Re: Build language with weak typing, then add scaffolding later to strengthen it?

[Peter Chapin <PChapin@vtc.vsc.edu>]

On Fri, 22 May 2015, kalvin.news@gmail.com wrote:

> What I would like to see in C/C++, and what would make me a bit less 
> grumpy, is a compiler "#pragma strict" - or something like that - which 
> would enable improved type checking in the compilation entity. Better 
> yet, an improved Lint with strict type checking rules because some of 
> the C compilers are legacy and cannot be upgraded.

Such tools exist. I believe even the free splint tool has "strict 
typedefs" where it can be configured to regard each typedef as a new type. 
I'm also about 98% sure the commercial PC-Lint tool has a similar feature.

The problem with using such a feature is that you pretty much have to 
write all the code yourself (not necessarily a bad thing in a high 
integrity context) since the use of types in third party header files is 
not so strict.

That said, it is generally possible to tell these tools to tone down their 
checking when they processs a third party header precisely to avoid the 
errors doing so would produce.

Peter