Re: [PATCH] Don't cast the return of malloc() and friends

[Hussam al-Homsi]


>> Subject: [PATCH] Don't cast the return of malloc() and friends
>> Because doing so is superfluous.
> 
> It may be redundant, but does it do any harm?

Other than wasting some space, it can do harm if one forgets to include 
<stdlib.h> and older C compilers then suppose a return of int and trigger the 
wrong conversion from int to a pointer type.

> Also, if ever the type of one of the relevant variables is changed, the
> cast will cause compilation errors -- without the cast the compilation
> would silently but probably wrongly succeed.

The conversion from void*, the return type of malloc(), to the target type is 
automatic and doesn't need any intervention.

Now about changes to target types. That would only be a problem if the argument 
of malloc() references the target type:
T* p = malloc(sizeof (T));
For that problem I suggest using this idiom instead:
T* p = malloc(sizeof *p);
Where the type info is specified only once.
But that's for another time. :)

Thanks.

Hussam