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Internet Message Format | 1996-08-06 | 3.3 KB

Path: fido.asd.sgi.com!austern
From: [e-mail] (Fergus Henderson)
Newsgroups: comp.std.c++,comp.std.c
Subject: Re: Array function params and const qualifier
Date: 15 Apr 1996 09:36:48 PDT
Organization: Comp Sci, University of Melbourne
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[Note: this article is crossposted to comp.std.c++ and comp.std.c.]

In comp.std.c++, [e-mail] (Jason Merrill) writes:

>>>>>> Steve Clamage <[e-mail]> writes:
>
>> Adel El-Beik <[e-mail]> writes:
>>> I have a question concerning MSVC++ v.4.00 and the April DWP C++.
[...]
>>> C:\array\array.cpp(16) : error C2664: 'func' : cannot convert parameter 1
>>> from 'long [2][2]' to 'const long [][2]' (new behavior; please see help)
>
>> You have run into effectively the same rule that prohibits implicit
>> conversion from "T**" to "const T**". That prohibition is not new,
>> but is in the ISO/ANSI C standard, and has not been changed, since
>> it would open a hole in the type system.
>
>But converting long (*)[2] to const long (*)[2] is more like converting
>long ** to const long *const * than it is like converting long ** to const
>long **, because there is no way to modify the array -- there is, in fact,
>no array entity in memory, only two longs.  A long (*)[2] points to two
>longs, whereas a const long (*)[2] points to two const longs.  I don't see
>a constness hole there.
>
>I suspect this is an oversight.

Yes, but the oversight is in the implementation, not in the standard.
The conversion in question is allowed by the draft C++ standard.  (See
my other post to comp.std.c++ in this thread for a detailed explanation.)
The conversion is also allowed by a variety of other implementations,
including cfront, gcc, and SGI C++ (EDG).

Interestingly, even though this conversion is presumably disallowed by
the ANSI/ISO C standard, many supposedly conforming C compilers fail to
issue a diagnostic for it.  Of the six I tried, only two issued any
diagnostic, even with all the appropriate options for selecting ANSI
conformance and enabling warnings.

Compiler    Options                        Diagnostic?
--------    -------                        -----------
GNU C        gcc -ansi -pedantic -Wall            No
SGI C        cc -ansi -pedantic -fullwarn -wlint,p        No
DEC OSF/1 C    cc -std1                    No
DEC C        cc -std1 -migrate -check            No
Sun C        cc -Xc -v                    Yes (warning)
LCC        lcc -A -A                    Yes (error)

--
Fergus Henderson <[e-mail]>   |  "I have always known that the pursuit
WWW: <http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~fjh>   |  of excellence is a lethal habit"
PGP: finger fjh@128.250.37.3         |     -- the last words of T. S. Garp.
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