Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > comp.lang.c > #145956

Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern"

Show all headers | View raw

On 9/3/19 9:45 AM, David Brown wrote:
> On 03/09/2019 14:57, Tim Rentsch wrote:
...
>> These statements are misleading.  An implementation may legally
>> support this pattern, with no diagnostics, and still conform to
>> the Standard.  Nothing in the Standard forbids that.  Neither does
>> the Standard require it, but that doesn't make it illegal, just
>> not advisable.  (More specifically, the behavior is undefined.)
> 
> 
> If you have "int x;" in a translation unit (without any "static"
> involved), that counts as an external definition of "x" with external
> linkage.  (6.9.2p2 and 6.9.2p1).  If this identifier is used in an
> expression (other than an unevaluated expression, such as a sizeof),
> there must be exactly one definition of it (6.9p5).  These are "shall"
> rules - they are as strong as the standards get.

No, the strongest requirements imposed by the standard include a
mandatory diagnostic. A diagnostic is mandatory for violation of a
"shall" or "shall not" statement only when it occurs in a Constraints
section - this one does not.


> I don't see anything in the standards (I'm looking at C11, but I don't
> think these things have changed) requiring a conforming compiler to give
> diagnostics about multiple "int x;" definitions in a program.  But as I
> read it, it breaks a "shall" requirement, and that is as close to
> "illegal" as you can get.

Which isn't very close. A fully conforming implementation of C could
issue all mandatory diagnostics, and then go ahead and complete
translation of the program normally. "Illegal" implies some punishment
if caught, and some effort to catch perpetrators, and that doesn't
apply, not even metaphorically, to any provision of the C standard.

...
> But the fact that most C compilers support it, and that a fair amount of
> C code requires it, does not mean the language standard allows it.

The fact that the C standard does not prohibit a fully conforming
implementation of C from accepting such code, means that the standard
does allow it. It allows a great deal, and prohibits very little.

Back to comp.lang.c | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2019-08-20 13:11 +0000
  Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-08-20 16:09 +0200
  Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-08-20 16:41 +0100
    Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-08-20 16:47 +0100
    Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-08-20 19:27 +0200
      Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Lew Pitcher <lew.pitcher@digitalfreehold.ca> - 2019-08-20 13:54 -0400
        Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2019-08-21 02:09 +0100
        Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-08-21 10:54 +0200
      Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-08-21 00:41 +0100
        Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-08-21 10:58 +0200
  Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Richard Tobin) - 2019-08-20 16:10 +0000
    Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Siri Cruise <chine.bleu@yahoo.com> - 2019-08-20 16:23 -0700
  Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" already5chosen@yahoo.com - 2019-08-21 06:50 -0700
    Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2019-08-22 20:20 +0000
      Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-08-23 00:25 +0200
      Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-08-23 01:35 +0100
        Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2019-08-23 03:40 +0000
          Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-08-23 11:09 +0100
        Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-08-23 08:16 +0200
      Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2019-08-23 15:02 +0000
        Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-08-23 17:06 +0100
          Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2019-08-23 18:40 +0000
          Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2019-08-23 20:38 +0000
            Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2019-08-23 17:55 -0400
              Richard Damon weighs in... (Was: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern") gazelle@shell.xmission.com (Kenny McCormack) - 2019-08-23 23:50 +0000
  Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Andrey Tarasevich <andreytarasevich@hotmail.com> - 2019-08-27 15:03 -0700
    Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> - 2019-09-03 05:57 -0700
      Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-09-03 15:45 +0200
        Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-09-03 11:13 -0700
          Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-09-04 12:11 +0200
            Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2019-09-04 08:18 -0400
          Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> - 2019-09-06 02:25 -0700
            Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-09-06 11:45 +0200
          Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2019-09-06 21:15 +0100
        Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2019-09-03 21:10 -0400
          Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-09-04 12:21 +0200
      Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Andrey Tarasevich <andreytarasevich@hotmail.com> - 2019-09-04 12:04 -0700
        Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2019-09-04 15:29 -0400
        Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> - 2019-09-06 02:46 -0700
  Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Bonita Montero <Bonita.Montero@gmail.com> - 2019-09-05 10:01 +0200
    Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Andrey Tarasevich <andreytarasevich@hotmail.com> - 2019-09-05 10:43 -0700
      Re: Question about use (and non-use) of "extern" Bonita Montero <Bonita.Montero@gmail.com> - 2019-09-06 20:24 +0200

csiph-web