C++ alternative tokens in the preprocessor

[Matt Minnis]

Martin,

Here are my $.02

"Valid" as in:  "and" is not a valid macro name in C++
"Known" as in:  "and" is not a known macro name in C++

Thanks,

Matt Minnis

At 10:41 PM 7/18/2000 +0200, Martin v. Loewis wrote:
> > This is not a good error message.  It expects the user to know gritty
> > details of the official grammar.  I would much rather see something
> > like
> >
> > a.cc:1:9: "and" is not a legal macro name in C++
>
>This is slightly off-topic now, but I was going to make the comment
>that I feel such an error message is inappropriate; in particular,
>that use of the adjective "legal" is.
>
>I believe it was RMS who once mentioned that the compiler should not
>declare things "illegal"
>( http://gcc.gnu.org/ml/gcc/1999-09n/msg00395.html ), with "not legal"
>probably being just as bad.
>
>I always used "ill-formed", to describe the code and not its authors,
>but that may be a bit technical.
>
>I'd appreciate comments and recommendations from native speakers of
>the English language what terminology would be acceptable.
>
>Regards,
>Martin

Cthulhu for President. Why settle for a lesser evil?

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