Re: g++ 3.4.5 doesn't zero-initialize

From:
"Balog Pal" <pasa@lib.hu>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.c++
Date:
Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:18:07 +0200
Message-ID:
<h7emkc$2jkt$1@news.ett.com.ua>
"Alf P. Steinbach" <alfps@start.no>
..

Grr.

What's wrong with this code?

    struct WndClassEx: WNDCLASSEX
    {
        WndClassEx(
            cppx::WideString const& name,
            Params const& params
            )
            : WNDCLASSEX()
        {
            cbSize = sizeof( WNDCLASSEX );
            style = params.style();
            lpfnWndProc = &DefWindowProc;
            hInstance = params.module();
            hCursor = ::LoadCursor( 0, IDC_ARROW );
            hbrBackground = reinterpret_cast<HBRUSH>( COLOR_BTNFACE +
1 );
            lpszClassName = name.cStr();
        }

        WndClassEx const* ptr() const
        {
            return this;
        }
    };

Answer: nothing in particular, at least when one knows that it's just a
little local helper class where 'name' arg has lifetime guaranteed to be
enough.


The problem is you build on working 'value-init' that is known to have
real-world problems.

But MinGW g++ doesn't zero-initialize the WNDCLASSEX as it should (this is
a plain struct with no constructor, provided by the Windows API).

Argh!

I knew old MSVC doesn't always zero-initialize /arrays/ when told to.

But I didn't know that g++ doesn't zero-initialize /structs/ when told to.


Does that version claim support for C++03? IIRC C++98 did not have the value
init for structs, and I guess the 3.x versions were about the turning point.
Even if it did claim TC1 I tend to doubt fair implementation in the first
year.

Honestly, the calendar is 2009 by now, but I'd not rely in value init even
of current compielrs -- at least without first checking the version and
include some defense cludges in code should it migrate away...

And by the way, the gdb debugger is driving me crazy.


Too bad -- if doing windows, why not use the windows toolset? I doubt gdb
will ever come close to Visual's... If your prog is portable, it will go in
VS express, if not -- what is the wisdom behind locking into a compiler
that is poorly supported on the target platform?
And if porting win code away, why to an archaic version of gcc instead of a
current?

Ignoring breakpoints and telling me the source code for some stack frame
is at arbitrary location in arbitrary file. And yes, optimizations turned
off, which is another annoyance, since g++ needs optimizations on to e.g.
warn about uninitialized things.


And inside ddd it crashes on all kind of ocasions, sometimes gets confused
of the objects to show, etc...

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