undefined | Better HN

0 pointsbluetomcat5y ago0 comments

There's a type and an identifier. In `int *pa[10]`, the identifier is `pa` and the type is `int *[10]`. A declaration simply specifies a name (the identifier), some operations around it (pointer dereferencing, array subscription, function calling, grouping parentheses) and the terminal type that you get after applying all those operators in the precise order as specified by operator precedence rules.

When using that variable with the allowed operators, the resultant type of the expression is determined by the declaration:

    pa;     // int *[10]
    pa[x];  // int *
    *pa[x]; // int

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1 comments · 1 top-level

kaba05y ago

Thank you for the concise write up, but I think lowly of the [] syntax as well.

And unary operators on an identifier are a different thing, though I similarly don’t think adding one at the left, another at the right is a good thing. But I have trouble with the declaration site as well.

It’s getting out of reach of my knowledge, but I believe C’s grammar being hacky is in part due to that as well.

I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for but here is some more on it: https://pdos.csail.mit.edu/archive/l/c/roskind.html

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