C Programming/Language extensions

Most C compilers have one or more "extensions" to the standard C language, to do things that are inconvenient to do in standard, portable C.

Some examples of language extensions:

• in-line assembly language
• interrupt service routines
• variable-length data structure (a structure whose last item is a "zero-length array").^[1]
• re-sizeable multidimensional arrays
• various "#pragma" settings to compile quickly, to generate fast code, or to generate compact code.
• bit manipulation, especially bit-rotations and things involving the "carry" bit
• storage alignment
• Arrays whose length is computed at run time.

External links

• GNU C: Extensions to the C Language
• C/C++ interpreter Ch extensions to the C language for scripting
• SDCC: Storage Class Language Extensions

1. ↑ comp.lang.c FAQ list: Question 2.6: "C99 introduces the concept of a flexible array member, which allows the size of an array to be omitted if it is the last member in a structure, thus providing a well-defined solution."