Return void type in C and C++
This compiles without any warnings.
Is this legal in C and C++ or does it just work in gcc and clang?
If it is legal, is it some new thing after C99?
void f(){
}
void f2(){
return f();
}
Update
as "Rad Lexus" suggested I tried this:
$ gcc -Wall -Wpedantic -c x.c
x.c: In function ‘f2’:
x.c:7:9: warning: ISO C forbids ‘return’ with expression, in function returning void [-Wpedantic]
return f();
$ clang -Wall -Wpedantic -c x.c
x.c:7:2: warning: void function 'f2' should not return void expression [-Wpedantic]
return f();
^ ~~~~~
1 warning generated.
$ gcc -Wall -Wpedantic -c x.cc
(no errors)
$ clang -Wall -Wpedantic -c x.cc
(no errors)
Update
Someone asked how this construction is helping. Well is more or less syntactic sugar. Here is one good example:
void error_report(const char *s){
printf("Error %s\n", s);
exit(0);
}
void process(){
if (step1() == 0)
return error_report("Step 1");
switch(step2()){
case 0: return error_report("Step 2 - No Memory");
case 1: return error_report("Step 2 - Internal Error");
}
printf("Processing Done!\n");
}
Solution 1:
C11, 6.8.6.4 "The return
statement":
A
return
statement with an expression shall not appear in a function whose return type isvoid
.
No, you may not use an expression, even if it is of void
type.
From the foreword of the same document:
Major changes in the second edition included:
[...]
return
without expression not permitted in function that returns a value (and vice versa)
So this was a change from C89 -> C99 (the second edition of the language standard), and has been that way ever since.
C++14, 6.6.3 "The return
statement":
A return statement with an expression of non-void type can be used only in functions returning a value [...] A return statement with an expression of type void can be used only in functions with a return type of cv void; the expression is evaluated just before the function returns to its caller.
Yes, you may use an expression if it is of void type (that's been valid since C++98).
Solution 2:
This code is allowed in C++
but not allowed in C
From Return statement @ cppreference
In a function returning void, the return statement with expression can be used, if the expression type is void.
OTOH in C11 specs draft n1570:
Major changes in the second edition included:
return without expression not permitted in function that returns a value (and vice versa)
(return
with expression not permitted in function that returns a void
)
and 6.8.6.4 return
A return statement with an expression shall not appear in a function whose return type is void. A return statement without an expression shall only appear in a function whose return type is void.
(even if the expression evaluates to void
)