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I've been reading up a lot on how C works, and I think I have an idea for how to make it better. From what I've read it seems like the standard changes from time to time, and I was wondering if there is a place I could go to submit a new idea for the next revision.

Thomas Dickey
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Noah
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    Design, implement, ask for review, and then use the feature is the best way to try and go for inclusion into the standard. – sean Jul 11 '12 at 18:34
  • what is your suggestion? – Wug Jul 11 '12 at 18:35
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    There are many great ideas for make C (or language-X) better. Unfortunately, they often tend to make it not-C (or not-language-X) .. well-entrenched language are generally opposed to new ideas. Don't take it to heart; it's just the nature of these things. –  Jul 11 '12 at 18:55
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    @pst Otoh, C always had the `bcd` type missing (between `int` and `float`), as well as some OOP features *ducks head and runs* – ott-- Jul 11 '12 at 19:35
  • @ott those oop features became C++ and also objective-C. – Clifford Mar 19 '23 at 10:52
  • By asking where to go rather than expressing your idea, you instantly render your question off-topic. By expressing your idea, you would be canvassing opinion. Also off-topic. Essentially this is off topic. The ISO committee decides these things, the committee is made up of industry players, ideas often come from the standardisation of what are initially compiler extensions. Your best chance of getting an extension adopted is to become a contributor to an open source project such as gcc or clang perhaps. Membership of the committee itself requires some sort of industry standing. – Clifford Mar 19 '23 at 11:00

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The committee's web site is http://www.open-std.org/JTC1/SC22/WG14/.

Their contact info is at http://www.open-std.org/JTC1/SC22/WG14/www/contacts.

The most recent C standard was released late last year; a draft that should be almost identical to the released standard, is N1570, or you can buy the official standard from the ANSI store, or from your national standards body.

Ideas are often discussed on the comp.std.c Usenet newsgroup; it's a good place to get feedback, but it has no official association with the committee.

Your idea will have a much better chance of being adopted if you can demonstrate existing practice, i.e., and existing C compiler that already implements it as an extension -- and if it doesn't violate the vaguely defined "spirit of C".

Keith Thompson
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