Can I Compile C Code with a C Compiler? What are the Challenges and How Can I Overcome Them?

Compiling C with C : Common Issues and Solutions

Compiling existing C code with a C compiler can introduce several challenges stemming from C 's stricter type enforcement and additional keywords. Here are some potential issues and their solutions:

Type Mismatches:

• As mentioned in the question, assigning an integer to an enumerated type is illegal in C . In C , this will require a cast, e.g.:

  <code class="cpp">enum Color { Red, Green, Blue };
  Color c = static_cast<Color>(int_value);</code>

Missing Type Casts:

• C requires explicit type casts when mixing void* with other pointer types. In C code, allocating memory with malloc can be done without a cast:

  <code class="c">Foo *foo;
  foo = malloc(sizeof(*foo));</code>

• However, in C , a cast is necessary:

  <code class="cpp">Foo *foo;
  foo = (Foo*)malloc(sizeof(*foo));</code>

Reserved Keywords:

• C introduces new reserved keywords not found in C, such as "class," "bool," and "new." Avoid using these as variable names.

Name Mangling:

• Without extern "C" wrappers, the C compiler will mangle symbol names. This becomes an issue only if you rely on dynamic linking or accessing symbols from non-C libraries.

Additional Considerations:

• The full list of incompatibilities between ISO C and ISO C can be found in the document "Incompatibilities Between ISO C and ISO C ."
• Gradual migration to C can be achieved by introducing extern "C" wrappers for specific modules while refactoring others to leverage C features.

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