Re: Casts on lvalues

From	glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu>
Newsgroups	comp.lang.c
Subject	Re: Casts on lvalues
Date	2012-12-07 21:57 +0000
Organization	Aioe.org NNTP Server
Message-ID	<k9tone$6ca$1@speranza.aioe.org> (permalink)
References	(9 earlier) <ln1uf4qbws.fsf@nuthaus.mib.org> <4ld2c8d9mskkhqrfab8d9n9k8jv2b4p7i6@4ax.com> <lnboe6psew.fsf@nuthaus.mib.org> <7216db87-28bd-41a0-9fd9-6a0fe23158d5@googlegroups.com> <ln7gotptyq.fsf@nuthaus.mib.org>

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Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> wrote:

(snip, someone wrote)
>> I do not feel it safe to use union for type punning.

> Note that C99 doesn't have that footnote, but N1256 does.  It was added
> by one of Technical Corrigenda 3 -- but N1256 (which incorporates TC3)
> still has that clause in Annex J.1.  I suspect this is just an
> oversight.

(snip)

> But the implication is that the committee felt that the existing C99
> standard already implied what the footnote says.  It's conceivable
> that a compiler could behave differently, (e.g., by optimizing away
> an assignment to a union member if that member is never access again)
> -- but such a compiler would break a good deal of existing code that
> depends on this behavior, whether it's guaranteed by the standard
> or not.

Some time ago, I was trying to figure out if it would be
possible for a C compiler to generate JVM code.

JVM has no operation that stores different types in the same memory.
I believe it isn't so hard to make a memcpy() that can do the
appropriate conversions and copies, though.

It seemed to me at the time that implementing union the same as
struct was one way that would work, and would also follow the 
standard. (Though maybe less memory efficient.)

I asked here at the time, and many seemed to agree, though as you
say, it might break existing code.

-- glen

Thread

Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-02 13:23 +0000
  Re: Casts on lvalues SG <sgesemann@gmail.invalid> - 2012-12-02 14:40 +0100
  Re: Casts on lvalues Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-12-02 13:53 +0000
    Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-06 12:26 +0000
      Re: Casts on lvalues Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-12-06 15:15 +0000
      Re: Casts on lvalues Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-12-06 12:05 -0800
  Re: Casts on lvalues Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-12-02 12:34 -0800
    Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-02 21:18 +0000
      Re: Casts on lvalues Willem <willem@turtle.stack.nl> - 2012-12-05 22:36 +0000
        Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-05 23:46 +0000
          Re: Casts on lvalues Willem <willem@turtle.stack.nl> - 2012-12-06 18:35 +0000
    Re: Casts on lvalues pete <pfiland@mindspring.com> - 2012-12-02 16:21 -0500
      Re: Casts on lvalues Eric Sosman <esosman@comcast-dot-net.invalid> - 2012-12-02 17:10 -0500
        Re: Casts on lvalues pete <pfiland@mindspring.com> - 2012-12-02 18:50 -0500
      Re: Casts on lvalues James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-12-02 19:14 -0500
  Re: Casts on lvalues falk@rahul.net (Edward A. Falk) - 2012-12-04 23:57 +0000
    Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-05 01:35 +0000
      Re: Casts on lvalues Piotr Kalinowski <pitkali@gmail.com> - 2012-12-05 16:07 +0100
        Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-05 16:47 +0000
          Re: Casts on lvalues Eric Sosman <esosman@comcast-dot-net.invalid> - 2012-12-05 13:04 -0500
            Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-05 18:39 +0000
              Re: Casts on lvalues James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-12-05 14:23 -0500
                Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-05 22:11 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-06 11:51 +1300
                Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-05 23:58 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues Piotr Kalinowski <pitkali@gmail.com> - 2012-12-06 22:00 +0100
                Re: Casts on lvalues glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2012-12-06 03:05 +0000
              Re: Casts on lvalues Eric Sosman <esosman@comcast-dot-net.invalid> - 2012-12-05 14:43 -0500
              Re: Casts on lvalues Greg Martin <greg@softsprocket.com> - 2012-12-05 12:25 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-05 21:57 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-12-05 16:09 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues Philipp Thomas <kthomas@linux01.gwdg.de> - 2012-12-07 01:24 +0100
                Re: Casts on lvalues Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-12-06 17:22 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues Öö Tiib <ootiib@hot.ee> - 2012-12-07 00:31 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-12-07 08:18 -0500
                Re: Casts on lvalues Öö Tiib <ootiib@hot.ee> - 2012-12-07 09:07 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-12-07 11:01 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2012-12-07 21:57 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-12-07 22:29 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2012-12-08 00:04 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues lawrence.jones@siemens.com - 2012-12-15 16:51 -0500
                Re: Casts on lvalues Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-12-15 15:48 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues lawrence.jones@siemens.com - 2012-12-17 16:37 -0500
                Re: Casts on lvalues Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2012-12-17 02:58 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2012-12-17 02:53 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2012-12-17 02:43 -0800
              Re: Casts on lvalues Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2012-12-05 22:07 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-05 22:20 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-12-05 16:10 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues Philip Lantz <prl@canterey.us> - 2012-12-06 22:49 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-07 12:54 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-12-07 08:22 -0500
                Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-07 13:48 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-12-07 11:17 -0500
                Re: Casts on lvalues glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2012-12-07 17:33 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-07 18:28 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues glen herrmannsfeldt <gah@ugcs.caltech.edu> - 2012-12-07 22:18 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-07 18:27 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-12-07 14:14 -0500
                Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-07 20:16 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-12-07 15:41 -0500
                Re: Casts on lvalues Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2012-12-17 03:03 -0800
              Re: Casts on lvalues Phil Carmody <thefatphil_demunged@yahoo.co.uk> - 2012-12-09 17:54 +0200
                Re: Casts on lvalues James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-12-09 12:38 -0500
                Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-09 18:50 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-12-09 14:31 -0500
                Re: Casts on lvalues Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-12-09 20:12 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues Heikki Kallasjoki <fis+usenet@zem.fi> - 2012-12-10 07:38 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-12-10 08:12 -0500
                Re: Casts on lvalues Heikki Kallasjoki <fis+usenet@zem.fi> - 2012-12-10 17:46 +0000
                Re: Casts on lvalues James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-12-10 12:59 -0500
                Re: Casts on lvalues Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2012-12-10 12:07 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues Tim Rentsch <txr@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2012-12-17 03:11 -0800
                Re: Casts on lvalues Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2012-12-10 20:50 +1300
                Re: Casts on lvalues James Kuyper <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2012-12-10 07:49 -0500
  Re: Casts on lvalues Rui Maciel <rui.maciel@gmail.com> - 2012-12-07 15:19 +0000
    Re: Casts on lvalues "BartC" <bc@freeuk.com> - 2012-12-07 16:54 +0000

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