X3J11 Pleasanton meeting summary

Henry Spencer henry at zoo.toronto.edu
Wed Oct 3 02:47:09 AEST 1990


In article <13996 at smoke.BRL.MIL> gwyn at smoke.BRL.MIL (Doug Gwyn) writes:
>	p.63 "when the size ... is needed" means when needed by the rules
>	in the STANDARD, not when needed by the implementation.

Tsk tsk.  That just punts the issue.  As I pointed out in my submissions
to *both* second and third public reviews, there is *no* definition of
the phrase "when the size is needed", and no easy way to infer one.
*What* "rules in the STANDARD"???  The only place where the size is
unambiguously needed is sizeof.

>	struct foo x;
>	struct foo { int i; };
>	/* the above is strictly conforming; incomplete-type objects can
>	   be defined, so long as by the end of the translation unit the
>	   type becomes complete so that storage can then be allocated */

Betcha there isn't a compiler on Earth that will accept that today.
Everyone I know read the size as being needed at the time of the declaration.
-- 
Imagine life with OS/360 the standard  | Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
operating system.  Now think about X.  |  henry at zoo.toronto.edu   utzoo!henry



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