Re: Trigraph warnings when compiling linux-2.4.0-prerelease1

[Linus Torvalds <torvalds@transmeta.com>]

On Tue, 2 Jan 2001, Joe Buck wrote:

> > >> line 929: 	printk("imm: parity error (???)\n");
> > >> line 938: 	printk("imm: bad interrupt (???)\n");
> > >
> > >This is a kernel bug.  That is, a strict ISO C compiler
> > >must print
> > >
> > >imm: bad interrupt (?]
> > 
> > This is NOT a kernel bug.
> 
> Well, at least, it's not a serious one.  And if you want to claim that
> the kernel is not written in C, but rather in a language dialect called,
> say, gcc258, it's not a bug.

Ehh..

The compiler is called "gcc", and is invoced as such.

And you apparently entirely dismissed the fact that the Linux behaviour is
based on _documented_ behaviour. And you still want to call it a "bug".

> It's more important to alert users that their code may malfunction if
> they compile it with a different compiler than to produce a warning-free
> compile of the Linux kernel.  It's a tradeoff.  The kernel is only one
> program.

The kernel may be one program, but point me to a _single_ program that
uses trigraphs. Show me _one_ serious program that wants to use them.

The fact is, nobody uses trigraphs. NOBODY. They were a bad idea.

But hey, as good as you are at ignoring documentation, I'm sure you'll
have no trouble at all ignoring reality too.

		Linus