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From: rfg@paris.ics.uci.edu (Ronald Guilmette)
Newsgroups: comp.std.c
Subject: Is "int (*ptr)[][];" a legal declaration?
Message-ID: <2608FAF7.25668@paris.ics.uci.edu>
Date: 22 Mar 90 16:19:03 GMT
Organization: UC Irvine Department of ICS
Lines: 33

Can someone please clarify the rules for me regarding the following
declarations?

At least two non-ANSI C compilers (i.e. Sun4 & Sequent Symmetry) generate an
error for the declaration of p2 below.  I don't know if that is correct ANSI
behavior however.

Curiously, these non-ANSI C compilers do *not* also complain about the
declaration of p1.

The GNU C compiler (and the g++ compiler) do not issue any error messages
for this code.

AT&T's cfront translator (for C++) issues error messages for the two lines
indicated.  This is also somewhat surprizing.

What should an ANSI C compiler do with this code?



typedef int T;
typedef T array_of_Ts[];
typedef array_of_Ts array_of_array_of_Ts[];	/* error for cfront */

array_of_array_of_Ts *p1;

int (*p2)[][];		/* error for cfront & old C compilers */



// Ron Guilmette (rfg@ics.uci.edu)
// C++ Entomologist
// Motto:  If it sticks, force it.  If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway.