FP formats not linked -- still ANSI?

[diamond@tkovoa]

Subject: Re: FP formats not linked-- still ANSI?
In article <41712 at ut-emx.uucp> jamshid at emx.utexas.edu (Jamshid Afshar) writes:
 
>Borland's Turbo C++ compiler (even in ANSI C mode) for MS-DOS may
>produce an executable which gives the error "floating point formats
>not linked", because the linker does not link in the fp code if it
>does not believe the code will be needed.  The problem is it does not
>always catch the cases where the code is used.  Anyway, this is well
>known and there is a work-around.  I am wondering if an ANSI C compiler
>is allowed to exhibit this behavior.  Borland refuses to call it a bug.
 
The standard does not specify what technique a user should use to invoke
a conforming processor.
 
If Borland says that the correct technique is the command line
  cc filename -flag_to_force_floating_point_code_to_be_linked
then there does not seem to be a bug.  (Kluge yes, bug no.)
 
If Borland says that the correct technique is to go ahead and use the
defaults, but the defaults produce error messages for correct programs,
then Borland's implementation is not conforming and might even be
considered fraudulent (in a minor way because the work-around is known.)
 
I don't know what claims Borland makes, so both of the above hypothetical
cases are for theoretical explanation only.
Disclaimer:  These are not my employer's hypothetical cases or theoretical
explanations.
--
Norman Diamond       diamond at tkov50.enet.dec.com
If this were the company's opinion, I wouldn't be allowed to post it.