Re: Compatibility question

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From	Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com>
Newsgroups	comp.lang.c
Subject	Re: Compatibility question
Date	Sun, 21 Oct 2012 22:54:51 +0000
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On Sun, Oct 21, 2012 at 09:26:54AM +1300, Ian Collins wrote:
> On 10/20/12 17:01, Steve Thompson wrote:
> >On Sat, Oct 20, 2012 at 04:20:53PM +1300, Ian Collins wrote:
> >>On 10/20/12 16:08, Steve Thompson wrote:
> >>>I have been using structures containing zero-length arrays as a means
> >>>of combining descriptors and array data in a single allocation unit.
> >>>Something like the following is a common idiom:
> >>>
> >>>struct foo {
> >>>    int     a, b;
> >>>    size_t  len;
> >>>    char    p[0];
> >>>};
> >>
> >>That should really be
> >>
> >>     char    p[];
> >>
> >>Which is the standardised (as of C99) form of the struct hack.
> >>
> >>>So far, so good.  My questions regards the availability of zero-length
> >>>arrays in common systems.  That is, if I wish my code to be compatible
> >>>with most C compilers in use today, should I worry about avoiding
> >>>zero-length arrays, or is the feature old enough, with sufficient
> >>>prevalence to make it's use reasonable in portable code?
> >>
> >>Most compilers should support the standard form, or the zero length
> >>array form of the struct hack.
> >
> >I was mainly wondering what the cutoff date was for this feature.  If
> >C compilers deployed within the last ten years or so support the p[0]
> >idiom, I won't feel as if I'm excluding platforms that might otherwise
> >be expected to run my code.  The workaround is not a huge problem
> >since the accesses will be insulated from the user by my functions,
> >but it is less trouble to write if I don't have to cast everything.
> 
> As Ben pointed out, the pre-C99 form was a single element array.  I 
> think the zero element array is a gcc extension.  So if you really want 
> to support every possible compiler, use p[1] and document what you are 
> doing.  Otherwise use the standard form.

Working on another part of the software I'm writing, I learned today
that I must use TLS.  There is no point trying to get around that
constraint, so the list of potential targets is going to shrink quite
a lot.

Now that I've noticed that the GCC documentation has been updated (I
may not have read that section for ten years, now that I think of it),
it does indeed say that the C99 standard includes support for flexible
arrays, with similar semantics to the old gcc zero subscript hack, so
I will use that.




Regards,

Steve Thompson

-- 
GOTO's are like guns.  Safety is entirely contingent on the user.

Thread

Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-20 03:08 +0000
  Re: Compatibility question Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-10-20 16:20 +1300
    Re: Compatibility question Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-10-20 11:50 +0100
      Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-20 11:41 -0700
        Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-21 23:04 +0000
          Re: Compatibility question Barry Schwarz <schwarzb@dqel.com> - 2012-10-21 20:27 -0700
    Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-20 04:01 +0000
      Re: Compatibility question Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-10-21 09:26 +1300
        Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-21 22:54 +0000
          Re: Compatibility question Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-10-22 12:29 +1300
            Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-21 23:50 +0000
              Re: Compatibility question Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-10-22 02:27 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-22 02:28 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Eric Sosman <esosman@comcast-dot-net.invalid> - 2012-10-22 11:18 -0400
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-22 16:19 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-10-22 17:37 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-10-22 17:40 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-10-22 17:30 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-22 17:23 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-22 10:52 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-22 18:42 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-10-22 21:06 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-22 22:52 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-10-23 03:33 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-23 12:28 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-10-23 16:45 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-23 17:53 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-23 12:41 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-10-23 21:28 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-10-23 20:57 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-23 12:26 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-23 20:39 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-23 15:53 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-10-24 00:57 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-23 20:06 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-10-24 11:18 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-24 12:04 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-10-24 23:10 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-24 16:58 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-10-25 01:46 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-24 19:40 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-24 20:20 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-24 14:38 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-10-24 17:55 -0400
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-24 16:29 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question Greg Martin <greg@softsprocket.com> - 2012-10-24 15:21 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-26 03:30 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-10-26 13:02 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-27 00:04 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-10-27 20:15 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Joe Pfeiffer <pfeiffer@cs.nmsu.edu> - 2012-10-27 16:36 -0600
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-28 17:36 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Phil Carmody <thefatphil_demunged@yahoo.co.uk> - 2012-10-27 22:42 +0300
                Re: Compatibility question Greg Martin <greg@softsprocket.com> - 2012-10-27 14:30 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-10-27 22:57 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-27 17:04 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-27 17:14 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-27 18:04 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-24 16:46 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-25 01:18 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Phil Carmody <thefatphil_demunged@yahoo.co.uk> - 2012-10-27 21:08 +0300
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-28 17:38 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-10-23 00:38 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-22 16:50 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-23 12:33 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Öö Tiib <ootiib@hot.ee> - 2012-10-22 14:23 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-10-22 17:26 -0400
                Re: Compatibility question Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-10-23 10:55 +1300
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-22 23:27 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-10-22 22:44 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2012-10-22 17:15 -0500
                Re: Compatibility question "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-10-23 00:13 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-10-22 18:35 -0400
                Re: Compatibility question "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-10-23 00:14 +0100
                Re: Compatibility question Steve Thompson <stevet810@gmail.com> - 2012-10-22 23:42 +0000
                Re: Compatibility question Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-10-23 13:35 +1300
                Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-22 17:01 -0700
                Re: Compatibility question "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-10-23 01:47 +0100
              Re: Compatibility question Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-10-21 19:27 -0700

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