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Groups > comp.lang.c > #147543

Re: memcpy not memcpying?

From David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no>
Newsgroups comp.lang.c
Subject Re: memcpy not memcpying?
Date 2019-11-03 17:46 +0100
Organization A noiseless patient Spider
Message-ID <qpn0a2$dn3$1@dont-email.me> (permalink)
References (11 earlier) <OcmvF.87562$Pt2.3193@fx23.am4> <ln36f57ul5.fsf@kst-u.example.com> <EAovF.246198$IsL.142854@fx08.am4> <lnv9s169ev.fsf@kst-u.example.com> <1BAvF.13970$mB7.12243@fx32.am4>

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On 03/11/2019 14:27, Bart wrote:
> On 03/11/2019 01:22, Keith Thompson wrote:
>> Bart <bc@freeuk.com> writes:
> 
>>> MS libraries support I64 and I32 width specifiers (as in "%I64d"). That
>>> wouldn't have been a bad starting point.
>>
>> Maybe -- but the MS libraries can assume that the implementation
>> supports integer types of exactly 32 and 64 bits.  The C standard
>> does not make that assumption.  For example, <inttypes.h>
> 
> 
> inttypes.h/stdint.h defines int32_t, int64_t etc for which I32, I64 etc 
> would have been far better solutions to the print problem than those 
> ugly PRI32d macros.

What would you have used for int_fast32_t, int_least32_t, etc.?

(I don't disagree with you that it would have been nice with non-macro 
format specifiers for the common cases.)

> 
> Of course, it would require additional support within printf 
> implementations, but so did %zu.
> 
>> defines macros PRId32, PRIdLEAST32, and PRIdFAST32 for int32_t,
>> int_least32_t, and int_fast32_t, respectively.  The type int32_t is
>> optional; int_least32_t and int_fast32_t are mandatory.  The standard
>> has to cover more possible target systems than Windows does (or
>> Linux, or POSIX), including systems that may not exist yet.
> 
> Then it would have been reasonable to mandate I64 support only for 
> systems where int64_t exists.

That is fair enough.

> 
>> You can see a list of the macros in N1570 7.8.1.  Some of them
>> exist for each width, at least 8, 16, 32, and 64, for a total
>> of 84 PRI* macros and 70 SCN* macros if I've counted correctly.
>> (Exotic implementations might support other widths, or might
>> not support all of 8, 16, 32, and 64 for the exact-width types.)
>> You *could* implement those 154 possibilities directly in the *printf
>> and *scanf functions, with distinct syntaxes in the format strings,
>> but I prefer the way it's done in the standard.
>>
>> I'm not saying that the PRI* and SCN* macros are ideal, but I
>> can't think of a cleaner way to define them while supporting the
>> same functionality.  No doubt your private language does it better,
>> but that doesn't help C.
> 
> I suggested a format "%?" where the compiler fills in the default type 
> where the format string is visible. Which is nearly always.

That opens a range of complications.  What should happen when the format 
string is not a string literal?  In internationalised programs, it is 
common for the format string to be the result of a table lookup.  (As an 
aside, the POSIX positional arguments in printf are a big benefit here - 
it's a shame they are not in the C standard.)

> 
> But because it's not perfect, conventional format codes would still be 
> needed.
> 
> (My implementation of %? was just a proof-of-concept and is not 
> complete, but it's an enhancement I've kept as it is genuinely handy, 
> even if limited to one compiler.
> 
> (I haven't done field widths, or allowed for X or c interpretations of 
> an int, or forcing signed to unsigned and vice versa, or selecting 
> different kinds of float formats etc etc. But these can be accommodated.
> 
> The important thing is to have a format where you don't need to know the 
> exact type of the thing being printed, just whether it's int, float, 
> string or pointer. Or, very often, not even that - just print X, 
> whatever type it happens to be, or print X with a given width.))
> 

I usually know the type of my variables and expressions, so don't see 
that as an important thing at all.  I /do/, however, agree that the PRI 
macros are ugly, even though I understand why they exist.

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Thread

memcpy not memcpying? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2019-11-01 08:42 -0400
  Re: memcpy not memcpying? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2019-11-01 08:49 -0400
    Re: memcpy not memcpying? James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2019-11-01 09:24 -0400
      Re: memcpy not memcpying? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2019-11-01 09:46 -0400
        Re: memcpy not memcpying? James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2019-11-01 09:49 -0400
        Re: memcpy not memcpying? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-11-01 10:19 -0700
          Re: memcpy not memcpying? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-11-01 21:14 +0100
          Re: memcpy not memcpying? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2019-11-01 17:16 -0400
            Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-01 22:42 +0000
              Re: memcpy not memcpying? Richard Damon <Richard@Damon-Family.org> - 2019-11-01 21:10 -0400
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-02 11:36 +0000
            Re: memcpy not memcpying? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-11-02 02:15 -0700
            Re: memcpy not memcpying? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-11-02 13:04 +0100
              Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-02 13:43 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-11-02 17:24 +0100
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-02 17:00 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-11-02 13:06 -0700
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-02 21:05 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-02 22:40 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-11-02 15:59 -0700
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-02 23:47 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-11-02 18:22 -0700
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-03 13:27 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-11-03 17:46 +0100
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-03 17:20 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Manfred <noname@add.invalid> - 2019-11-03 19:44 +0100
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-03 19:36 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Manfred <noname@add.invalid> - 2019-11-03 22:57 +0100
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2019-11-03 22:39 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-11-03 23:06 +0100
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-03 23:28 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-11-04 11:00 +0100
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-04 11:14 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2019-11-04 11:22 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-11-04 13:10 +0100
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-11-04 10:03 -0800
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2019-11-04 19:36 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-11-05 10:04 -0800
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> - 2019-11-04 20:58 -0800
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Tim Rentsch <tr.17687@z991.linuxsc.com> - 2019-11-04 22:01 -0800
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Autist <autist69@gmail.com> - 2019-11-04 12:56 +0100
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2019-11-04 09:50 -0500
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2019-11-04 20:26 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.arthur.mclean@gmail.com> - 2019-11-04 04:34 -0800
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-04 13:05 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2019-11-04 14:09 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-04 15:11 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Melzzzzz <Melzzzzz@zzzzz.com> - 2019-11-04 15:15 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2019-11-04 15:43 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-03 20:20 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2019-11-03 14:37 +1300
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-03 11:01 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Öö Tiib <ootiib@hot.ee> - 2019-11-03 04:03 -0800
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-03 12:52 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Öö Tiib <ootiib@hot.ee> - 2019-11-03 23:34 -0800
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-04 09:36 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-04 16:20 +0000
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Ian Collins <ian-news@hotmail.com> - 2019-11-04 07:46 +1300
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-11-03 12:26 -0800
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-11-03 17:31 +0100
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-03 17:05 +0000
              Re: memcpy not memcpying? already5chosen@yahoo.com - 2019-11-03 09:14 -0800
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-11-03 12:32 -0800
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? already5chosen@yahoo.com - 2019-11-03 14:59 -0800
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? already5chosen@yahoo.com - 2019-11-03 15:19 -0800
                Re: memcpy not memcpying? already5chosen@yahoo.com - 2019-11-03 17:00 -0800
          Re: memcpy not memcpying? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2019-11-02 11:16 -0400
            Re: memcpy not memcpying? David Brown <david.brown@hesbynett.no> - 2019-11-02 17:26 +0100
    Re: memcpy not memcpying? Barry Schwarz <schwarzb@delq.com> - 2019-11-01 06:39 -0700
      Re: memcpy not memcpying? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2019-11-01 09:56 -0400
        Re: memcpy not memcpying? Barry Schwarz <schwarzb@delq.com> - 2019-11-01 12:39 -0700
    Re: memcpy not memcpying? guinness.tony@gmail.com - 2019-11-01 06:49 -0700
    Re: memcpy not memcpying? jak <nospam@please.ty> - 2019-11-01 20:40 +0100
  Re: memcpy not memcpying? Autist <autist69@gmail.com> - 2019-11-01 14:26 +0100
    Re: memcpy not memcpying? Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2019-11-01 10:22 -0700
    Re: memcpy not memcpying? Bart <bc@freeuk.com> - 2019-11-01 19:44 +0000
      Re: memcpy not memcpying? Autist <autist69@gmail.com> - 2019-11-01 21:31 +0100
  Re: memcpy not memcpying? James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2019-11-01 09:39 -0400
    Re: memcpy not memcpying? Autist <autist69@gmail.com> - 2019-11-01 14:42 +0100
      Re: memcpy not memcpying? James Kuyper <jameskuyper@alumni.caltech.edu> - 2019-11-01 09:48 -0400
  Re: memcpy not memcpying? Malcolm McLean <malcolm.arthur.mclean@gmail.com> - 2019-11-01 06:47 -0700
    Re: memcpy not memcpying? Autist <autist69@gmail.com> - 2019-11-01 14:58 +0100
      Re: memcpy not memcpying? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2019-11-01 10:22 -0400
        Re: memcpy not memcpying? Autist <autist69@gmail.com> - 2019-11-01 18:38 +0100
          Re: memcpy not memcpying? scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2019-11-01 17:54 +0000
            Re: memcpy not memcpying? Autist <autist69@gmail.com> - 2019-11-01 20:24 +0100
          Re: memcpy not memcpying? DFS <nospam@dfs.com> - 2019-11-01 15:24 -0400
        Re: memcpy not memcpying? Ben Bacarisse <ben.usenet@bsb.me.uk> - 2019-11-01 23:19 +0000

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