Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site hcradm.UUCP
Path: utzoo!hcrvax!hcradm!mike
From: mike@hcradm.UUCP (Mike Tilson)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Re: limitations of casts, pointer and function declarartions...
Message-ID: <1359@hcradm.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 29-Oct-84 10:32:17 EST
Article-I.D.: hcradm.1359
Posted: Mon Oct 29 10:32:17 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 30-Oct-84 04:54:19 EST
References: <120@harvard.ARPA>
Distribution: net
Organization: Human Computing Resources, Toronto
Lines: 16

It was noted that C compilers do not accept the following:

	int x;
	char *y;

	(char *)x = y;

I assume that what is wanted is to treat storage location "x" as a cell
that holds a "char *".  Declaring "x" to be a union type is the portable
way to do this.  If one does not wish to be portable, C already allows
the type cast you want, but it's a bit more complicated:

	*( (char **) &x) = y;

I checked this on the Vax System V.2 compiler.  It likes it just fine, and
generates the obvious single instruction move.  Repeat: it isn't portable.