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New and improved version of cdecl

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  New and improved version of cdecl Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com> - 2025-10-22 14:39 -0700
    Re: New and improved version of cdecl Thiago Adams <thiago.adams@gmail.com> - 2025-10-22 22:19 -0300
    Re: New and improved version of cdecl Andrey Tarasevich <noone@noone.net> - 2025-10-26 12:09 -0700
      Re: New and improved version of cdecl Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com> - 2025-10-26 15:36 -0700
        Re: New and improved version of cdecl "Paul J. Lucas" <paul@lucasmail.org> - 2025-12-09 07:31 -0800
          Re: New and improved version of cdecl Kaz Kylheku <046-301-5902@kylheku.com> - 2025-12-09 20:38 +0000
            Re: New and improved version of cdecl "Paul J. Lucas" <paul@lucasmail.org> - 2025-12-09 16:46 -0800
              Re: New and improved version of cdecl Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com> - 2025-12-09 17:51 -0800
    Re: New and improved version of cdecl "Chris M. Thomasson" <chris.m.thomasson.1@gmail.com> - 2025-10-26 14:44 -0700
      Re: New and improved version of cdecl Keith Thompson <Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com> - 2025-10-26 15:38 -0700
        Re: New and improved version of cdecl "Chris M. Thomasson" <chris.m.thomasson.1@gmail.com> - 2025-10-27 11:51 -0700

#122869 — New and improved version of cdecl

This is cross-posted to comp.lang.c and comp.lang.c++.
Consider redirecting followups as appropriate. 

cdecl, along with c++decl, is a tool that translates C or C++
declaration syntax into English, and vice versa.  For example :

    $ cdecl
    Type `help' or `?' for help
    cdecl> explain const char *foo[42]
    declare foo as array 42 of pointer to const char
    cdecl> declare bar as pointer to function (void) returning int
    int (*bar)(void )

It's also available via the web site <https://cdecl.org/>.

The original version of cdecl was posted on comp.sources.unix, probably
in the 1980s.

"ridiculous_fish" added support for Apple's blocks syntax.  That
version, 2.5, is the one that's most widely available (it's provided by
the "cdecl" package on Debian and Ubuntu) and used by the cdecl.org
website.

There's a newer fork of cdecl, available in source code at

https://github.com/paul-j-lucas/cdecl/

It supports newer versions of C and C++ and adds a number of
new features.  See the README.md file, visible at the above URL,
for more information.  (It doesn't support Apple's block syntax.)

There doesn't seem to be a binary distribution, but the latest
source tarball is at

https://github.com/paul-j-lucas/cdecl/releases/download/cdecl-18.5/cdecl-18.5.tar.gz

It can be built on Unix-like systems with the usual "./configure;
make; make install" sequence.  To build from a copy of the git repo,
run "./bootstrap" first to generate the "configure" script.

-- 
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com
void Void(void) { Void(); } /* The recursive call of the void */

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#122870

Em 22/10/2025 18:39, Keith Thompson escreveu:
> This is cross-posted to comp.lang.c and comp.lang.c++.
> Consider redirecting followups as appropriate.
> 
> cdecl, along with c++decl, is a tool that translates C or C++
> declaration syntax into English, and vice versa.  For example :
> 
>      $ cdecl
>      Type `help' or `?' for help
>      cdecl> explain const char *foo[42]
>      declare foo as array 42 of pointer to const char
>      cdecl> declare bar as pointer to function (void) returning int
>      int (*bar)(void )
> 
> It's also available via the web site <https://cdecl.org/>.

This one does not work:

void (*f(int i))(void)

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#122879

On Wed 10/22/2025 2:39 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:
> ...

I believe I have already posted about it here... or maybe not?

cdecl.org reports a "syntax error" for declarations with top-level 
`const` qualifiers on function parameters:

   void foo(char *const)

Such declarations are perfectly valid. (And adding an explcit parameter 
name does not help).

The current version of cdecl.org still complains about it.

-- 
Best regards,
Andrey

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#122881

Andrey Tarasevich <noone@noone.net> writes:
> On Wed 10/22/2025 2:39 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:
>> ...
>
> I believe I have already posted about it here... or maybe not?
>
> cdecl.org reports a "syntax error" for declarations with top-level
> `const` qualifiers on function parameters:
>
>   void foo(char *const)
>
> Such declarations are perfectly valid. (And adding an explcit
> parameter name does not help).
>
> The current version of cdecl.org still complains about it.

You're probably using 2.5, the version most commonly packaged with Linux
distributions.  The cdecl.org site uses that same old version.

This entire thread is about the newer version available at
<https://github.com/paul-j-lucas/cdecl/>.  It doesn't have that bug.

$ cdecl --version
cdecl 18.6
Copyright (C) 2025 Paul J. Lucas
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY to the extent permitted by law.
$ cdecl explain 'void foo(char *const)'
declare foo as function (constant pointer to character) returning void
$ cdecl explain 'void foo(char *const foo)'
declare foo as function (foo as constant pointer to character) returning void
$ 

(I'm not entirely pleased that the newer version expands "char" to
"character" and, worse, "int" to "integer", but I can live with it.)

-- 
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com
void Void(void) { Void(); } /* The recursive call of the void */

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#123122

On 10/26/25 3:36 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:
> (I'm not entirely pleased that the newer version expands "char" to
> "character" and, worse, "int" to "integer", but I can live with it.)

Hence the --no-english-types or -T command line option or the
"set noenglish" command (from within cdecl or a config file).

The thought was that those newer to C and less familiar with its
types might benefit from more elaborate output.

- Paul

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#123123

On 2025-12-09, Paul J. Lucas <paul@lucasmail.org> wrote:
> On 10/26/25 3:36 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:
>> (I'm not entirely pleased that the newer version expands "char" to
>> "character" and, worse, "int" to "integer", but I can live with it.)
>
> Hence the --no-english-types or -T command line option or the
> "set noenglish" command (from within cdecl or a config file).

The problem is that the English words chosen already have a meaning.

"Integer" is a type category in C; uint32_t is one of the "integer
types".

"Character" is a representational concept for units of text,
manifesting itself via different types and sometimes even aggregates
(e.g multi-byte character).

> The thought was that those newer to C and less familiar with its
> types might benefit from more elaborate output.

This kind of thing just ensures that newbies go sideways from being
less familiar to being incorrectly familiar.

They should know from their first contact with the char type that it's
just an integer type with a small range. (Arrays of which are used for
text storage in classic text processing, where if a legacy character
set is used such as ASCII, there is a 1:1 correspondence between each
char element and a character, otherwise not.)

-- 
TXR Programming Language: http://nongnu.org/txr
Cygnal: Cygwin Native Application Library: http://kylheku.com/cygnal
Mastodon: @Kazinator@mstdn.ca

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#123125

On 12/9/25 12:38 PM, Kaz Kylheku wrote:
> On 2025-12-09, Paul J. Lucas <paul@lucasmail.org> wrote:
>> On 10/26/25 3:36 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:
>>> (I'm not entirely pleased that the newer version expands "char" to
>>> "character" and, worse, "int" to "integer", but I can live with it.)
>>
>> Hence the --no-english-types or -T command line option or the
>> "set noenglish" command (from within cdecl or a config file).
> 
> The problem is that the English words chosen already have a meaning.
> 
> "Integer" is a type category in C;

It's not a keyword, so that's irrelevant.  Likewise, "Character."

>> The thought was that those newer to C and less familiar with its
>> types might benefit from more elaborate output.
> 
> This kind of thing just ensures that newbies go sideways from being
> less familiar to being incorrectly familiar.

Opinion noted.  I disagree.

- Paul

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#123126

"Paul J. Lucas" <paul@lucasmail.org> writes:
> On 12/9/25 12:38 PM, Kaz Kylheku wrote: 
>> On 2025-12-09, Paul J. Lucas <paul@lucasmail.org> wrote: 
>>> On 10/26/25 3:36 PM, Keith Thompson wrote: 
>>>> (I'm not entirely pleased that the newer version expands 
>>>> "char" to "character" and, worse, "int" to "integer", but I 
>>>> can live with it.) 
>>> 
>>> Hence the --no-english-types or -T command line option or the 
>>> "set noenglish" command (from within cdecl or a config file). 
>> The problem is that the English words chosen already have a 
>> meaning.  "Integer" is a type category in C; 
> 
> It's not a keyword, so that's irrelevant.  Likewise, 
> "Character." 
> 
>>> The thought was that those newer to C and less familiar with 
>>> its types might benefit from more elaborate output. 
>> This kind of thing just ensures that newbies go sideways from 
>> being less familiar to being incorrectly familiar. 
> 
> Opinion noted.  I disagree. 

If you prefer the C-like syntax rather than pseudo-English (as I 
do), you can change the default by creating a ".cdeclrc" file. 

$ cdecl explain "int n;" declare n as integer $ echo "set 
noenglish-types" > $HOME/.cdeclrc $ cdecl explain "int n;" declare 
n as int $  

-- 
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com
void Void(void) { Void(); } /* The recursive call of the void */

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#122880

On 10/22/2025 2:39 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:
> This is cross-posted to comp.lang.c and comp.lang.c++.
> Consider redirecting followups as appropriate.
> 
> cdecl, along with c++decl, is a tool that translates C or C++
> declaration syntax into English, and vice versa.  For example :
> 
>      $ cdecl
>      Type `help' or `?' for help
>      cdecl> explain const char *foo[42]
>      declare foo as array 42 of pointer to const char
>      cdecl> declare bar as pointer to function (void) returning int
>      int (*bar)(void )
> 
> It's also available via the web site <https://cdecl.org/>.
I must be doing something wrong:

int (*fp_read) (void* const, void*, size_t)

is syntax error. It from one of my older experiments:

struct device_prv_vtable {
   int (*fp_read) (void* const, void*, size_t);
   int (*fp_write) (void* const, void const*, size_t);
};

https://groups.google.com/g/comp.lang.c/c/-BFbjYxcBQg/m/2uRErOV6AgAJ

https://pastebin.com/raw/f52a443b1
(link to raw text...)

[...]

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#122882

"Chris M. Thomasson" <chris.m.thomasson.1@gmail.com> writes:
> On 10/22/2025 2:39 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:
>> This is cross-posted to comp.lang.c and comp.lang.c++.
>> Consider redirecting followups as appropriate.
>> cdecl, along with c++decl, is a tool that translates C or C++
>> declaration syntax into English, and vice versa.  For example :
>>      $ cdecl
>>      Type `help' or `?' for help
>>      cdecl> explain const char *foo[42]
>>      declare foo as array 42 of pointer to const char
>>      cdecl> declare bar as pointer to function (void) returning int
>>      int (*bar)(void )
>> It's also available via the web site <https://cdecl.org/>.
> I must be doing something wrong:

Yes.

> int (*fp_read) (void* const, void*, size_t)
>
> is syntax error. It from one of my older experiments:

You're using the old 2.5 version.  The newer forked version handles that
declaration correctly, but you have to build it from source.  cdecl.org
uses the old version.

-- 
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) Keith.S.Thompson+u@gmail.com
void Void(void) { Void(); } /* The recursive call of the void */

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#122920

On 10/26/2025 3:38 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:
> "Chris M. Thomasson" <chris.m.thomasson.1@gmail.com> writes:
>> On 10/22/2025 2:39 PM, Keith Thompson wrote:
>>> This is cross-posted to comp.lang.c and comp.lang.c++.
>>> Consider redirecting followups as appropriate.
>>> cdecl, along with c++decl, is a tool that translates C or C++
>>> declaration syntax into English, and vice versa.  For example :
>>>       $ cdecl
>>>       Type `help' or `?' for help
>>>       cdecl> explain const char *foo[42]
>>>       declare foo as array 42 of pointer to const char
>>>       cdecl> declare bar as pointer to function (void) returning int
>>>       int (*bar)(void )
>>> It's also available via the web site <https://cdecl.org/>.
>> I must be doing something wrong:
> 
> Yes.
> 
>> int (*fp_read) (void* const, void*, size_t)
>>
>> is syntax error. It from one of my older experiments:
> 
> You're using the old 2.5 version.  The newer forked version handles that
> declaration correctly, but you have to build it from source.  cdecl.org
> uses the old version.
> 

Ahh! Thanks Keith.

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