Why Are Zero-Sized Arrays Invalid in C/C ?

Defining a Zero-Size Array in C/C

Defining an array with zero size in C or C is generally not allowed. The C standard, ISO 9899:2011 6.7.6.2, explicitly states that arrays must have a size greater than zero when defined. Therefore, attempts to declare arrays with zero size may result in unpredictable behavior, compiler warnings, or errors.

The provided code snippet demonstrates this behavior. Compiling the code with the flag -std=c99 -pedantic triggers a warning from the compiler, indicating the invalid array declaration. This confirms that zero-size arrays are not permitted according to the standard.

Some programming languages allow for arrays with zero size, but C does not. This restriction ensures that arrays have a well-defined size and avoids potential issues related to memory management and accessing out-of-bounds elements.

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