Help with bit-field semantics in C and C++

[Toon Moene]

Mark Mitchell wrote:

> When reading the C++ standard, it pays to remember that it's big, 
> complex, and some parts are better written than others.  The people 
> writing it just didn't think of all the corner cases, whichi is not to 
> criticize; it's just a fact.

This is also not meant as criticism, just a question on the process of 
creating the C++ standard.

During the creation of a Fortran Standard (the 2003 one is the one I'm 
familiar with) unfailingly there are vendors who implement 2003 features 
into their Fortran 95 compilers, just to see whether "it works".  Just 
as unfailingly, they'll unearth corner cases the committee overlooked. 
If the corner case really is in the new 2003 proto-standard, it can be 
dealt with internally - however, "interpretations" of the Fortran 95 
Standard are not uncommon in this process.

How does that work for C++ ?

-- 
Toon Moene - e-mail: toon@moene.indiv.nluug.nl - phone: +31 346 214290
Saturnushof 14, 3738 XG  Maartensdijk, The Netherlands
Maintainer, GNU Fortran 77: http://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/g77_news.html
A maintainer of GNU Fortran 95: http://gcc.gnu.org/fortran/