Right here is what I mean by doublethink. How can "literally anything" not include "literally physically destroy[ing] the world"? Of course, I was also using it as shorthand for any catastrophic consequence that is unacceptable.
It's the equivocation between inconsistent ideas that frustrates me. Of course, practically speaking you assume really bad things don't follow from undefined behavior. But then why the constant refrain about how we shouldn't rely on what actually happens?
I think I understand where the motivation for declaring undefined behavior comes from - people who set standards don't want responsibility for situations they don't completely control. But this disclaiming of responsibility puts the users of the standards in an impossible situation as a result.
I'm coming from a perspective of someone who programmed in C as my second language after BASIC, back in the 80s, before modern standards and before I knew anything about language standards. The philosophy and attitude of people who talk about standards and undefined behavior is something I first encountered on Usenet in the 90s, but I still am disturbed by it and haven't been "educated" to accept it.
It's the equivocation between inconsistent ideas that frustrates me. Of course, practically speaking you assume really bad things don't follow from undefined behavior. But then why the constant refrain about how we shouldn't rely on what actually happens?
I think I understand where the motivation for declaring undefined behavior comes from - people who set standards don't want responsibility for situations they don't completely control. But this disclaiming of responsibility puts the users of the standards in an impossible situation as a result.
I'm coming from a perspective of someone who programmed in C as my second language after BASIC, back in the 80s, before modern standards and before I knew anything about language standards. The philosophy and attitude of people who talk about standards and undefined behavior is something I first encountered on Usenet in the 90s, but I still am disturbed by it and haven't been "educated" to accept it.