2015-05-02 14:21 +0200
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-02 09:13 -0700
Re: Understandability Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2015-05-03 08:07 +1200
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-02 13:11 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-03 10:50 -0700
Re: Understandability Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2015-05-03 13:26 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-04 12:29 -0700
Re: Understandability Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2015-05-05 05:47 -0700
Re: Understandability raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2015-05-08 21:10 +0000
Re: Understandability Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2015-05-09 09:17 +1200
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-08 14:32 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-09 09:13 -0700
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-09 16:48 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-10 11:05 -0700
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-11 08:48 +0200
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-11 09:55 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-11 17:52 -0400
Re: Understandability glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-05-11 22:54 +0000
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-12 08:49 +0200
Re: Understandability Morris Dovey <mrdovey@iedu.com> - 2015-05-12 02:15 -0500
Re: Understandability Phil Carmody <pc+usenet@asdf.org> - 2015-05-25 03:15 +0300
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-25 00:45 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-25 10:26 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-11 10:06 -0700
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-12 08:59 +0200
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-12 08:37 -0700
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-13 08:53 +0200
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-13 08:16 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-13 09:49 -0700
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-13 10:53 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-14 10:35 -0700
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-13 09:31 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-13 13:10 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-14 10:27 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-14 22:51 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-15 10:02 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-15 13:37 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-16 09:18 -0700
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-16 23:56 +0200
Re: Understandability gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2015-05-17 12:45 +0000
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-17 09:16 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-17 12:47 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-18 10:54 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-18 15:00 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-19 09:49 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-19 13:10 -0400
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-16 19:01 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-17 09:30 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-17 12:58 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-18 10:54 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-18 14:56 -0400
Re: Understandability David Kleinecke <dkleinecke@gmail.com> - 2015-05-19 09:46 -0700
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-19 13:16 -0400
Re: Understandability Richard Heathfield <rjh@cpax.org.uk> - 2015-05-19 18:23 +0100
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-19 14:02 -0400
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-19 00:11 +0200
Re: Understandability James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2015-05-18 18:28 -0400
Re: Understandability Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2015-05-15 10:52 -0700
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-13 21:53 +0200
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-09 16:18 +0200
Re: Understandability Noob <root@127.0.0.1> - 2015-05-09 18:31 +0200
Re: Understandability raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2015-05-17 10:44 +0000
Re: Understandability glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2015-05-17 15:53 +0000
Re: Understandability David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2015-05-04 09:15 +0200
Re: Understandability Waldek Hebisch <hebisch@math.uni.wroc.pl> - 2015-05-16 00:28 +0000
Re: Understandability Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2015-05-03 10:58 -0700
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