I can't find a good definition anywhere...

[Henry Spencer]

In article <10253 at smoke.BRL.MIL> gwyn at brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn) writes:
>>>What does a #pragma _do_, anyway?
>>So the guy says, "Anything it wants!"
>
>There is some sentiment that whatever #pragma does, the rest of the
>specifications in the Standard still have to be conformed to, so it's
>not quite "anything".  Valid examples are output listing control,
>levels of optimization, etc.

Unfortunately, while there is some sentiment for this view, it's not
guaranteed by the Standard (unless the relevant text has changed since
the October draft), so it should not be relied on.  There are two
possible interpretations of the actual wording, neither of which is
internally contradictory:  either #pragma is allowed to change the
rules, or it isn't.  Opinions vary on which interpretation is preferable,
but the Standard doesn't say.
-- 
Mars in 1980s:  USSR, 2 tries, |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
2 failures; USA, 0 tries.      | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry at zoo.toronto.edu