Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string

From	David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no>
Newsgroups	comp.arch.embedded
Subject	Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string
Date	2018-09-14 16:04 +0200
Organization	A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID	<pngf4m$7rf$1@dont-email.me> (permalink)
References	<pnfp7q$a7b$1@dont-email.me> <g01ee7F9ruuU1@mid.individual.net> <png2d4$opd$1@dont-email.me> <nnd$5f662a91$246fe099@79ac3082f191d842>

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On 14/09/18 14:52, Stef wrote:
> On 2018-09-14 David Brown wrote in comp.arch.embedded:
>> On 14/09/18 11:47, Nils M Holm wrote:
>>>
>>> Yes. K&R II (The C Programming Language, 2nd Ed), says that
>>
>> K&R does not define the C language.  It was an approximation to a
>> definition until ANSI (then ISO) made the standard, and has not been
>> relevant for decades.
> 
> You must be talking about K&R, Nils Specifically said K&R II.
> That edition has printed "ANSI C" in large capitals on the cover.
> A quote from the preface:
>   "This second edition of 'The C Programming Language' describes C
>    as defined by the ANSI standard"

Exactly - it /describes/ the C language defined by the standard.  It
does not define the language, or the standard, or give a complete or
accurate set of rules for it.  That is what the /standard/ is for.  K&R
(all editions) are /tutorials/, not standards or language definitions.
(Equally, the standards are not tutorials, and say as much in their
forewords.)  K&R was updated for the second edition to contain much of
what is often incorrectly termed "ANSI C", but it was never expected to
be exact.

> 
> That standard is almost identical to C90 IIRC. And that standard is,
> however old, still relevant. The Keil ARM compiler for instance defaults
> to C90 and you have to specifically enable C99. (and nothing newer if you
> don't want to set it to C++ 2003)
> 
> So don't throw out your K&R II just yet!
> I have my copy within an arms reach. ;-)
> 

K&R is considered a "classic" in terms of quality technical writing.  It
is not a good book for learning modern C.  It is not a good book for
learning embedded programming.  It is not a good book to use as a
reference for the details of the C language.  It is better than many
others, but it is badly outdated, contains some horrible advice and
examples, is strongly oriented towards command-line Unix software from
the 80's and 90's, which is completely inappropriate for embedded
development, and C is almost always a poor choice for modern day
programming of the sort of tasks targeted in the book.

It is true that many compilers default to C90.  That is not an excuse
for using C90 - if you are serious about C development, you should be
using /your/ choice of C standard, not the default from the compiler.
It is an unfortunate reality that some people still have to use
compilers that don't support C99 - that is, obviously, a good reason for
using C90.  Other than that, /you/ should choose your version of the
language - and you should choose at least C99 because it lets you write
higher quality software.  And if your tool vendor does not support C11
by now, complain to them.

The year is 2018.  Why anyone would think that a 30 year old tutorial
book is a better choice of reference than the current official standards
is beyond my comprehension.

So K&R (I or II) is an interesting read, and interesting history - but I
would not consider it a way to learn good embedded C programming, nor
would I consider it a useful reference.

And if you want more readable references then there are plenty available
online.  My recommendation (for C and C++) is
<https://en.cppreference.com/>.

Thread

arm-gcc: pointer to constant string pozz <pozzugno@gmail.com> - 2018-09-14 09:50 +0200
  Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-14 11:18 +0200
    Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string pozz <pozzugno@gmail.com> - 2018-09-14 13:05 +0200
      Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-14 13:25 +0200
  Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Nils M Holm <nmh@ananda.local> - 2018-09-14 09:47 +0000
    Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-14 12:26 +0200
      Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Stef <stef33d@yahooI-N-V-A-L-I-D.com.invalid> - 2018-09-14 14:52 +0200
        Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-14 16:04 +0200
          Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-14 15:48 +0100
            Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-14 17:02 +0200
              Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-14 18:45 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-14 20:37 +0200
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-14 20:51 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-15 16:24 +0200
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-15 17:28 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net> - 2018-09-16 13:58 +1000
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-16 08:42 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-16 08:47 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net> - 2018-09-16 20:18 +1000
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-16 12:25 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net> - 2018-09-16 22:22 +1000
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-16 15:00 +0200
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-16 14:33 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-16 22:06 +0200
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-16 21:42 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-09-17 21:24 -0500
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-18 08:49 +0200
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-09-21 22:15 -0500
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-22 11:53 +0200
                Testing (Was: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string) Jacob Sparre Andersen <jacob@jacob-sparre.dk> - 2018-09-22 12:16 +0200
                Re: Testing (Was: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string) David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-22 13:31 +0200
                Re: Testing (Was: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string) Clifford Heath <no.spam@please.net> - 2018-09-23 09:26 +1000
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Niklas Holsti <niklas.holsti@tidorum.invalid> - 2018-09-22 20:06 +0300
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-23 14:39 +0200
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-09-22 13:50 -0500
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-23 15:21 +0200
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-23 16:06 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string julio@diegidio.name - 2018-09-23 08:41 -0700
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-23 16:49 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string julio@diegidio.name - 2018-09-23 08:56 -0700
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-23 18:20 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string julio@diegidio.name - 2018-09-23 12:05 -0700
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-23 20:50 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-09-23 12:04 -0500
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-23 18:27 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-23 19:37 +0200
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Jacob Sparre Andersen <jacob@jacob-sparre.dk> - 2018-09-24 12:53 +0200
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-24 13:49 +0200
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-09-28 20:17 -0500
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tom Gardner <spamjunk@blueyonder.co.uk> - 2018-09-18 08:32 +0100
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-18 10:02 +0200
                Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Les Cargill <lcargill99@comcast.com> - 2018-09-21 22:17 -0500
          Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Stef <stef33d@yahooI-N-V-A-L-I-D.com.invalid> - 2018-09-14 18:30 +0200
            Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-14 20:46 +0200
      Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Stefan Reuther <stefan.news@arcor.de> - 2018-09-14 19:57 +0200
        Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-14 20:56 +0200
          Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Stefan Reuther <stefan.news@arcor.de> - 2018-09-15 18:32 +0200
            Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-16 15:06 +0200
      Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2018-09-14 19:59 -0400
        Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2018-09-15 16:25 +0200
  Re: arm-gcc: pointer to constant string Tauno Voipio <tauno.voipio@notused.fi.invalid> - 2018-09-14 13:49 +0300

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