who owns C

[Maboroshi]

Hi I was just curious about something for future reference

Is ANSI C Open Source/Freeware or is it owned by a company

Thank You if you reply

[Malcolm]

"Maboroshi" <n/a> wrote

Is ANSI C Open Source/Freeware or is it owned by a company

Anyone can write a compiler and describe it as a "C" compiler. You can get
both free and commercial compilers for a wide variety of platforms, and of
varying quality.

ANSI publish a standard for C, and most compilers want to be ANSI compliant.
You don't need permission from ANSI to write a conforming compiler, and
there is no central testing body. I'm not quite sure what the law would say
about non-conforming compilers described as "ANSI", and whether ANSI would
have the right to take legal action.

So basically no-one owns C, but ANSI is the watchdog.

[Keith Thompson]

Da*****@cern.ch (Dan Pop) writes:

In <10************ *@corp.supernew s.com> "Maboroshi" <n/a> writes:

Is ANSI C Open Source/Freeware or is it owned by a company

ANSI C is not a piece of software, so the concepts of "open source" and
"freeware" make no sense in context.

The ANSI C specification (aka C89) is hard to obtain these days (IIRC,
BSI might be still selling it). The current version of the ISO
C specification is available in both electronic and printed form,
at cost, and it is copyrighted work. Its implementations , however,
can be distributed as open source/freeware.

A small quibble: The phrase "at cost" usually implies that the buyer
pays only the costs of production, and that the seller doesn't make a
profit. At $18 for the PDF, and substantially more for a hard copy,
the price you pay more than covers the cost of producing it. I think
you meant "at a cost".

--
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keit h) ks***@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.

[Mike Wahler]

"Maboroshi" <n/a> wrote in message
news:10******** *****@corp.supe rnews.com...

Hi I was just curious about something for future reference

Is ANSI C Open Source/Freeware or is it owned by a company

Thank You if you reply

I own it. Royalties! OK everybody, pay up.

-Mike

[Dan Pop]

In <ln************ @nuthaus.mib.or g> Keith Thompson <ks***@mib.or g> writes:

Da*****@cern.c h (Dan Pop) writes:

In <10************ *@corp.supernew s.com> "Maboroshi" <n/a> writes:

>Is ANSI C Open Source/Freeware or is it owned by a company

ANSI C is not a piece of software, so the concepts of "open source" and
"freeware" make no sense in context.

The ANSI C specification (aka C89) is hard to obtain these days (IIRC,
BSI might be still selling it). The current version of the ISO
C specification is available in both electronic and printed form,
at cost, and it is copyrighted work. Its implementations , however,
can be distributed as open source/freeware.

A small quibble: The phrase "at cost" usually implies that the buyer
pays only the costs of production, and that the seller doesn't make a
profit.

Can I have a reference for that? Does it mean that
http://www.cruisesatcost.com/ is a non-profit organisation?

Dan
--
Dan Pop
DESY Zeuthen, RZ group
Email: Da*****@ifh.de

[Richard Tobin]

In article <ca**********@s unnews.cern.ch> , Dan Pop <Da*****@cern.c h> wrote:

A small quibble: The phrase "at cost" usually implies that the buyer
pays only the costs of production, and that the seller doesn't make a
profit.

A smaller quibble: it implies that it's sold at the wholesale cost to
the retailer.
Can I have a reference for that?
OED: "at cost: at the initial cost" with example "We sell..durable
clothing very close to cost"
Does it mean that
http://www.cruisesatcost.com/ is a non-profit organisation?

No, it means that they're exaggerating.

Or maybe "at cost" means something else in America.

-- Richard

[Fao, Sean]

Dan Pop wrote:

A small quibble: The phrase "at cost" usually implies that the buyer
pays only the costs of production, and that the seller doesn't make a
profit.

Can I have a reference for that? Does it mean that
http://www.cruisesatcost.com/ is a non-profit organisation?

In all honesty, I think they made the same /mistake/ as you. I do want
to point out that it's *probably* an American custom. We have a lot of
people that are picky on wording. Probably due somewhat in part to the
excessively large number of lawyers that like to play with words to
stretch the truth.

[Rob Morris]

Mike Wahler wrote:

"Maboroshi" <n/a> wrote in message
news:10******** *****@corp.supe rnews.com...

Hi I was just curious about something for future reference

Is ANSI C Open Source/Freeware or is it owned by a company

Thank You if you reply

I own it. Royalties! OK everybody, pay up.

-Mike

This is a very mature group. I was surprised not to see something like
this sooner. Or, even:
I pwn C!!!!1! I pwn j00!!1!!! j00 = teh suxor!!!!111One !1

:)

--
Rob Morris

[Richard Bos]

Keith Thompson <ks***@mib.or g> wrote:

Da*****@cern.ch (Dan Pop) writes:

The current version of the ISO C specification is available in both
electronic and printed form, at cost, and it is copyrighted work.

A small quibble: The phrase "at cost" usually implies that the buyer
pays only the costs of production, and that the seller doesn't make a
profit. At $18 for the PDF, and substantially more for a hard copy,
the price you pay more than covers the cost of producing it.

I wonder in how far that remains true when you add in all those
Committee members' packed lunches.

Richard

[Mark McIntyre]

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 06:42:47 GMT, in comp.lang.c ,
rl*@hoekstra-uitgeverij.nl (Richard Bos) wrote:

Keith Thompson <ks***@mib.or g> wrote:

Da*****@cern.ch (Dan Pop) writes:

> The current version of the ISO C specification is available in both
> electronic and printed form, at cost, and it is copyrighted work.

A small quibble: The phrase "at cost" usually implies that the buyer
pays only the costs of production, and that the seller doesn't make a
profit. At $18 for the PDF, and substantially more for a hard copy,
the price you pay more than covers the cost of producing it.

I wonder in how far that remains true when you add in all those
Committee members' packed lunches.

.... and if Dan thinks that $18 is not "at cost", he apparently doesn't know
much about book publishing. My wife works in the field & my parents in law
run a small publishing company, and for small-volume multifont print jobs,
the printing costs alone are high enough to make you wince, never mind the
cost of technical proofreaders and editors capable of understanding the
subject matter but still able to edit. $200 is cheap compared to some books
my wife has edited.
--
Mark McIntyre
CLC FAQ <http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/C-faq/top.html>
CLC readme: <http://www.angelfire.c om/ms3/bchambless0/welcome_to_clc. html>
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[Allin Cottrell]

Mark McIntyre wrote:

On Tue, 15 Jun 2004 06:42:47 GMT, in comp.lang.c ,
rl*@hoekstra-uitgeverij.nl (Richard Bos) wrote:

Keith Thompson <ks***@mib.or g> wrote:

Da*****@cern .ch (Dan Pop) writes:

The current version of the ISO C specification is available in both
electroni c and printed form, at cost, and it is copyrighted work.

A small quibble: The phrase "at cost" usually implies that the buyer
pays only the costs of production, and that the seller doesn't make a
profit. At $18 for the PDF, and substantially more for a hard copy,
the price you pay more than covers the cost of producing it.

I wonder in how far that remains true when you add in all those
Committee members' packed lunches.

... and if Dan thinks that $18 is not "at cost", he apparently doesn't know
much about book publishing...

I believe you're confused regarding the quotation levels. It was Dan
who initially claimed the C standard was available at cost, and Keith
Thompson who thought the $18 for the PDF must embody a profit margin.

Allin Cottrell.