Re: K&R style prototypes

[Jim Wilson <wilson at cygnus dot com>]

	I don't have the standard, so could
	someone quote the passage that specifically allows the K&R style function
	declaration? 

In the '89 standard, that would be Section 3.7.1 Function Definitions, which
defines function definition syntax such that both the K&R style and
prototype-style declarations are valid.

In Section 3.9 Future Language directions, it says that K&R style declarations
and definitions are an obsolescent feature.  They are however valid features,
which means an ANSI C compiler are required to accept them.

	Neither of these is what I was looking for.  I'm looking for a warning or
	error message that says:  "K&R style prototype used with -ansi".

That is basically what -Wstrict-prototypes does, though it isn't dependent
on -ansi.  Why doesn't it do what you want?

	Btw, I'm curious.  What is the benefit of the warnings above?  Who cares
	if there's no previous prototype for 'func'?  Since I call the function
	after it is defined, what would be the point of prototyping it?

If you prototype all extern functions in an appropriate .h file, then if
we see a function definition and don't have a prototype for it in scope then
your .h file is buggy, and you would want to know about it.

Jim