[LCP]Rounding questions

[Steve Baker]

Josh Helmer <jhelmer4 at cox.net> wrote:
> > As you know, malloc() returns a `void *'.  It is automatically
> > converted to a `struct foobar *' by the above assignment and
> > there is no need, in this case, for a cast (and there are good
> > reasons for saying that a cast here is `wrong').
>
> Sorry... I feel like a dumbass for having spent so much time defending my own 
> ignorance.  I knew that you didn't have to cast the return from malloc (and I 
> don't), but never made the connection that you could just assign a void 
> pointer to any type of pointer in other cases too...  I went back and wrote 
> some quick test code and lo-and-behold the casts that I had always believed 
> were necessary were not...  Oops..

  You may not have to cast, but there is nothing inherently wrong with doing
so, in fact, doing so almost counts as documentation, or at least, as much
documentation as some programmers provide.  It can be a problem when that
"documentation" is wrong, but I wouldn't go so far as to advocate it's
complete removal.  You probably use casts as you do, because you were taught
to, and it's not wrong to emulate your teachers, especially when they are the
likes of Kernighan and Ritchie.

  There is more than one way to do things in C, there is more than one style
of programming.  Don't be too concerned with what others think of yours so
long as you're productive and produce good working code.  We could all sit
around and nit-pick and criticize each others coding style all day long, but
nothing would come of it.

> I'll just slink back to my corner and sit quietly now...

  I really hate people who make others feel this way...  No matter how fucking
right they may be.  They just end up destroying any feelings of community, and
that doesn't help anything.

								- Steve