After reading through this, I'm not sure if it's a list of jokes or real information? For example:
> long ints can be entered using hexadecimal notation; for instance,
> long int foo = 07;
How is this a good example of hexadecimal input?
> long ints can be entered using hexadecimal notation; for instance,
> long int foo = 07;
How is this a good example of hexadecimal input?
The whole point is pulling peoples legs, the joke being on the person who doesn't know the language well enough and takes it serious.
The answers in the list are the equivalent of telling an apprentice to go get a can of blinker fluid (or Siemens Lufthacken, etc...), which they dutifully do and end up getting laughed at.
E.g. just before the one you quoted was this gem:
> 1.8: What's the auto keyword good for?
>
> Declaring vehicles.
Regarding your question:
> How is this a good example of hexadecimal input?
It isn't. In C, a leading zero in an integer literal means octal. It compiles and works out, because `7`, `07` and `0x07` happen to have the same value.
That is a hilariously beautiful and simple example to communicate that.
Most of them are indeed frequently asked, but by people who are a bit obstinate or otherwise don't fit the mold that old timers thought newbies should fit.
As a result, the responses are often intentionally dismissive and unhelpful.
EDIT: It occurs to me that comp.lang.c was the 80s-90s version of Stack Overflow. So at least they're comparatively funnier than the SO responses they'd elicit today.
1.1: How do you decide which integer type to use?
Closed as opinion based.
Please provide a minimal, complete and verifiable example.
Sure, it wasn't useful as a searchable database of questions, but the FAQ was very useful if you could spend time to wade through it, and any zero-effort posters were either flamed to oblivion or simply ignored.
I remember asking a couple stupid questions and directed to the documentation. To this day, at work I will suggest "let's see what the manual says", while troubleshooting and get a funny look and eve pushback after I find the answer.
Why do i find your anwer very funny ?
The answers are more informal than a proper one because they make you think and challenge the answer.
You shouldn't take every sentence as truth.
main() { int foo = 08; }