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From: daniel@terra.ucsc.edu (Daniel Edelson)
Newsgroups: comp.std.c
Subject: translation limits
Message-ID: <14287@darkstar.ucsc.edu>
Date: 9 Apr 91 21:59:52 GMT
Sender: usenet@darkstar.ucsc.edu
Reply-To: daniel@terra.ucsc.edu (Daniel Edelson)
Organization: University of California, Santa Cruz
Lines: 44

(I tried to post this before, but our news server was
having problems. I'm not sure if this made it out. 
Please disregard if this is a duplicate.)

The section on translation limits is extremely weak.
Perhaps finding stronger language that would still
be correct was too difficult.

The standard says that ``The implementation shall be able to translate
and execute at least one program that contains at least one instance
of each of the following limits:...''

For example, one of the limits is ``127 members in a single structure
or union''. (That limit was chosen at random; any of the 2.2.4.1 limits 
would be appropriate for this question.)

So, is it the intention that a strictly conforming implementation could
fail to translate the following code? (note the diagnostic)
	
	/* Begin Example */

	struct S {
		int a1;
		int a2;
		...
		int a127;
	};

	int main(void)
	{
		return 0;
	}

	/* Begin Error Diagnostic */

	Error: too many structure members. (This is not the one program
	that may contain 127 members in one particular structure.)

From reading this section, it does not appear that a strictly conforming
implementation needs to be able to translate and execute any program
whatsoever, except for ``the one.''

Daniel Edelson
daniel@cis.ucsc.edu