Submitter: Joseph Myers (UK)
Submission Date: 2007-03-24
Source: Joseph Myers <joseph@codesourcery.com>
Reference Document: ISO/IEC WG14
N1221
Version: 1.0
Date: 2007-03-24
Subject: Composite types for variable-length arrays
Summary
The definition of composite types in 6.2.7#3 says "If one type is an array of known constant size, the composite type is an array of that size; otherwise, if one type is a variable length array, the composite type is that type." and also "These rules apply recursively to the types from which the two types are derived.". Which of these wins for variable length array types? Are the element types composed recursively, or is the element type of the variable length array type taken even though it may have less information than the other element type? (That loss of information in the composite type would mean some sequences of three or more declarations of the same function are constraint violations for some orderings of the declarations and undefined behavior for other orderings.)
See reflector messages 11145-11147 for discussion.
Suggested Technical Corrigendum
6.2.7 paragraph 3, change "is that type" to "is an array of that size;
in either case, the element type of the composite type is the
composite type of the two element types".