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Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names

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David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> writes:
<cut>
> And I am completely at a loss to see how K&R style function definitions
> ever offer any kind of advantage over modern C function definitions with
> full prototypes.  Maybe I have missed something that you are thinking
> about, and you can elaborate.

One possible example is with code the uses a table of heterogeneous
functions.  In C-with-prototypes the code is undefined unless the
function pointer is cast to right type at the point of call.  In K&R C,
the call is well-defined provided the (promoted) types match.

This is a rather narrow window of advantage because in a translator the
type information may well be known and the correct cast could be
generated.  None the less, it might be simpler not to.  And in
interpreted code it's impossible to cast to the right type (since C has
no run-time type values) so this looks like a big win.  However,
interpreted code often uses it's own "value type" so all the functions
could simply be declared variadic or they could take a pointer to an
array or values.

-- 
Ben.

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K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Steve Keller <keller@no.invalid> - 2020-01-04 19:31 -0800
  Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2020-01-05 04:00 +0000
    Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Steve Keller <keller@no.invalid> - 2020-01-09 06:26 -0800
  Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2020-01-04 23:15 -0500
    Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Steve Keller <keller@no.invalid> - 2020-01-09 06:27 -0800
  Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Bonita Montero <Bonita.Montero@gmail.com> - 2020-01-05 06:47 +0100
    Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Steve Keller <keller@no.invalid> - 2020-01-09 06:25 -0800
      Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Bonita Montero <Bonita.Montero@gmail.com> - 2020-01-09 16:22 +0100
        Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2020-01-09 08:20 -0800
          Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Thiago Adams <thiago.adams@gmail.com> - 2020-01-09 10:49 -0800
            Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2020-01-10 10:22 +0100
              Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2020-01-10 13:05 +0000
                Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2020-01-10 16:14 +0100
                Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2020-01-10 11:15 -0500
                Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2020-01-10 20:51 -0500
              Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Thiago Adams <thiago.adams@gmail.com> - 2020-01-10 06:24 -0800
                Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2020-01-10 16:26 +0100
          Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Nick Bowler <nbowler@draconx.ca> - 2020-01-13 22:12 +0000
  Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Autist <autist69@gmail.com> - 2020-01-10 16:42 +0100
  Re: K&R function definition with typedef parameter names Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> - 2020-01-11 09:56 -0800

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