}
</pre>
==Common C Programming Mistakes==
A common programming mistake is to forget to add the '()' for a function call. It might not be obvious why this isn't flagged as an error. In some programming languages such as Basic a subroutine with no parameters can be called by coding the name with no parenthesis. In C the name of a function represents the address of the function. Adding the () is required to make a function call to that address.
Furthermore in C any valid expression is allowed. For example:
2+2;
is a valid C expression. The compiler computes 4 and does nothing with it (sometimes computing things have side effects and therefore have purpose).
2;
is a valid C expression. The compiler computes 2 and does nothing with it.
ClearStopImmediately;
is a valid expression. The compiler computes the address of the function ClearStopImmediately and does nothing with it.
Note we are working on a new code Validation tool (using splint.exe) that will analyze code, detect no useful purpose, and provide warnings in these types of cases. Look for it in the next Version 4.35.