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Comments on Should I cast to (void) when I do not use the return value

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Should I cast to (void) when I do not use the return value

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I saw at least one compiler (Codewarrior for HC12) warn me if I use a function without using it's return value. Other compilers (clang/gcc) do not issue a warning though, even when using the std=90 argument.

So should I generally cast the unused return value of a function to (void)?

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This is a bit opinionated, but personally, I would not do it. It would just clutter the code and could hide sources of bugs. But it depends a lot on what function it is.

It's also hard to give a very general answer to this. In many cases, the proper answer is "No, you should instead use the return value, because if you don't, you have no way of knowing if the function succeeded or not". So if you're casting away the result of scanf, then you're doing something wrong.

Casting is basically just a way of telling the compiler "Trust me, I know what I'm doing." I have seen lots of examples where people are trying to find bugs where a warning would have given them a very good clue, but since they are casting, the compiler yields no warning.

It's not necessarily a bad thing, but never use casting as your goto solution to make the compiler shut up. Always think it through carefully before you do it. Remember that warnings are there to help you.

If you don't want to see a particular warning, consider using compiler flags to turn it off.

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Lundin‭ wrote over 4 years ago

In this particular case, a cast to void means "I am purposely ignoring the return value", but silently ignoring the return value could mean anything. Including "I forgot to check the return value" or "trust me, I don't know what I'm doing". gcc/clang etc don't even give diagnostics when you ignore the return value of strstr, bsearch and similar functions, where there is simply no way to justify the lack of compiler warnings.