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  3. I love C where types are basically a suggestion rather than a rule

I love C where types are basically a suggestion rather than a rule

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  • H honey the codewitch

    It's good for you - puts hair on your chest.** ** I don't know what to tell if you aren't looking for that. :~

    Real programmers use butterflies

    M Offline
    M Offline
    Mike Hankey
    wrote on last edited by
    #11

    Don't know about hair but I've learned enough foul language to make a sailor blush.

    I'm not sure how many cookies it makes to be happy, but so far it's not 27. JaxCoder.com

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • H honey the codewitch

      The cast operator is why I can cast my struct directly to an "array" of bytes and stash it in a file. It makes me happy. It's so elegant. So concise. And so dangerous.

      Real programmers use butterflies

      Greg UtasG Offline
      Greg UtasG Offline
      Greg Utas
      wrote on last edited by
      #12

      Such a right-thinking person. :thumbsup: Are you implying that there are languages that don't allow this, and force you to serialize using JSON or some other drool?! :-D

      Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
      The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

      <p><a href="https://github.com/GregUtas/robust-services-core/blob/master/README.md">Robust Services Core</a>
      <em>The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.</em></p>

      H 1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • H honey the codewitch

        The cast operator is why I can cast my struct directly to an "array" of bytes and stash it in a file. It makes me happy. It's so elegant. So concise. And so dangerous.

        Real programmers use butterflies

        D Offline
        D Offline
        Daniel Pfeffer
        wrote on last edited by
        #13

        [Program: Shoot in foot](http://www.personal.psu.edu/sxt104/program1.html)

        Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.

        N F R 3 Replies Last reply
        0
        • H honey the codewitch

          The cast operator is why I can cast my struct directly to an "array" of bytes and stash it in a file. It makes me happy. It's so elegant. So concise. And so dangerous.

          Real programmers use butterflies

          P Offline
          P Offline
          PIEBALDconsult
          wrote on last edited by
          #14

          I see no danger. Better than some other techniques.

          1 Reply Last reply
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          • H honey the codewitch

            The cast operator is why I can cast my struct directly to an "array" of bytes and stash it in a file. It makes me happy. It's so elegant. So concise. And so dangerous.

            Real programmers use butterflies

            L Offline
            L Offline
            Lost User
            wrote on last edited by
            #15

            C# has been improving a lot in that area. You can take a `Span` of various types (some mostly-reasonable restrictions apply) and use `MemoryMarshal.AsBytes` on it to view it has a `Span`, then stash it in a file or whatever. It's nice. Actually paradoxically it's nicer than in C, because in C# you can actually control the layout of fields to whatever degree you need, so you can use this for file headers that have "unaligned" fields. C# is a better low level language than C.

            Greg UtasG E 2 Replies Last reply
            0
            • H honey the codewitch

              The cast operator is why I can cast my struct directly to an "array" of bytes and stash it in a file. It makes me happy. It's so elegant. So concise. And so dangerous.

              Real programmers use butterflies

              W Offline
              W Offline
              W Balboos GHB
              wrote on last edited by
              #16

              Exceptionally useful - you can do a cheap encryption by clever casting - or even more convenient, what might be considered an alias for casting: union And if one so chooses, passing ones data through a logical cuisinart is always appropriate. If you wish great power you must take great responsibility.       As always.

              Ravings en masse^

              "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

              "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010

              H 1 Reply Last reply
              0
              • W W Balboos GHB

                Exceptionally useful - you can do a cheap encryption by clever casting - or even more convenient, what might be considered an alias for casting: union And if one so chooses, passing ones data through a logical cuisinart is always appropriate. If you wish great power you must take great responsibility.       As always.

                Ravings en masse^

                "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

                "If you are searching for perfection in others, then you seek disappointment. If you seek perfection in yourself, then you will find failure." - Balboos HaGadol Mar 2010

                H Offline
                H Offline
                honey the codewitch
                wrote on last edited by
                #17

                I use unions sometimes, but i only needed the cast in two places in the code that inspired this post, and it was all it was ever going to need. :)

                Real programmers use butterflies

                W 1 Reply Last reply
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                • T The Other John Ingram

                  I had a legacy program that had void****** as part of a sort routine. It worked, i didn't now how. The guy that wrote it was long gone and i spent a afternoon trying to figure out how it worked. In the end i left it alone.

                  N Offline
                  N Offline
                  Nelek
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #18

                  Member 14732673 wrote:

                  In the end i left it alone.

                  Really wise. Never touch a running system, unless you really know how to fix it :rolleyes: ;P :-D

                  M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.

                  T 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • Greg UtasG Greg Utas

                    Such a right-thinking person. :thumbsup: Are you implying that there are languages that don't allow this, and force you to serialize using JSON or some other drool?! :-D

                    Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
                    The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

                    H Offline
                    H Offline
                    honey the codewitch
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #19

                    something like that, yes. :-D

                    Real programmers use butterflies

                    1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • L Lost User

                      C# has been improving a lot in that area. You can take a `Span` of various types (some mostly-reasonable restrictions apply) and use `MemoryMarshal.AsBytes` on it to view it has a `Span`, then stash it in a file or whatever. It's nice. Actually paradoxically it's nicer than in C, because in C# you can actually control the layout of fields to whatever degree you need, so you can use this for file headers that have "unaligned" fields. C# is a better low level language than C.

                      Greg UtasG Offline
                      Greg UtasG Offline
                      Greg Utas
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #20

                      Does it mandate the endianism and take the hit on non-compliant platforms, or is it still a problem for intersystem messages?

                      Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
                      The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

                      <p><a href="https://github.com/GregUtas/robust-services-core/blob/master/README.md">Robust Services Core</a>
                      <em>The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.</em></p>

                      L 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • D Daniel Pfeffer

                        [Program: Shoot in foot](http://www.personal.psu.edu/sxt104/program1.html)

                        Freedom is the freedom to say that two plus two make four. If that is granted, all else follows. -- 6079 Smith W.

                        N Offline
                        N Offline
                        Nelek
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #21

                        Quote:

                        Assembler: You try to shoot yourself in the foot, only to discover you must first invent the gun, the bullet, the trigger, and your foot. Modula2: After realizing that you can't actually accomplish anything in this language, you shoot yourself in the head.

                        :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

                        M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.

                        1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • H honey the codewitch

                          The cast operator is why I can cast my struct directly to an "array" of bytes and stash it in a file. It makes me happy. It's so elegant. So concise. And so dangerous.

                          Real programmers use butterflies

                          D Offline
                          D Offline
                          den2k88
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #22

                          Yes to all of that. Elegant and concise. C++ is much more type safe, and yet it became heavy: hard to read and often very hard to write, a bit constrictive. C is absolute freedom, total power... and requires total responsibility.

                          GCS d--(d+) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++*      Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X

                          D 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • H honey the codewitch

                            The cast operator is why I can cast my struct directly to an "array" of bytes and stash it in a file. It makes me happy. It's so elegant. So concise. And so dangerous.

                            Real programmers use butterflies

                            R Offline
                            R Offline
                            Rick York
                            wrote on last edited by
                            #23

                            Then there are unions. Essentially a compiler-driven cast with no type conversions what so ever. It's in-memory aliasing. It takes casting to an entirely new level. I have found many good uses for unions. So has Microsoft - see the LARGE_INTEGER for an example.

                            "They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"

                            H 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • Greg UtasG Greg Utas

                              Does it mandate the endianism and take the hit on non-compliant platforms, or is it still a problem for intersystem messages?

                              Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
                              The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

                              L Offline
                              L Offline
                              Lost User
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #24

                              Unfortunately it's always in the native endianness, with no way to control it. An attribute for that is on my wishlist.

                              Greg UtasG 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • H honey the codewitch

                                The cast operator is why I can cast my struct directly to an "array" of bytes and stash it in a file. It makes me happy. It's so elegant. So concise. And so dangerous.

                                Real programmers use butterflies

                                T Offline
                                T Offline
                                TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #25

                                yeah, that'll work so long as you don't stash your structs pointers this way. :)

                                #SupportHeForShe Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun

                                H Greg UtasG 2 Replies Last reply
                                0
                                • L Lost User

                                  Unfortunately it's always in the native endianness, with no way to control it. An attribute for that is on my wishlist.

                                  Greg UtasG Offline
                                  Greg UtasG Offline
                                  Greg Utas
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #26

                                  The proprietary language in which I worked for many years standardized its endianism and took the hit, so intersystem messaging was easy. It was designed when memory was precious--unlike today :)--so it was easy to control packing. For example, a bool was a single bit, and an enum could be packed into the fewest bits needed for its enumerators (negative values not allowed). We would only pad a field when performance was critical.

                                  Robust Services Core | Software Techniques for Lemmings | Articles
                                  The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.

                                  <p><a href="https://github.com/GregUtas/robust-services-core/blob/master/README.md">Robust Services Core</a>
                                  <em>The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing.</em></p>

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • N Nelek

                                    Member 14732673 wrote:

                                    In the end i left it alone.

                                    Really wise. Never touch a running system, unless you really know how to fix it :rolleyes: ;P :-D

                                    M.D.V. ;) If something has a solution... Why do we have to worry about?. If it has no solution... For what reason do we have to worry about? Help me to understand what I'm saying, and I'll explain it better to you Rating helpful answers is nice, but saying thanks can be even nicer.

                                    T Offline
                                    T Offline
                                    TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #27

                                    That's the fun! Make a change and watch it break and fix the break is the only way to understand ancient code.

                                    #SupportHeForShe Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun

                                    B 1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • R Rick York

                                      Then there are unions. Essentially a compiler-driven cast with no type conversions what so ever. It's in-memory aliasing. It takes casting to an entirely new level. I have found many good uses for unions. So has Microsoft - see the LARGE_INTEGER for an example.

                                      "They have a consciousness, they have a life, they have a soul! Damn you! Let the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers! Can I get an amen?"

                                      H Offline
                                      H Offline
                                      honey the codewitch
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #28

                                      Yeah, I'm aware - I even adapted the approach for C# using StructLayout.Explicit. It's just that declaring a union type isn't always called for. If you're doing the cast once or twice it doesn't make a lot of sense, so i do it when it's called for.

                                      Real programmers use butterflies

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • T TheGreatAndPowerfulOz

                                        yeah, that'll work so long as you don't stash your structs pointers this way. :)

                                        #SupportHeForShe Government can give you nothing but what it takes from somebody else. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you've got, including your freedom.-Ezra Taft Benson You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun

                                        H Offline
                                        H Offline
                                        honey the codewitch
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #29

                                        Yeah I try not to point into the stack for longer than the context of the containing function. :laugh:

                                        Real programmers use butterflies

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • D den2k88

                                          Yes to all of that. Elegant and concise. C++ is much more type safe, and yet it became heavy: hard to read and often very hard to write, a bit constrictive. C is absolute freedom, total power... and requires total responsibility.

                                          GCS d--(d+) s-/++ a C++++ U+++ P- L+@ E-- W++ N+ o+ K- w+++ O? M-- V? PS+ PE- Y+ PGP t+ 5? X R+++ tv-- b+(+++) DI+++ D++ G e++ h--- r+++ y+++*      Weapons extension: ma- k++ F+2 X

                                          D Offline
                                          D Offline
                                          David ONeil
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #30

                                          den2k88 wrote:

                                          C++ is ... hard to read and often very hard to write

                                          Am I using it wrong, because I've never had these problems?

                                          “If we get $100,000, we will go to Potato blockchain.” Enable the dream!

                                          T Greg UtasG D R 4 Replies Last reply
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