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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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  • 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
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    • 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
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      • 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
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        • 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
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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

              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
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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

                  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
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                        • 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
                            0
                            • D David ONeil

                              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 Offline
                              T Offline
                              TheGreatAndPowerfulOz
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #31

                              Funny, I was thinking the same things. But then again, I've encountered code like the OP described. Usually written by electrical engineers.

                              #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

                              Greg UtasG 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • T TheGreatAndPowerfulOz

                                Funny, I was thinking the same things. But then again, I've encountered code like the OP described. Usually written by electrical engineers.

                                #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

                                Greg UtasG Offline
                                Greg UtasG Offline
                                Greg Utas
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #32

                                :laugh: You mean C++ that is no more than C or, even worse, FORTRAN?

                                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>

                                T 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • D David ONeil

                                  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!

                                  Greg UtasG Offline
                                  Greg UtasG Offline
                                  Greg Utas
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #33

                                  Well, some of the template stuff out there... :wtf:

                                  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>

                                  D 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

                                    Greg UtasG Offline
                                    Greg UtasG Offline
                                    Greg Utas
                                    wrote on last edited by
                                    #34

                                    No problem. Placement new to the rescue! Sorry, wrong language. :laugh:

                                    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>

                                    T 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

                                      S Offline
                                      S Offline
                                      Super Lloyd
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #35

                                      the file is also not compatible between architecture to the next! :( i.e. endianess for sure.. but probably computer struct paddings too! :/ though haven't used C in decades, so I am not so sure about that one...

                                      A new .NET Serializer All in one Menu-Ribbon Bar Taking over the world since 1371!

                                      H 1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • S Super Lloyd

                                        the file is also not compatible between architecture to the next! :( i.e. endianess for sure.. but probably computer struct paddings too! :/ though haven't used C in decades, so I am not so sure about that one...

                                        A new .NET Serializer All in one Menu-Ribbon Bar Taking over the world since 1371!

                                        H Offline
                                        H Offline
                                        honey the codewitch
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #36

                                        Sometimes that doesn't matter. Sometimes you're writing software dedicated to a particular microcontroller and it expects the thing to be wired a certain way in order to run anyway.

                                        Real programmers use butterflies

                                        S 1 Reply Last reply
                                        0
                                        • H honey the codewitch

                                          Sometimes that doesn't matter. Sometimes you're writing software dedicated to a particular microcontroller and it expects the thing to be wired a certain way in order to run anyway.

                                          Real programmers use butterflies

                                          S Offline
                                          S Offline
                                          Super Lloyd
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #37

                                          oh well.. yes if consumer and producer is the same one, I guess it's all good! :)

                                          A new .NET Serializer All in one Menu-Ribbon Bar Taking over the world since 1371!

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