Talk:c/language/cast

Pointers <-> Integers

• There is a contradiction in the page text:

1. "Any integer can be cast to any pointer type." and "Any pointer type can be cast to any integer type."
2. "there are no conversions between pointers to functions and integers".

The Standard (6.3.2.3 Pointers, paragraphs 5 and 6) says "An integer may be converted to any pointer type." and "Any pointer type may be converted to an integer type."

Therefore, I think point 2 above should be removed from the page.

• However, there is a very important point from the Standard (paragraph 6) which basically renders any sort of actually useful software completely impossible to write:

"Any pointer type may be converted to an integer type[…] The result need not be in the range of values of any integer type."

That fact should probably be noted somewhere.

The value of a pointer-to-function is going to be stored in some object, yet there is no dependable way to recover that value. Crazy!

97.116.53.9 16:54, 10 August 2021 (PDT)

Yes, i think you're right on the first one. As for result of conversion, the page already says it's implementation-defined (presumably all meaningful implementations defined it to something that is "actually useful") --Cubbi (talk) 19:56, 11 August 2021 (PDT)