Re: History of const in C++, C89, and POSIX.1-1988 (was: [PATCH v1 02/19] man/man2/access.2: HISTORY: Specify different)

[Alejandro Colomar <alx@kernel.org>]

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Hi Seth,

On Wed, Jan 21, 2026 at 06:12:45AM +0000, Seth McDonald wrote:
[...]
> So if I understand correctly, because function prototypes were first
> specified in C89, programs written about 1988-1990 for compatability
> with POSIX.1-1988 likely didn't use function pointers in the way my
> example did.  In that case, I would agree that this change from 'char*'
> to 'const char*' is too inconsequential to document here.

Yes.

> But I do still find it an interesting clue as to how these different
> standards developed in tandem with one another.  Perhaps we could
> still consider noting it in standards(7)?  Since that page already
> documents how some systems/standards influenced each other in their
> historical development.

Yes, a line saying that POSIX.1-1988 was heavily influenced by the
development of C89 would be good, I think.


Cheers,
Alex

-- 
<https://www.alejandro-colomar.es>

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