If you want X, you know where to find it. definition
<exclamation> There is a legend that Dennis Ritchie,
inventor of C, once responded to demands for features
resembling those of what at the time was a much more popular
language by observing "If you want PL/I, you know where to
find it." Ever since, this has been hackish standard form for
fending off requests to alter a new design to mimic some older
(and, by implication, inferior and baroque) one. The case X
= Pascal manifests semi-regularly on Usenet's
comp.lang.c newsgroup. Indeed, the case X = X has
been reported in discussions of graphics software (see X
Window System).
[Jargon File]
(1995-10-25)
Nearby terms:
IFP « IFS « IFX « If you want X, you know where to find it. » IGC » IGES » IGL
