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Editorial Team
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Asked: 2026-05-20T21:58:28+00:00

Here’s a question I got in an exam today: In C, suppose the pointers

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Here’s a question I got in an exam today:

In C, suppose the pointers are strictly typed (ie, a pointer to an int cannot be used to point to a char). Does this reduce its expressive power? If no, why and how would you compensate for this limitation? If yes, how? And what more constructs would you have to add to “equalize” the loss of expressive power of C?

Some additional details:

  • By reduced expressive power, I think it means this: you will not be able to create certain programs that you could earlier.
  • Strictly typed pointers means you cannot do something like: int x = 5; int *p = &x; char *temp = (char*)p;
  • This includes (void*) conversions

I’ve included my answer below as well.

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1 Answer

  1. Editorial Team

    Does that also mean no more void*? If so, then yes: C’s expressiveness would be limited, as malloc would be impossible to implement. You’d need to add a new, typed, free store allocation mechanism in the spirit of C++ new.

    (Or, no: C would still be Turing-complete. But I don’t think that’s what’s meant here.)

    Actually, C isn’t even Turing-complete; see comments below.

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