Johannes Sixt <j.sixt@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
> Am 8/20/2012 12:36, schrieb Joachim Schmitz:
>> int var = var;
>> char *othervar = othervar;
>>
>> ...
>>
>> What is the reason for using that self-init stuff? I don't think it is
>> really portable, is it?
>
> It is used to avoid "var may be used uninitialized" warnings for some
> compilers. Officially (according to the C standard), it is undefined
> behavior. But I've observed considerable resistance by Junio to fix this
> properly.
I had resisted
- int foo = foo;
+ int foo = 0;
in the past. If some compiler is not seeing that "foo" is never
used uninitialized, such a compiler will generate an unnecessary
initialization, so it is not a _proper_ fix anyway (in fact, I do
not think a proper fix exists, short of simplifying the code so that
less sophisticated compilers can see that "foo" is never used
uninitialized).
So, no, I never resisted a "proper" fix. I resisted swapping an
unsatisfactory workaround with another.
Between the two unsatisfactory workarounds, the latter (explicit
and unnecessary assignment to an innocuous value) is lessor of two
evils, so I do not particularly mind it, though. Indeed, I think
more recent history shows that we have such changes.
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