Path: csiph.com!news.mixmin.net!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Tim Rentsch Newsgroups: comp.lang.c Subject: Re: Call to a function Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2023 11:12:16 -0800 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 39 Message-ID: <861qbbv2i7.fsf@linuxsc.com> References: <20230922081706.858@kylheku.com> <87zg1et4wv.fsf@nosuchdomain.example.com> <86jzs3de3h.fsf@linuxsc.com> <87h6n7tkv4.fsf@nosuchdomain.example.com> <86ttqf2w6p.fsf@linuxsc.com> <87zg07jo1t.fsf@nosuchdomain.example.com> <86il69zvno.fsf@linuxsc.com> <87a5rh1m5t.fsf@fatphil.org> <86wmulxbuh.fsf@linuxsc.com> <87y1exzzq6.fsf@fatphil.org> <86o7ftyd71.fsf@linuxsc.com> <87h6lgovfe.fsf@fatphil.org> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="e91b714cfd3f51772707cd580185f87c"; logging-data="2826452"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX1/U+JfcO9sZ6J8stKA5K/nW3VEOTgCaUnE=" User-Agent: Gnus/5.11 (Gnus v5.11) Emacs/22.4 (gnu/linux) Cancel-Lock: sha1:p9w8YFileyOrMAqQTXzpX07tXa0= sha1:neujzNlvjgXFrwb/Fz2NmeYvZGg= Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.c:379634 Phil Carmody writes: > Tim Rentsch writes: > >> Phil Carmody writes: [...] >>> The standard uses the word "array" as a noun to refer to an array >>> object, so I was using the same usage as the standard there. >> >> Looking through the standard, I see that the word array is used both >> as an adjective and as a noun. > > I only looked through about a third of 1570, but I only saw noun > uses. I saw noun+noun compound nouns, with the first noun being > "array", but that doesn't make the word an adjective. I concede your point of grammar (noting that there is some specialized terminology related to noun+noun phrases, but I won't quibble about that). That said, your earlier statement "The standard uses the word 'array' as a noun to refer to an array object" isn't exactly right either, as for example the phrase "array type". The word array is functioning as a modifier, whether we want to call it a noun or an adjective, and it does not refer to any array object. Furthermore using an array type (in a way that is well-defined in C) doesn't necessarily mean that that there is an array object somewhere. I think that is the key point here. > An actual adjectival use could be: > *The object is array. > (as per "The bus is red.") the likes of which I couldn't find. Not all adjectives are usable in a "The bus is red" construction. Many and probabaly even most are, but not all are. > Yes, this is more a.u.e. than c.l.c. Noted. I have tried to focus on the C aspects in my response.