XPost: comp.compilers, comp.answers 
 From: compilers-request@iecc.com 
  
 Archive-name: compilers/faq 
 Last-modified: $Date: 2003/04/01 21:27:08 $ 
  
 This is the comp.compilers monthly message.  Changes since last month are 
 indicated by the usual marks in the right margin. 
  
 Contents: 
  
 -- What is comp.compilers? 
 -- How do I receive it? 
 -- How do I submit a message? 
 -- What happens to submitted messages? 
 -- What message formats are appropriate? 
 -- What topics are and aren't appropriate? 
 -- Are help-wanted messages allowed? 
 -- Why wasn't my message posted? 
 -- How do I respond to the author of a message? 
 -- How do I contact the moderator? 
 -- Are back issues available? 
  
 -- Some Frequently Asked Questions: 
  
 * Where can I get a C or C++ grammar in yacc? 
 * Where can I get the Gnu C compiler? 
 * Are there other free C compilers? 
 * Where can I get a free compiler for MS Windows? 
 * Where can I get a Fortran grammar in yacc or a Fortran compiler? 
 * Where can I get Modula-2, Pascal, Ada, or SQL grammars in yacc? 
 * Where can I get a Cobol grammar in yacc? 
 * Where can I get a Basic grammar in yacc? 
 * Where can I get a QBasic compiler? 
 * Where can I get a PL/I or PL/M grammar? 
 * Are there free versions of yacc and lex ? 
 * Are there versions of yacc and lex for MS-DOS? 
 * Are there C++ or Pascal versions of yacc and lex? 
 * What other compilers and tools are freely available? 
 * How can I get started with yacc and lex and compiler writing in general? 
 * Where can I FTP the sources to the programs in Holub's "Compiler 
   Design in C" or Mak's "Writing Compilers and Interpreters" ? 
 * Where can I learn about garbage collection ? 
 * Where can I find specs for Intel object files? 
  
 -- What is comp.compilers? 
  
 It is a moderated usenet news group addressing the topics of compilers in 
 particular and programming language design and implementation in general. 
 It started in 1986 as a moderated mailing list, but interest quickly grew to 
 the point where it was promoted to a news group.  Recent topics have 
 included optimization techniques, language design issues, announcements of 
 new compiler tools, and book reviews. 
  
 Messages come from a wide variety of people ranging from undergraduate 
 students to well-known experts in industry and academia.  Authors live all 
 over the world -- there are regular messages from the U.S, Canada, Europe, 
 Australia, and Japan, with occasional ones from as far away as Malaysia. 
 I cannot tell how large the readership is, since the anarchic nature of 
 usenet makes it impossible to tell who reads it, but a reasonable guess is 
 that the total is over 100,000, which would make it by far the most widely 
 read medium on the topic in the world. 
  
 Unless there is specific language to the contrary, each message represents 
 only the personal opinion of its author.  I claim no compilation copyright 
 on 
 comp.compilers.  As far as I am concerned, anyone can reproduce any message 
 for any purpose.  Individual authors may retain rights to their messages, 
 although I will not knowingly post anything that does not permit unlimited 
 distribution in any form.  If you find comp.compilers useful in writing a 
 book, producing a product, etc., I would appreciate an acknowledgement of 
 usenet and comp.compilers. 
  
 -- How do I receive it? 
  
 The easiest way is to read comp.compilers on a system that gets usenet news. 
  
 If you don't have access to usenet news, it's also available via 
 E-mail via a Majordomo mailing list.  To subscribe, a person should 
 send e-mail to majordomo@lists.iecc.com with one line in the mail 
 message (not in the subject!)  That line should read: 
  
  subscribe compilers 
  
 If you want to get daily digests rather than individual messages, 
 send this 
 instead: 
 | 
  
  subscribe-set compilers 
 digest 
 | 
  
 You will get a confirmation message that you have to read and respond to 
 in order to complete your subscription. 
  
 To get off the list the subscriber should send e-mail to the same address 
 with this message: 
  
  unsubscribe compilers 
  
 If you have problems getting on or off the list, please contact me.  In 
 particular, if you want to use an address other than your own personal mail 
 address, you have to ask me to set it up.  If I receive bounce messages for 
 an address on the mailing list for ten messages in a row, it's 
 automatically deleted.  If this happens to you and your address 
 subsequently becomes reachable again, you can resubscribe. 
  
 -- How do I submit a message? 
  
 Mail it to compilers@iecc.com.  I review messages nearly every day, usually 
 including weekends, and most messages are posted to the net within a day 
 after 
 I receive them.  Occasionally when I go out of town there may be up to a 
 week's delay, though I try to send out a message when that will happen. 
  
 Most net news systems will automatically turn posted messages into mail to 
 compilers, but some don't do that correctly.  As a result, I sometimes 
 receive hundreds of copies of a message, all mangled slightly differently. 
 Please mail your contributions unless you're sure your posting software 
 works correctly. 
  
 When you send a message to compilers, I understand that to mean that you 
 want me to post it to usenet, which means it will be sent to tens of 
 thousands of potential readers at thousands of computers all around the 
 world.  It may also appear in a printed comp.compilers annual and other 
 books, in printed journals, in on-line and off-line archives, CD-ROMs, and 
 anywhere else that some reader decides to use it. 
  
 If you don't want me to post something, send it instead to compilers- 
 request. 
 (See below.) 
  
 -- What happens to submitted messages? 
  
 Barring mail problems, they arrive in a special mailbox here at iecc, which 
 sends an automated confirmation message that each has been received.  If 
 they're appropriate to post, I then edit them a little, remove cute 
 signatures, and then post them to usenet.  If I think a message needs more 
 editing than that but is otherwise worth posting, I return it to the author 
 for rewriting.  Other messages are discarded (see below.) 
  
 If I see that the automatically generated confirmation message bounced, I 
 discard the message.  If you want your messages to be posted, please be 
 sure the From: or Reply-To: line contains your correct e-mail address. 
  
 -- What message formats are appropriate? 
  
 Plain old ASCII.  No MIME, uuencoded, zipped, LaTeX, HTML, NeXTmail, RTF, 
 GIF, gzip, MS Exchange, or anything else, just ASCII, because a majority of 
 the readership still can't handle anything else.  Messages received in the 
 broken HTML sent by misconfigured versions of mail programs such as Outlook 
 Express and Netscape Messenger are usually discarded, since had you 
 actually wanted people to read your message, you could have sent something 
 legible. 
  
 Also, keep line lengths to between 70 and 80 characters, and don't justify 
 lines with extra white space nor indent the whole message with white space. 
 Messages received entirely in lower case are subject to gratuitous 
  
 [continued in next message] 
  
 --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05 
  * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)