From: david.brown@hesbynett.no   
      
   On 25/10/2025 14:51, bart wrote:   
      
   > This is another matter. The CDECL docs talk about C and C++ type   
   > declarations being 'gibberish'.   
   >   
   > What do you feel about that, and the *need* for such a substantial tool   
   > to help understand or write such declarations?   
   >   
   > I would rather have put some effort into fixing the syntax so that such   
   > tools are not necessary!   
      
   Most C and C++ programmers don't need such tools - they are /not/   
   necessary.  They can sometimes save a little effort when you have to   
   deal with poorly written code from elsewhere, or when you are faced with   
   code written in a substantially different style from what you usually   
   see.  I don't think more than a very small proportion of C or C++   
   programmers use cdecl (online or offline), at least not on a regular basis.   
      
   Neither language requires that declarations be "gibberish" - but both   
   language syntaxes allow people to write gibberish.  The same applies to   
   your language, and any other language.  The sole reason why you think   
   that your language's syntax is clear is because the only examples you   
   ever see, you wrote yourself - and thus you understand them.   
      
   That does not mean that I or anyone else thinks that C's syntax is   
   "perfect" in any sense.  But it is good enough, and we all understand   
   that different programmers will have different ideas about what to   
   "fix".  The only possible way to get a language that any one person   
   thinks is ideal and always clear and simple, is for that person to   
   design their own language according to their own needs and preferences.   
   And from your example, we know that even that doesn't always work - you   
   have on multiple occasions said you don't know details of your own   
   languages.   
      
   And I'd love to hear your plan for "fixing" the syntax of C - noting   
   that changing the syntax of C means getting the C standards committee to   
   accept your suggestions, getting at least all major C compilers to   
   support them, and getting the millions of C programmers to use them.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)