Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site harvard.ARPA Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!harvard!draves From: draves@harvard.ARPA (Richard Draves) Newsgroups: net.bugs.4bsd Subject: limit on C declarations Message-ID: <452@harvard.ARPA> Date: Sun, 10-Mar-85 02:58:24 EST Article-I.D.: harvard.452 Posted: Sun Mar 10 02:58:24 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 12-Mar-85 20:19:44 EST Distribution: net Organization: Aiken Computation Laboratory, Harvard Lines: 19 There seems to be some sort of limit to how complicated a C type may become (in our 4.2 cc): main() { int a, **** **** **** **b; /* no error yet */ a = **** **** **** **b; /* illegal indirection */ } I can understand the implementors' decision to put such a limit on types, presumably to eliminate the need for some expensive data structure. However, this should be documented in the man page (it isn't in ours), and overflow should be reported as such, while compiling the declaration. Rich -- "a picture in the head is a gory murder in an art gallery" -- Stephen Kosslyn