Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!bionet!ames!lll-winken!uunet!mcvax!kth!sunic!liuida!prodix!isadora!hacker
From: hacker@isadora.ikp.liu.se (Goran Larsson [Hacker of Hackefors])
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: lint won't verify printf formatting against variable types??
Keywords: lint, cc
Message-ID: <414@isadora.ikp.liu.se>
Date: 5 Jul 89 11:17:31 GMT
References: <328@tree.UUCP> <417@siswat.UUCP> <105@borabora.omni.com> <411@isadora.ikp.liu.se> <11038@ihlpl.ATT.COM>
Organization: Hackers Home, Hackefors, Linkoping, Sweden
Lines: 28

In article <11038@ihlpl.ATT.COM> knudsen@ihlpl.ATT.COM (Knudsen) writes:
>In article <411@isadora.ikp.liu.se>, hacker@isadora.ikp.liu.se (Goran Larsson [Hacker of Hackefors]) writes:
>> It's your own fault -- you should have written it as
>> 	if ( condition ) {
>> 		action;
>> 	}
>> to reduce the risk of errors!
>Yes, but suppose you make the same typo and get
> 	if ( condition ); {	/* extra semicolon */
> 		action;
> 	}
>Isn't this still legal C (with the same bug), since compound blocks
>may be started anywhere?

The problem is that "if ( condition )" feels like a function call to
your fingers and when your brain orders a new line, one of your fingers
will automagically add the semicolon.  If you add the opening curly
brace before ordering a new line then your fingers will realize that the
semicolon is inapropriate.  Have you ever seen "if ( condition ); {" in
a program?
--

  !       _
  ! !    Goran Larsson  [The Hacker of Hackefors]
--+-!    Hackefors, Linkoping, SWEDEN (See)  +46 13-155535 (Hear)
  !-+--  ...!uunet!sunic!liuida!prodix!isadora!hacker (UUCP)
  ! !    hacker@isadora.ikp.liu.se (Internet)     _
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