Kari,
By that criterion, printf is definitely part of the C language.
printf is not part of the C syntax or semantics, it is a function defined in a library. Fortran and Pascal are examples of languages where the I/O is defined to be part of the syntax/semantics of the languages and not as functions defined in a library (although are likely to get mapped to calls to some sequence of internal library calls). The language/library distinction is important for the compiler, which in one case has to recognise certain character sequences and perform special processing of them and in the other just handles a construct the same as any other function call. As a compiler writer I don't regard printf as being part of the language but as part of the library. The average user is unlikely to make this distinction and view the language as being whatever they can be guaranteed to get out of the box when they obtain a conforming implementation. The definition of 'language' depends on who you are talking to. -- Derek M. Jones tel: +44 (0) 1252 520 667 Knowledge Software Ltd mailto:de...@knosof.co.uk Source code analysis http://www.knosof.co.uk -- The Open University is incorporated by Royal Charter (RC 000391), an exempt charity in England & Wales and a charity registered in Scotland (SC 038302).
