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<a name="Non-bugs"></a>
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<a name="Non_002dbugs"></a>
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<p>
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Next: <a rel="next" accesskey="n" href="Warnings-and-Errors.html#Warnings-and-Errors">Warnings and Errors</a>,
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Previous: <a rel="previous" accesskey="p" href="C_002b_002b-Misunderstandings.html#C_002b_002b-Misunderstandings">C++ Misunderstandings</a>,
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Up: <a rel="up" accesskey="u" href="Trouble.html#Trouble">Trouble</a>
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</div>
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<h3 class="section">12.8 Certain Changes We Don't Want to Make</h3>
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<p>This section lists changes that people frequently request, but which
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we do not make because we think GCC is better without them.
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<ul>
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<li>Checking the number and type of arguments to a function which has an
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old-fashioned definition and no prototype.
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<p>Such a feature would work only occasionally—only for calls that appear
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in the same file as the called function, following the definition. The
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only way to check all calls reliably is to add a prototype for the
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function. But adding a prototype eliminates the motivation for this
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feature. So the feature is not worthwhile.
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<li>Warning about using an expression whose type is signed as a shift count.
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<p>Shift count operands are probably signed more often than unsigned.
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Warning about this would cause far more annoyance than good.
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<li>Warning about assigning a signed value to an unsigned variable.
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<p>Such assignments must be very common; warning about them would cause
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more annoyance than good.
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<li>Warning when a non-void function value is ignored.
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<p>C contains many standard functions that return a value that most
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programs choose to ignore. One obvious example is <code>printf</code>.
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Warning about this practice only leads the defensive programmer to
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clutter programs with dozens of casts to <code>void</code>. Such casts are
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required so frequently that they become visual noise. Writing those
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casts becomes so automatic that they no longer convey useful
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information about the intentions of the programmer. For functions
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where the return value should never be ignored, use the
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<code>warn_unused_result</code> function attribute (see <a href="Function-Attributes.html#Function-Attributes">Function Attributes</a>).
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<li><a name="index-fshort_002denums-4287"></a>Making <samp><span class="option">-fshort-enums</span></samp> the default.
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<p>This would cause storage layout to be incompatible with most other C
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compilers. And it doesn't seem very important, given that you can get
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the same result in other ways. The case where it matters most is when
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the enumeration-valued object is inside a structure, and in that case
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you can specify a field width explicitly.
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<li>Making bit-fields unsigned by default on particular machines where “the
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ABI standard” says to do so.
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<p>The ISO C standard leaves it up to the implementation whether a bit-field
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declared plain <code>int</code> is signed or not. This in effect creates two
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alternative dialects of C.
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<p><a name="index-fsigned_002dbitfields-4288"></a><a name="index-funsigned_002dbitfields-4289"></a>The GNU C compiler supports both dialects; you can specify the signed
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dialect with <samp><span class="option">-fsigned-bitfields</span></samp> and the unsigned dialect with
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<samp><span class="option">-funsigned-bitfields</span></samp>. However, this leaves open the question of
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which dialect to use by default.
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<p>Currently, the preferred dialect makes plain bit-fields signed, because
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this is simplest. Since <code>int</code> is the same as <code>signed int</code> in
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every other context, it is cleanest for them to be the same in bit-fields
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as well.
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<p>Some computer manufacturers have published Application Binary Interface
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standards which specify that plain bit-fields should be unsigned. It is
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a mistake, however, to say anything about this issue in an ABI. This is
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because the handling of plain bit-fields distinguishes two dialects of C.
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Both dialects are meaningful on every type of machine. Whether a
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particular object file was compiled using signed bit-fields or unsigned
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is of no concern to other object files, even if they access the same
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bit-fields in the same data structures.
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<p>A given program is written in one or the other of these two dialects.
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The program stands a chance to work on most any machine if it is
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compiled with the proper dialect. It is unlikely to work at all if
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compiled with the wrong dialect.
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<p>Many users appreciate the GNU C compiler because it provides an
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environment that is uniform across machines. These users would be
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inconvenienced if the compiler treated plain bit-fields differently on
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certain machines.
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<p>Occasionally users write programs intended only for a particular machine
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type. On these occasions, the users would benefit if the GNU C compiler
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were to support by default the same dialect as the other compilers on
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that machine. But such applications are rare. And users writing a
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program to run on more than one type of machine cannot possibly benefit
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from this kind of compatibility.
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<p>This is why GCC does and will treat plain bit-fields in the same
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fashion on all types of machines (by default).
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<p>There are some arguments for making bit-fields unsigned by default on all
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machines. If, for example, this becomes a universal de facto standard,
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it would make sense for GCC to go along with it. This is something
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to be considered in the future.
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<p>(Of course, users strongly concerned about portability should indicate
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explicitly in each bit-field whether it is signed or not. In this way,
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they write programs which have the same meaning in both C dialects.)
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<li><a name="index-ansi-4290"></a><a name="index-std-4291"></a>Undefining <code>__STDC__</code> when <samp><span class="option">-ansi</span></samp> is not used.
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<p>Currently, GCC defines <code>__STDC__</code> unconditionally. This provides
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good results in practice.
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<p>Programmers normally use conditionals on <code>__STDC__</code> to ask whether
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it is safe to use certain features of ISO C, such as function
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prototypes or ISO token concatenation. Since plain <samp><span class="command">gcc</span></samp> supports
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all the features of ISO C, the correct answer to these questions is
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“yes”.
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<p>Some users try to use <code>__STDC__</code> to check for the availability of
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certain library facilities. This is actually incorrect usage in an ISO
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C program, because the ISO C standard says that a conforming
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freestanding implementation should define <code>__STDC__</code> even though it
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does not have the library facilities. ‘<samp><span class="samp">gcc -ansi -pedantic</span></samp>’ is a
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conforming freestanding implementation, and it is therefore required to
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define <code>__STDC__</code>, even though it does not come with an ISO C
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library.
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<p>Sometimes people say that defining <code>__STDC__</code> in a compiler that
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does not completely conform to the ISO C standard somehow violates the
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standard. This is illogical. The standard is a standard for compilers
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that claim to support ISO C, such as ‘<samp><span class="samp">gcc -ansi</span></samp>’—not for other
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compilers such as plain <samp><span class="command">gcc</span></samp>. Whatever the ISO C standard says
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is relevant to the design of plain <samp><span class="command">gcc</span></samp> without <samp><span class="option">-ansi</span></samp> only
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for pragmatic reasons, not as a requirement.
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<p>GCC normally defines <code>__STDC__</code> to be 1, and in addition
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defines <code>__STRICT_ANSI__</code> if you specify the <samp><span class="option">-ansi</span></samp> option,
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or a <samp><span class="option">-std</span></samp> option for strict conformance to some version of ISO C.
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On some hosts, system include files use a different convention, where
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<code>__STDC__</code> is normally 0, but is 1 if the user specifies strict
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conformance to the C Standard. GCC follows the host convention when
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processing system include files, but when processing user files it follows
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the usual GNU C convention.
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<li>Undefining <code>__STDC__</code> in C++.
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<p>Programs written to compile with C++-to-C translators get the
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value of <code>__STDC__</code> that goes with the C compiler that is
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subsequently used. These programs must test <code>__STDC__</code>
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to determine what kind of C preprocessor that compiler uses:
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whether they should concatenate tokens in the ISO C fashion
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or in the traditional fashion.
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<p>These programs work properly with GNU C++ if <code>__STDC__</code> is defined.
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They would not work otherwise.
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<p>In addition, many header files are written to provide prototypes in ISO
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C but not in traditional C. Many of these header files can work without
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change in C++ provided <code>__STDC__</code> is defined. If <code>__STDC__</code>
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is not defined, they will all fail, and will all need to be changed to
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test explicitly for C++ as well.
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<li>Deleting “empty” loops.
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<p>Historically, GCC has not deleted “empty” loops under the
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assumption that the most likely reason you would put one in a program is
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to have a delay, so deleting them will not make real programs run any
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faster.
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<p>However, the rationale here is that optimization of a nonempty loop
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cannot produce an empty one. This held for carefully written C compiled
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with less powerful optimizers but is not always the case for carefully
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written C++ or with more powerful optimizers.
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Thus GCC will remove operations from loops whenever it can determine
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those operations are not externally visible (apart from the time taken
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to execute them, of course). In case the loop can be proved to be finite,
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GCC will also remove the loop itself.
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<p>Be aware of this when performing timing tests, for instance the
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following loop can be completely removed, provided
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<code>some_expression</code> can provably not change any global state.
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<pre class="smallexample"> {
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int sum = 0;
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int ix;
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for (ix = 0; ix != 10000; ix++)
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sum += some_expression;
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}
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</pre>
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<p>Even though <code>sum</code> is accumulated in the loop, no use is made of
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that summation, so the accumulation can be removed.
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<li>Making side effects happen in the same order as in some other compiler.
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<p><a name="index-side-effects_002c-order-of-evaluation-4292"></a><a name="index-order-of-evaluation_002c-side-effects-4293"></a>It is never safe to depend on the order of evaluation of side effects.
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For example, a function call like this may very well behave differently
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from one compiler to another:
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<pre class="smallexample"> void func (int, int);
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int i = 2;
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func (i++, i++);
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</pre>
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<p>There is no guarantee (in either the C or the C++ standard language
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definitions) that the increments will be evaluated in any particular
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order. Either increment might happen first. <code>func</code> might get the
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arguments ‘<samp><span class="samp">2, 3</span></samp>’, or it might get ‘<samp><span class="samp">3, 2</span></samp>’, or even ‘<samp><span class="samp">2, 2</span></samp>’.
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<li>Making certain warnings into errors by default.
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<p>Some ISO C testsuites report failure when the compiler does not produce
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an error message for a certain program.
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<p><a name="index-pedantic_002derrors-4294"></a>ISO C requires a “diagnostic” message for certain kinds of invalid
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programs, but a warning is defined by GCC to count as a diagnostic. If
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GCC produces a warning but not an error, that is correct ISO C support.
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If testsuites call this “failure”, they should be run with the GCC
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option <samp><span class="option">-pedantic-errors</span></samp>, which will turn these warnings into
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errors.
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</ul>
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