> For many languages, print is special and the implementation is provided as part of the language implementation.
what's the point of not having print provided as part of the language implementation, though?
what's the point of not having print provided as part of the language implementation, though?
Also, it's a fairly simple to decide upon dividing line between the language and the library - if it can be implemented in a handful of assembly instructions (or, ideally, 1 instruction) it's part of the language. If it can't and needs a "function" (either in C, or implemented in assembly) to work, or needs to talk to some other part of the computer (like a kernel, or a BIOS) it's part of the library.
Like malloc()/free() - again, not part of the core language spec, but part of the standard library, which can be omitted in some ("freestanding", as opposed to "hosted") implementations.
Remember, C was created in the '70s. Memory was measured in kilobytes. Tens of kilobytes if you were lucky. Even through the '80s, 1 megabyte was a lot.