Re: gettext and C usage

[Bruno Haible]

Hans-Bernhard Broeker writes:
> Since when would 'reasonability' of a choice of target platform have
> been a valid argument for GNU?

Since ever. See the GNU standards, section "Portability between
System Types".

> Just to give one example: in the light of this argument:
> 
> 1) why are all major GNU packages (including at least GCC and Emacs,
>    last I looked) still written in K&R C, 12 years after
>    the ratification of ANSI C?

For GCC the reason is that on systems where the vendor's cc is not
ANSI C, GCC should bootstrap in order to provide an ANSI C compiler.

I don't know the rationale for GNU Emacs. XEmacs is written in ANSI C.

> 2) How could support of the purely hypothetical/didactical MMIX processor
>    ever have made it into GCC?

Because this processor uses mainstream techniques and is therefore
interesting.

Whereas we are talking about support for obsolete systems, like 16
year old Ultrix. Did you notice that support for Z80, 8051 and 6502
was never added to the official GCC?

Bruno