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Backwards compatability. Old valid code should remain valid. That includes code which calculates wavelengths.

An interesting example of C++ not being able to introduce new keywords is the co-opting of auto in C++11 from a storage class to type deduction.

But they had a decent justification: the auto keyword literally did nothing in C++. The only place it was valid, it was also the default.

IIRC they audited a bunch of projects to see if anyone was using auto somewhere besides test code explicitly for the auto-keyword, and found nothing.

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