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From: Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: question about linker
Date: Wed, 04 Dec 2024 17:29:46 -0800
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Janis Papanagnou <janis_papanagnou+ng@hotmail.com> writes:

> On 03.12.2024 16:24, David Brown wrote:
>
>> On 03/12/2024 13:34, Bart wrote:
>>
>>> [...]
>>
>> Of course lots of C programmers have never read the standards.
>> But they generally know that they don't know these details, and
>> don't try to pretend that the language details that they don't
>> know are confusing.  They simply get on with the job of writing
>> clear C code as best they can.
>
> I feel an urge to point out that the C standard is not necessary
> to understand concepts that can be read about in textbooks

That assumes that such textbooks exist, that they can be identified,
located, and obtained without too much difficulty, and don't cost too
much to get.  The C standard is easily located and obtained, and
costs nothing to download (for a draft that is virtually identical
to the actual standard).

> or inferred (or just tried out, if the available sources are
> unclear about some detail).

Two problems with that suggestion.  One, trying to figure out what
the rules are by experimentation is sometimes difficult and
unreliable.  Two, some details, such as what constructs result in
undefined behavior, simply cannot be determined by means of
experimentation.

Also, the idea that one can figure out the rules of the C language
by looking at compiler sources is just laughable.