This is the mail archive of the gcc-help@gcc.gnu.org mailing list for the GCC project.


Index Nav: [Date Index] [Subject Index] [Author Index] [Thread Index]
Message Nav: [Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next]
Other format: [Raw text]

Re: Missing warning about uninitialized variable.


J.C. Pizarro wrote:
Q: What does it print?
A: Random data.

Q: How does it print?
A: Stochastically.

I said "it prints stochasticly random data". Is it wrong?

Yes.


Stochastic, Adjective: of or pertaining to a process involving a randomly determined sequence of observations each of which is considered as a sample of one element from a probability distribution.

It's not "stochastically" printing anything. In fact, for any given instance of the compiled unit, it's entirely predictable what's going to happen. Just look at the machine code. And it's hardly random data anyways. 5 32-bit numbers where most of the bits are the same is hardly "random." At best, they're different, and more correctly, undefined.

You don't need to invent terminology.

int a;
printf("a == %d\n", a);

That's not "random," nor is it "stochastic," or even "perplexing!" for that matter. It's undefined. I can't tell you what that will print. But I can justify what it did print [if that makes any sense...].

Tom


Index Nav: [Date Index] [Subject Index] [Author Index] [Thread Index]
Message Nav: [Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next]