Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!lll-winken!uunet!microsoft!petergo
From: petergo@microsoft.UUCP (Peter GOLDE)
Newsgroups: comp.std.c++
Subject: Re: character array initialization
Message-ID: <59110@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 15 Nov 90 18:40:56 GMT
References: <58962@microsoft.UUCP> <513@taumet.com>
Reply-To: petergo@microsoft.UUCP (Peter GOLDE)
Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA
Lines: 27

In article <513@taumet.com> steve@taumet.com (Stephen Clamage) writes:
>petergo@microsoft.UUCP (Peter GOLDE) writes:
>
>>In section 8.4.2, the C++ standard disallows the legal ANSI C
>>initialization:
>>char cv[4] = "asdf";
>
>I agree that this restriction will break some existing code.  But how
>often is it essential to use a fixed-size array of characters without
>the terminating null?  To cater to those special cases, IMHO very rare,
>C introduces weird semantics for array initialization.  In addition, it
>seems to me that 
>	char cv[4] = "asdf";
>is more likely to be an error than a deliberate attempt to save one byte.

A good argument.  I might even accept it, were I designing a language
myself.  But many of the best C language experts in the country
(the ANSI C committee) considered this argument, and rejected it.
The issue should be closed now.

BTW, just because string initialization of the type mentioned
is "very rare" in YOUR code, don't think that it's very rare
in other peoples code.  0 termination is not the best string 
representation for many applications.

---
Peter Golde        petergo%microsoft@uunet.uu.net