https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C_%28programming_language%29#K...
But it's way easier to consult the lazyweb than to do your own research.
"C99 standard doc" let's you find http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg14/www/docs/n1124.pdf but searching for "function declaration" does not take you anywhere useful.
That's not to say reading the whole thing is a waste of time, just beyond the scope of most new programmers.
I think it's useful to know how C compilers, the C specification and C coding styles have evolved over the years. For one, it helps put some of the arguments for/against certain styles and syntax in perspective.
In short, make an effort to learn from history before you make the minimal effort required to learn from a contemporary forum like stackexchange.
You may be able to solve the question by a simple search, but it still fits in on StackOverflow. The fact that it was upvoted a lot is irrelevant to me, it just means a few people bothered to press a button.
Perhaps for people who don't really know C, that's interesting information, but anyone who calls themselves a "C programmer" should not be surprised by that bit of code (well, you should be surprised if anyone still writes code like that, but not surprised that it's valid).
It's not even just an "exposed to legacy code" thing: C is a fairly simple language in both syntax and concepts (esp. when compared to most other languages people are using today), and I don't believe you can call yourself fluent in C without this kind of knowledge.
(I could also argue from the other angle: if you haven't been exposed to that sort of legacy C code, you probably haven't done it enough to call yourself fluent.)
I think it's an interesting question from the perspective of "what are some cool language gotchas that people not familiar with the language would find neat?"... or from the perspective of someone who is new to C, came across some code like that, and is trying to learn what's going on (and is apparently too lazy to google the C specification and spend 2 minutes reading it).