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From: kanze@us-es.sel.de (James Kanze)
Subject: Re: C++ Language Extensions
In-Reply-To: maxtal@physics.su.OZ.AU's message of Sun, 27 Jun 1993 15:58:45 GMT
Message-ID: <KANZE.93Jul5144659@slsvdnt.us-es.sel.de>
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References: <25697@alice.att.com> <25699@alice.att.com> <20evjs$b77@babbage.ece.uc.edu>
	<1993Jun27.155845.28679@ucc.su.OZ.AU>
Date: 5 Jul 93 14:46:59
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In article <1993Jun27.155845.28679@ucc.su.OZ.AU>
maxtal@physics.su.OZ.AU (John Max Skaller) writes:

|> >>    Exponentiation operator

|> >My question is quite simple: Why?  Does anyone know the reasoning behind this?

|> >I have seen many flare ups on this subject, with some apparently well 
|> >conceived proposals.  My intention is not to instigate another of these 
|> >debates.  Rather, my intention is simply to understand the reasoning of the 
|> >committee.

|> 	The exponentiation operator supposedly had limited appeal 
|> (specialised for numerical work), had difficulties 
|> in definition, and provided only one advantage 
|> that 'pow' does not: clean syntax.

|> 	This wasnt considered enough to justify an extension.
|> However, one of the ideas in the proposal, a specific version
|> of pow that accepts an integral index, will probably make it
|> into the standard library.

In sum, the committee has decided to do the hard part (handling the
difficulties in definition, which will be necessary for the library
function too), and forgo the easy part (extending the syntax).
--
James Kanze                             email: kanze@us-es.sel.de
GABI Software, Sarl., 8 rue du Faisan, F-67000 Strasbourg, France
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