http://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=50645
--- Comment #3 from Jonathan Wakely <redi at gcc dot gnu.org> 2011-10-07
00:41:25 UTC ---
(In reply to comment #0)
>
> If I declare:
>
> const char *DowNames[] = {
> "Sun", "Mon", "Tue", "Wed", "Thu", "Fri", "Sat", "Sun",
> NULL
> };
>
> as just char* instead of const char*, YES I WOULD LIKE TO GET A WARNING.
So you want a warning if non-const pointers point to const data. Makes sense.
> HOWEVER, if I have a function:
>
> myfunction(char *buf) {}
>
> I'd like to be able to call it like this
>
> myfunction("hello world")
>
> ... WITH NO 'deprecated conversion from string to char*' WARNING
So you don't want a warning if a non-const pointer points to const data.
Huh? How is that different from the earlier case.
> because char* as a parameter should be able to take a string as an argument --
> this makes sense.
Why? If a function takes char* it means it can change the contents of the char
or chars at that address, why is a warning not appropriate if you call it with
an argument that might cause a runtime error if the function changes the data?
> It's annoying to have to cast (char*)"hello world" every place in code, as
> programmers always used to use, simply "hello world". (i know an option is to
> change the warning level -- but that has other issues.)
Or, if your function really doesn't change the data, you could always fix its
signature to be myfunction(const char*).
Or use C, instead of C++ (you do realise the warning you're complaining about
is a C++ warning, not a C one, right?)
> PLEASE UNDEPRECATE! (Keep things simple, keep backward compatibility, as the
> old-school way is often best, designed that way for simplicity!)
That conversion is deprecated by the C++ standard, GCC cannot un-deprecate it.
Talk to the C++ committee (who will tell you to stop living in the 1970s and
get over it, type safety is a good thing.)
