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Article #1573

Re: are zero lengthed arrays allowed?

#1573
From: jimad
Date: Thu, 03 Aug 1995 18:44
19 lines
1425 bytes
In C++ zero lengthed arrays are perfectly reasonable and sensible things.
C++ supports dynamically allocated zero-lengthed arrays, but
not statically allocated zero-lengthed arrays.  In the context
of templated classes this makes little sense, IMHO.  Consider
a templated class using a default buffer, that can be dynamically
grown.  The size of the default buffer is a template parameter.
Zero is a perfectly reasonable size.  When the zero length default buffer
is filled, then it is dynamically grown.

The one-past the end pointer makes perfect sense here.  Let's
say in the above templated case an end of buffer ptr is kept
to signal buffer full.  In the zero-length buffer case the
one-past the end ptr becomes identical to the head of buffer
ptr, buffer full condition is signaled immediately, a larger
dynamically allocated buffer is allocated, and every thing
works perfectly.

Assuming zero length statically allocated buffers were allowed.
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Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!news.microsoft.com!news
From: jimad@microsoft.com (jimad)
Newsgroups: comp.std.c++
Subject: Re: are zero lengthed arrays allowed?
Date: 3 Aug 1995 18:44:30 GMT
Organization: Microsoft Corporation
Message-ID: <3vr5ee$ck0@rednews01.microsoft.com>
References: <1995Jul26.032716.22158@sq.sq.com> <3v6qt2$sk3@newsbf02.news.aol.com> <DCIIHw.97u@agora.rdrop.com>
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