Introduction
With the introduction of new devices and extended character sets,
new features may be added to this International Standard. Subclauses
in the language and library clauses warn implementors and programmers
of usages which, though valid in themselves, may conflict with future
additions.
Certain features are obsolescent, which means that they may be
considered for withdrawal in future revisions of this International
Standard. They are retained because of their widespread use, but
their use in new implementations (for implementation features) or
new programs (for language [6.9] or library features [7.13]) is
discouraged.
This International Standard is divided into four major subdivisions:
- the introduction and preliminary elements;
- the characteristics of environments that translate and execute
C programs;
- the language syntax, constraints, and semantics;
- the library facilities;
Examples are provided to illustrate possible forms of the
constructions described. Footnotes are provided to emphasize
consequences of the rules described in that subclause or elsewhere
in this International Standard. References are used to refer to
other related subclauses. A set of annexes summarizes information
contained in this International Standard. The introduction, the
examples, the footnotes, the references, and the annexes are not
part of this International Standard.
The language clause (clause 7) is derived from "The C Reference
Manual" (see annex A).
The library clause (clause 8) is bases on the 1984 /usr/group
Standard (see annex A).
This document is based on an article in comp.std.c by
Larry Weiss <lfw@oc.com>.