Why is K&R 2nd edition out before ANSI standard?

[dmr at alice.UUCP]

We thought it would be nice to mark the 10th anniversary
of the first edition.

More seriously, we started work last summer because we had the
time and inclination then, and it appeared that X3J11 was approaching
an end.  In December and January, as we were finishing, we considered
whether the possibility of important changes warranted putting off
delivery, and (after discussing the matter with the publisher)
decided that it was not worth waiting.  P-H wanted it, and both
Brian and I wanted it off our agendas.

Even if there are changes in the standard, it's hard to imagine
that they would be extensive enough to warrant a new edition.
(We were even prepared to cope somehow with noalias, if it had lasted.)
We're ready to make necessary changes in a future printing,
but there's reason to hope that they should be minor.  X3J11's
members are very anxious to finish without surprising people, too;
many of them work for companies that are preparing ANSI compilers,
after all.

	Dennis Ritchie