Implicitly Typed C

December 11th, 2023
tech
I don't know any good reason to do this, but if you would rather be writing Python or JavaScript here's something you can do with a C compiler:

$ cat tmp.c
foo(x) {
  return x+5;
}
bar() {
  return 4;
}
main() {
  printf("%d\n", foo(bar()));
}

$ gcc -w -o tmp.out tmp.c && ./tmp.out
9

This code takes advantage of a historical quirk of C where types are assumed to be int unless otherwise specified: foo(x) {...} is equivalent to int foo(int x) {...}. Additionally the printf works because gcc includes stdio.h by default, and main is special-cased to assume a final return 0.

I've occasionally used this style when writing example code to remove visual noise, but it's probably not a good idea there either.

Comment via: facebook, lesswrong, mastodon, substack

Recent posts on blogs I like:

Ozy at LessOnline!

I will once again be a guest at LessOnline, alongside many other writers whom you no doubt like less than you like me: Scott Alexander, dynomight, Georgia Ray, David Friedman, Nicholas Decker, Jacob Falkovich, Kelsey Piper, Alicorn, Aella, etc.

via Thing of Things March 23, 2026

Daycares and the Brown School

As someone in Somerville I notice that there are quite high prices regarding childcare. The average family in Somerville pays $1,100 to $3,500 for daycare per month, and I want to make the costs more affordable. I have also noticed that housing is quite …

via Lily Wise's Blog Posts March 22, 2026

2025-26 New Year review

This is an annual post reviewing the last year and setting intentions for next year. I look over different life areas (work, health, parenting, effectiveness, etc) and analyze my life tracking data. Highlights include a minimal group house, the usefulness…

via Victoria Krakovna January 19, 2026

more     (via openring)