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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Re: Unions and structures
Message-ID: <5103@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 25-Feb-85 13:00:40 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.5103
Posted: Mon Feb 25 13:00:40 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 25-Feb-85 13:00:40 EST
References: <8333@brl-tgr.ARPA>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 21

> 1) "structure reference must be addressable"

This one sounds like an out-and-out compiler bug, probably arising
because struct-returning functions were a very late addition to C.

> 2) "no automatic aggregate initialization"

Automatic aggregate initialization is definitely in ANSI C.

> ...  I'm also a little hacked that the compiler blows off
> register declarations for unions even when all members are the same
> size and fit in a register...

As you note later, this is a compiler problem.  It's not a trivial thing
to fix in some compilers, though, because there are deeply-ingrained
assumptions that unions are memory objects.  Yes, it would be nice, but
the odds that a large percentage of implementors will make the effort
are poor.  Some will, but not enough that you could count on it.
-- 
				Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
				{allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry