Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!umigw!steve
From: steve@umigw.MIAMI.EDU (steve emmerson)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: possible VMS C initialization bug
Summary: can't cast address of structure into pointer
Message-ID: <209@umigw.MIAMI.EDU>
Date: 6 Feb 89 14:56:58 GMT
Reply-To: steve@umigw.miami.edu (steve emmerson)
Followup-To: comp.lang.c
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Miami
Lines: 29

I've run into a possible VMS C compiler bug (version 2.4-026).  The
following code fragment (which is located at the head of a compilation
unit) won't compile:

    typedef struct {
        int     member_1;
        float   member_2;
    }   BIG_S;

    BIG_S   BigStruct = {1, 2.};

    typedef struct {
        int     member;
    }   LITTLE_S;

    int     *iptr = &((LITTLE_S*)&BigStruct)->member;

Instead, the compiler emits the error message "The initialization of iptr is
invalid" at the "*iptr =" line.

Conversely, the above fragment does compile (and run) under both my 
EUNICE C compiler and my VMS GNU C compiler.

Question: is the above a bug?
-- 
Steve Emmerson                     Inet: steve@umigw.miami.edu [128.116.10.1]
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"Computers are like God in the Old Testament: lots of rules and no mercy"