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What does the ??!??! operator do in C? (stackoverflow.com)

636 points by isomorph · 1434 days ago · 166 comments on HN

Article summary

The article discusses the ??!??! operator in C, but the content is not available. However, the comments reveal that the article likely explores obscure features of the C language. The discussion focuses on trigraphs, digraphs, and other preprocessor features. The C language has various features that are rarely used or have been removed in newer standards.

Main themes

  • C language features
  • Trigraphs and digraphs
  • C vs C++
  • Programming history
  • Language standards
  • Code obfuscation

What commenters say

  • Trigraphs are a rarely used feature in C that can be used to represent certain characters.
  • The use of trigraphs is generally discouraged and has been removed in C++17.
  • Some commenters believe that trigraphs and digraphs are only useful for obfuscating code or working with older systems.
  • Others argue that these features were necessary for programming on machines with limited character sets or punch-card machines.
  • The C and C++ languages have distinct differences, and using a C++ compiler for C code can lead to issues.
  • The removal of trigraphs in C23 is seen as a positive step towards simplifying the language.
  • Some commenters appreciate the complexity of C and enjoy exploring its lesser-known features.
  • The use of memcpy and other workarounds is often necessary when working with different compilers and architectures.