Actually, C89 can distinguish between parameters that are modifiable and those that are not. The syntax leaves a bit to be desired ("const foo_t x", "foo_t con

Actually, C89 can distinguish between parameters that are modifiable and those that are not. The syntax leaves a bit to be desired ("const foo_t x", "foo_t const x" and "const foo_t *const x" all have different semantics) but it can be done.