Prepending _ in C external names necessary?

[Dave Lennert]

We're considering changing our C compiler to *not* prepend an underscore
at the beginning of all external names (functions, variables).  Will this
break things?  Are there reasons (technical/religious) that we should not
do this?  Please respond via MAIL; our news connection is frequently
flakey.  I will summarize to the net.

I recall seeing a discussion of this topic before.  If someone has an
archive of it, please *mail* it to me.

Thanks!

    Dave Lennert                {ucbvax, hplabs}!hpda!davel     [UUCP]
    Hewlett-Packard - 47UX      ihnp4!hpfcla!hpda!davel         [UUCP]
    19447 Pruneridge Ave.       hpda!davel at ucb-vax.ARPA         [ARPA]
    Cupertino, CA  95014        (408) 447-6325                  [AT&T]