> If 12345678 is acceptable to you then the language specification is already doing what you want.
No it's not.
The compiler is allowed to look at this code and make it print 5. Or make it delete my files. This code is undefined and the compiler could do anything without violating the C standard.
> The compiler is allowed to look at this code and make it print 5. Or make it delete my files.
It is allowed to do this but it won't. "The compiler will maximally abuse me if I put any undefined behavior in my program" is not a concern that is actually based in any reality. In the above program the compiler cannot meaningfully prove that undefined behavior exists and if it could it would yell at you and raise an error rather than filling your hard drives with pictures of cats.
This meme has done so much damage to the discussion around UB. The gcc and clang maintainers aren't licking their lips just waiting to delete hard drives whenever people dereference null.
Go compile that program. You can stick it in compiler explorer. It is going to print 12345678.
It is very possible for a non-malicious compiler to end up eliminating this code as dead.
That's the biggest risk. I only mentioned "delete my files" to demonstrate how big the gap in the spec is, because you were saying the spec is already "doing what I want", which happens long before we get to what compilers will or won't do.
No it's not.
The compiler is allowed to look at this code and make it print 5. Or make it delete my files. This code is undefined and the compiler could do anything without violating the C standard.