Jordan Abel <jmabel@purdue.edu> writes:[color=blue]
> On 2005-11-28, Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> wrote:[color=green]
>> Charles Sullivan <cwsulliv@triad.rr.com> writes:[color=darkred]
>>> On my system (using gcc) I found I need to use the "volatile"
>>> qualifier to limit compiler optimization. I notice that this
>>> qualifier is described in K&R 2nd edition (1988) but not in
>>> K&R 1st edition (1978).
>>>
>>> Are there realistically any major C compilers in use today that
>>> don't recognize this qualifier?[/color]
>>
>> Probably not. At this point, it's probably safe to assume that any C
>> compiler supports at least the entire C90 standard -- unless you have
>> a requirement to support very old platforms. You'll still see a fair
>> amount of code that includes preprocessor tricks to cater to compilers
>> that don't support function prototypes, but it's probably no longer
>> necessary. (Even gcc, I believe, no longer supports pre-ANSI hosting
>> compilers.)[/color]
>
> You sure? gcc's a special case, since there's a semi-legitimate need to
> compile gcc [an ansi compiler] on a non-ansi system - Is there at least
> somewhere one can "build the tools to build the tools" to make gcc, so
> to speak, on such platforms?[/color]
I'm not 100% sure, but I remember reading about it. Older versions of
gcc are still available; if necessary, you can always use a native
pre-ANSI compiler to bootstrap an older gcc, then use the resulting
gcc to bootstrap the most current one.
--
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith)
kst-u@mib.org <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
San Diego Supercomputer Center <*> <http://users.sdsc.edu/~kst>
We must do something. This is something. Therefore, we must do this.
