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Re: The C Library Reference Guide

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supercat@casperkitty.com writes:

> On Monday, February 6, 2017 at 5:56:37 AM UTC-6, Richard Bos wrote:
>> It's not quite reliable for C89, either:
>> - It assumes (1.2.7, appendix) the character set is ASCII, which is very
>> common but still not entirely universal, and in any case, not required
>> by the Standard.
>
> How many C99 or C11 implementations are there in which character codes 0-127
> represent anything other than ASCII?

They are rare but they exist (or maybe have existed).  See the Unisys C
implementations whose documentation has been linked to more than once.

More to the point, what is being gained by being overly specific?  In
another place is says that short may be the same size as int or or may
use half the bits.  You get a better understanding of the menagerie of
basic types in C is you learn the relationships between them rather than
the likely sizes.

<snip>
>> - It refers (1.4.2) to typecasting. Typecasting is something that
>> happens to Hollywood actors. When it happens to C types, it's just
>> called casting. It also does not explain all the system-dependencies
>> that come with casting.
>
> That seems overly pedantic.

Maybe.  There are some real confusions in the text so maybe this detail
is not a big deal, but it has always struck me as odd.  What is the
strange appeal of talking about typecasting rather than conversions
using a cast, or even just casting?  What makes it so odd is that when
someone is typecast they are given a role for which their appearance (or
some other attribute) suits them.  A typecast actor must do less
"conversion" than normal to fit the role.  A cast (when properly used)
often performs a conversion from a value that can't "naturally" play
that role.  It's the exact opposite of the the right term.

<snip>
-- 
Ben.

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The C Library Reference Guide MehdiAmini <atorrses@gmail.com> - 2017-02-06 13:35 +0330
  Re: The C Library Reference Guide Barry Schwarz <schwarzb@dqel.com> - 2017-02-06 03:42 -0800
  Re: The C Library Reference Guide raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2017-02-06 11:56 +0000
    Re: The C Library Reference Guide supercat@casperkitty.com - 2017-02-06 06:33 -0800
      Re: The C Library Reference Guide raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2017-02-06 15:17 +0000
      Re: The C Library Reference Guide Jerry Stuckle <jstucklex@attglobal.net> - 2017-02-06 10:53 -0500
        Re: The C Library Reference Guide supercat@casperkitty.com - 2017-02-06 08:32 -0800
          Re: The C Library Reference Guide Jerry Stuckle <jstucklex@attglobal.net> - 2017-02-06 11:47 -0500
          Re: The C Library Reference Guide Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2017-02-06 09:01 -0800
          Re: The C Library Reference Guide Barry Schwarz <schwarzb@dqel.com> - 2017-02-06 11:26 -0800
        Re: The C Library Reference Guide Robert Wessel <robertwessel2@yahoo.com> - 2017-02-06 16:26 -0600
      Re: The C Library Reference Guide Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2017-02-06 17:01 +0000
        Re: The C Library Reference Guide supercat@casperkitty.com - 2017-02-06 09:45 -0800
          Re: The C Library Reference Guide Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2017-02-06 18:03 +0000
            Re: The C Library Reference Guide supercat@casperkitty.com - 2017-02-06 10:45 -0800
            Re: The C Library Reference Guide Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2017-02-09 07:58 -0800
          Re: The C Library Reference Guide raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2017-02-06 20:43 +0000
            Re: The C Library Reference Guide supercat@casperkitty.com - 2017-02-06 13:22 -0800
              Re: The C Library Reference Guide raltbos@xs4all.nl (Richard Bos) - 2017-02-06 22:17 +0000
    Re: The C Library Reference Guide Noob <root@127.0.0.1> - 2017-02-06 16:15 +0100
    Re: The C Library Reference Guide luser droog <luser.droog@gmail.com> - 2017-02-06 10:34 -0800
    Re: The C Library Reference Guide Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2017-02-08 22:14 -0800
      Re: The C Library Reference Guide Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2017-02-09 09:32 -0800

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