Function decay
Function decay is the C conversion of a function designator to a pointer to that function except in contexts such as sizeof and unary &.
Modern C, Third Edition
Function decay is the C conversion in which an expression designating a function is converted to a pointer to that function in applicable contexts.
- How it is used
- Uses function decay to pass functions as callbacks and invoke them through function pointers.
- How deep it goes
- Explains conversion rules, equivalent call forms, declarations, callbacks, and comparison safety, stopping short of broader pointer internals.
- Examples
- Demonstrates equivalent calls, atexit declarations, qsort callbacks, safe unsigned comparison, and overflow-prone integer comparison.
- What you can do after
- Apply it via function-pointer callbacks and distinguish safe comparison implementations from overflow-prone ones.
Modern C
Function decay is the C conversion in which an expression naming a function is evaluated as a pointer to that function, except in contexts that suppress the conversion.
- How it is used
- Uses function decay to pass callbacks and select functions through function-pointer interfaces.
- How deep it goes
- Defines decay, compares declaration forms, and traces call expressions, while deferring broader pointer details.
- Examples
- Demonstrates equivalent calls, callback declarations, generic comparison functions, sorting, searching, and selectable logging.
- What you can do after
- Apply function decay when declaring, passing, storing, and invoking callback functions.
Related concepts
- function pointer typeproduces · A function pointer is a value that designates a callable function and can be stored, passed, or invoked indirectly.
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