Call a char pointer in the function

Question

I saw the piece of the code. But do not know what the purpose is.

void a()
{
  static const char *string = "STRING";
  ...
  (void)string;  // <---- What the purpose of the line is?
  ...
}

score 0 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 24 '20 at 08:05

0

(void) before a variable like that creates an empty expression and is used to silence warnings about a variable not being used by the program.

In this specific case it would be better to simply comment out the variable declaration.

answered Apr 24 '20 at 08:05

Lundin

It's possible that the string has been defined like this for debugging or other purposes (e.g. embedded version or copyright string), i.e. so that it shows up in the executable. – Paul R Apr 24 '20 at 08:07
@PaulR Not really. If you want a dead string that just sits in the executable, it should have been declared at file scope and as `volatile`. Because local `const` variables tend to end up on the stack and as such are more prone to getting optimized out. – Lundin Apr 24 '20 at 08:13
You're right for pretty much any decent modern compiler, but it could be ancient code, or it could be that the author's intent did not match up with reality. I was just hazarding a guess as to what the original intent might have been. – Paul R Apr 24 '20 at 08:57

1 Answers1