Increment Operators vs. Precedence

[Peter da Silva]

In article <THOMSON.91Mar5173421 at zazen.macc.wisc.edu> thomson at zazen.macc.wisc.edu (Don Thomson) writes:
> The example on the board is y = x++, and I explain that x gets
> assigned to y before x is incremented.

So you used loose terminology. And confused them. What you meant was that
the value of x as it was before incrementing is assigned to y. X may in
fact have been assigned first, as in:

	y[x] = x++

which has an undefined result.

> So the dilemma is how to explain that
> precedence is not the issue here, that the order of operations is tied to the
> definition of prefix versus postfix increment operators.

Don't explain that, because it's not in fact true. If you leave them
believing that they will believe the expression I gave above has a defined
result. Explain it in terms of expressions, their values, and side effects:

	"x++" is an expression that returns the value of x as it was
	before incrementing, and as a side effect increments x.

Precedence is not the issue, but neither is the order of operations.
-- 
Peter da Silva.  `-_-'  peter at ferranti.com
+1 713 274 5180.  'U`  "Have you hugged your wolf today?"