Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!utgpu!utfyzx!sq!msb
From: msb@sq.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: what "cast" means
Message-ID: <1987Jul9.162103.1701@sq.uucp>
Date: Thu, 9-Jul-87 16:21:03 EDT
Article-I.D.: sq.1987Jul9.162103.1701
Posted: Thu Jul  9 16:21:03 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 11-Jul-87 08:35:39 EDT
References: <263@auvax.UUCP>
Reply-To: msb@sq.UUCP (Mark Brader)
Organization: SoftQuad Inc., Toronto
Lines: 17
Checksum: 39817
Summary: (type) expression

> I withdraw!  I recant!  assignment-produces-an-implicit-cast, ...

No, assignment produces an implicit *conversion*.  "Conversion" is the
general term for making a value of one type into a different type.
"Cast" refers specifically to the syntactic device "(type) expression".
For example, in the statements

	int i; i = (int) 2.3;

the *cast* is redundant because the *conversion* of 2.3 to int woul;d
occur implicitly if the cast was omitted.

C terminology is confusing enough when used carelessly as it is;
let's try and keep this one straight.

Mark Brader		"Not looking like Pascal is not a language deficiency!"
utzoo!sq!msb							  -- Doug Gwyn