Issue 1002: Type qualifiers in [*] in abstract declarators

Authors: Joseph Myers
Date: 2025-03-06
Submitted against: C23
Status: Open
Cross-references: 0289

An array declarator can have the form (syntax in C23 6.7.7.1):

direct-declarator [ type-qualifier-list_opt * ]

but the corresponding abstract-declarator syntax in 6.7.8 omits the type-qualifier-list_opt. David Keaton stated in reflector message 14798 that this difference was not deliberate. The response to issue 0289 fixed such a difference in the case where an assignment expression is involved, but did nothing about the [*] case.

If abstract declarators have a more restrictive syntax than declarators, that confuses both the rules about replacing an expression at function prototype scope with *, and the rule that "If, in a parameter declaration, an identifier can be treated either as a typedef name or as a parameter name, it shall be taken as a typedef name.". It seems clear that the syntax should match in the two cases.

Suggested correction

In C23 6.7.8 (Type names), change the fourth option in the Syntax for array-abstract-declarator:

direct-abstract-declarator_opt [ type-qualifier-list_opt * ]