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From: gwyn@smoke.brl.mil (Doug Gwyn)
Newsgroups: comp.std.c
Subject: Re: Definition of "conforming"
Message-ID: <15680@smoke.brl.mil>
Date: 2 Apr 91 23:41:26 GMT
References: <18160@crdgw1.crd.ge.com>
Organization: U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratory, APG, MD.
Lines: 30

In article <18160@crdgw1.crd.ge.com> volpe@camelback.crd.ge.com (Christopher R Volpe) writes:
-Here's an interesting question on terminology. Section 1.7 states
-that "A conforming program is one that is acceptable to a conforming
-implementation." Now, does that mean that THERE MUST EXIST at least
-one conforming implementation that accepts it, or that it is possible
-that an implementation accept it and still be conforming? (I assume that
-"accept" means "generate code without issuing any diagnostics", otherwise
-any program could be a conforming program)

No, the only use for "conforming program" is political -- we didn't
want to say that correct but implementation-dependent programs could
not be "conforming" in some sense.  The useful distinction is between
programs that are STRICTLY conforming and those that are not.

-For example, suppose when given the following program
-         #include <stdio.h>
-         int main(void)
-         { 
-            printf("Hello world\n\n\n\n");
-            return 0;
-         }
-every compiler in existance outputted a diagnostic:
-"foo.c: Warning: Your fly is open"
-Would this program be non-conforming because no compiler accepts it?
-Or would it be conforming because it's *possible* for a conforming
-implementation to accept it?

??  That's a strictly conforming program, so every conforming
implementation will accept it.  The set of strictly conforming
programs is a subset of the set of conforming programs.