For the past few years, the C community has benefited from a newsletter called "The Journal of C Language Translation." Published quarterly out of Reston, Virginia, it is the brainchild of Rex Jaeschke. Most of you know Rex as author of our monthly column, "Dr. C's Pointers." A few of you may know that he is one of the godfathers of CUJ, having edited one of the precursors to this magazine. Rex is also an independent consultant and educator who is very active with the C standards effort.JCLT is heavy sledding. It has covered advanced topics on all aspects of compiling and interpreting C. It has described the nitty gritty details of translating other languages to and from C. Even Dennis Ritchie has seen fit to contribute ideas on how to extend the C language.
I have been a contributor to JCLT since its inception. I find it the perfect vehicle for discussing issues too esoteric for the pages of CUJ. Other regulars have included Jim Brodie, Chair of the C Standards committee X3J11, and Tom MacDonald, a well known expert on numerical programming in C.
This is one of those newsletters that costs hundreds of dollars a year to obtain. If you're in the business of writing C or C++ translators, that's a bargain. There's no easier way to keep up with the latest ideas in extending the C language and its derivative standards. A power user might also have occasion to subscribe. Most of you probably do not.
This is not a pitch for new subscribers. Rather, it is by way of an obituary. Rex has decided to discontinue publication of JCLT with the current issue. The newsletter was financially stable, if hardly profitable. Rex simply found that it was eating too much of its time.
I'd hate to see its passing go unmarked or unlamented. Thanks, Rex, for putting out a quality publication. And thanks for letting me participate. It was fun, and I think it made a difference.
P.J. Plauger
pjp@plauger.uunet