The idea was that the syntax for declaring a data type mirrors the syntax for using that datatype. See https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/chist.pdf https://w

The idea was that the syntax for declaring a data type mirrors the syntax for using that datatype. See https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/chist.pdf https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/chist.pdf for Ritchie's own comments. It was not a successful idea, but there was a method to the madness.