On 10/26/25 3:36 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:

(I'm not entirely pleased that the newer version expands "char" to "character" and, worse, "int" to "integer", but I can live with it.)

Hence the --no-english-types or -T command line option or the
"set noenglish" command (from within cdecl or a config file).

The thought was that those newer to C and less familiar with its
types might benefit from more elaborate output.

- Paul


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 2025-12-09, Paul J. Lucas <paul@lucasmail.org> wrote:

On 10/26/25 3:36 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:

(I'm not entirely pleased that the newer version expands "char" to
"character" and, worse, "int" to "integer", but I can live with it.)

Hence the --no-english-types or -T command line option or the
"set noenglish" command (from within cdecl or a config file).

The problem is that the English words chosen already have a meaning.

"Integer" is a type category in C; uint32_t is one of the "integer
types".

"Character" is a representational concept for units of text,
manifesting itself via different types and sometimes even aggregates
(e.g multi-byte character).

The thought was that those newer to C and less familiar with its
types might benefit from more elaborate output.

This kind of thing just ensures that newbies go sideways from being
less familiar to being incorrectly familiar.

They should know from their first contact with the char type that it's
just an integer type with a small range. (Arrays of which are used for
text storage in classic text processing, where if a legacy character
set is used such as ASCII, there is a 1:1 correspondence between each
char element and a character, otherwise not.)

--
TXR Programming Language: http://nongnu.org/txr
Cygnal: Cygwin Native Application Library: http://kylheku.com/cygnal
Mastodon: @Kazinator@mstdn.ca

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

On 12/9/25 12:38 PM, Kaz Kylheku wrote:

On 2025-12-09, Paul J. Lucas <paul@lucasmail.org> wrote:

On 10/26/25 3:36 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:

(I'm not entirely pleased that the newer version expands "char" to
"character" and, worse, "int" to "integer", but I can live with it.)

Hence the --no-english-types or -T command line option or the
"set noenglish" command (from within cdecl or a config file).

The problem is that the English words chosen already have a meaning.

"Integer" is a type category in C;

It's not a keyword, so that's irrelevant. Likewise, "Character."

The thought was that those newer to C and less familiar with its
types might benefit from more elaborate output.

This kind of thing just ensures that newbies go sideways from being
less familiar to being incorrectly familiar.

Opinion noted. I disagree.

- Paul

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

"Paul J. Lucas" <paul@lucasmail.org> writes:

On 12/9/25 12:38 PM, Kaz Kylheku wrote:

On 2025-12-09, Paul J. Lucas <paul@lucasmail.org> wrote:

On 10/26/25 3:36 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:

(I'm not entirely pleased that the newer version expands
"char" to "character" and, worse, "int" to "integer", but I
can live with it.)

Hence the --no-english-types or -T command line option or the
"set noenglish" command (from within cdecl or a config file).

The problem is that the English words chosen already have a
meaning. "Integer" is a type category in C;

It's not a keyword, so that's irrelevant. Likewise,
"Character."

The thought was that those newer to C and less familiar with
its types might benefit from more elaborate output.

This kind of thing just ensures that newbies go sideways from
being less familiar to being incorrectly familiar.

Opinion noted. I disagree.

If you prefer the C-like syntax rather than pseudo-English (as I
do), you can change the default by creating a ".cdeclrc" file.

$ cdecl explain "int n;" declare n as integer $ echo "set
noenglish-types" > $HOME/.cdeclrc $ cdecl explain "int n;" declare
n as int $

--
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com
void Void(void) { Void(); } /* The recursive call of the void */

--- PyGate Linux v1.5.2
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)