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Groups > comp.lang.c > #21728

Re: Array sizes and const

From Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com>
Newsgroups comp.lang.c
Subject Re: Array sizes and const
Date 2012-06-03 10:53 +1200
Message-ID <a2vjr4F47cU5@mid.individual.net> (permalink)
References <jqdtou$koe$1@dont-email.me> <pan.2012.06.02.22.50.02.517000@nowhere.com>

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On 06/ 3/12 10:50 AM, Nobody wrote:
> On Sat, 02 Jun 2012 15:43:40 -0500, Les Cargill wrote:
>
>> And yes, I understand/speak/grok preprocessor vs.
>> compiler. I know *how*, I just wonder *why*. Is
>> this a practical, strategic or tactical thing,
>> or am I just being silly? Was it a conscious decision
>> of the committee, or just one of those things?
>
> K&R C didn't have "const". Along with "volatile", it was added during the
> standardisation process to facilitate optimisation.
>
> The main purpose of "const" is to tell the compiler to assume that the
> value won't change. However, a const-qualified variable is still an
> lvalue, not a compile-time constant; changing that was presumably
> considered too radical.
>
> If you want a compile-time integer constant, you can use enum, e.g.:
>
> 	enum { size = SIZE };
>
> This "trick" is still quite common in C++ code due to some compilers being
> a bit late to accept that a "static const" member really is a compile-time
> constant in C++, and the preprocessor not being an acceptable substitute
> when the name has to belong to a class or namespace.

Only in code written in the last century!

-- 
Ian Collins

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Thread

Array sizes and const Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2012-06-02 15:43 -0500
  Re: Array sizes and const Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-06-03 08:56 +1200
  Re: Array sizes and const Eric Sosman <esosman@ieee-dot-org.invalid> - 2012-06-02 16:59 -0400
    Re: Array sizes and const Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2012-06-02 16:35 -0500
      Re: Array sizes and const jgk@panix.com (Joe keane) - 2012-06-08 20:05 +0000
      Re: Array sizes and const jgk@panix.com (Joe keane) - 2012-06-09 21:36 +0000
    Re: Array sizes and const Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2012-06-02 16:43 -0500
  Re: Array sizes and const Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-06-02 14:59 -0700
    Re: Array sizes and const Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2012-06-02 17:12 -0500
      Re: Array sizes and const Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-06-02 18:27 -0700
        Re: Array sizes and const Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2012-06-02 22:27 -0500
      Re: Array sizes and const "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-06-03 11:24 +0100
        Re: Array sizes and const Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-06-03 13:51 -0700
          Re: Array sizes and const "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-06-04 12:20 +0100
            Re: Array sizes and const Jens Gustedt <jens.gustedt@loria.fr> - 2012-06-04 13:54 +0200
            Re: Array sizes and const Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-06-04 14:32 -0700
  Re: Array sizes and const Nobody <nobody@nowhere.com> - 2012-06-02 23:50 +0100
    Re: Array sizes and const Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-06-03 10:53 +1200
      Re: Array sizes and const Nobody <nobody@nowhere.com> - 2012-06-03 14:35 +0100
    Re: Array sizes and const James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-06-02 21:11 -0400
      Re: Array sizes and const Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2012-06-03 07:39 -0700
        Re: Array sizes and const James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-06-03 16:03 -0400
        Re: Array sizes and const Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-06-03 21:49 +0100
          Re: Array sizes and const Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-06-03 14:49 -0700
          Re: Array sizes and const Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2012-06-03 15:02 -0700
            Re: Array sizes and const Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-06-04 01:21 +0100
        Re: Array sizes and const Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-06-04 09:08 +1200
          Re: Array sizes and const Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2012-06-03 15:08 -0700
            Re: Array sizes and const Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-06-04 10:37 +1200
              Re: Array sizes and const "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-06-03 23:47 +0100
                Re: Array sizes and const Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-06-04 10:55 +1200
                Re: Array sizes and const Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2012-06-03 16:04 -0700
                Re: Array sizes and const Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-06-04 11:14 +1200
                Re: Array sizes and const "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-06-04 00:23 +0100
                Re: Array sizes and const Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-06-04 11:30 +1200
                Re: Array sizes and const "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-06-04 00:52 +0100
                Re: Array sizes and const Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-06-04 12:04 +1200
                Re: Array sizes and const Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-06-04 01:39 +0100
                Re: Array sizes and const Malcolm McLean <malcolm.mclean5@btinternet.com> - 2012-06-04 02:35 -0700
                Re: Array sizes and const Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-06-04 01:33 +0100
                Re: Array sizes and const Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-06-04 12:35 +1200
                Re: Array sizes and const pacman@kosh.dhis.org (Alan Curry) - 2012-06-04 21:28 +0000
        Re: Array sizes and const James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-06-04 12:08 -0400
        Re: Array sizes and const jgk@panix.com (Joe keane) - 2012-06-04 22:49 +0000
    Re: Array sizes and const David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2012-06-03 15:46 -0500
  Re: Array sizes and const Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2012-06-08 02:08 -0700
    Re: Array sizes and const Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2012-06-08 06:45 -0500
      Re: Array sizes and const Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2012-06-08 10:49 -0700
        Re: Array sizes and const Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2012-06-08 18:05 -0500
    Re: Array sizes and const Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-06-08 13:31 -0700
      Re: Array sizes and const Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2012-06-08 20:30 -0700

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