The Clean C dialect is that subset of ANSI C that is compatible with the C++ language. Writing Clean C requires imposing coding conventions to the C code that restrict use to features that are acceptable to a C++ compiler. This section provides a summary of some of the more pertinent points to be considered. It is a mostly complete but by no means exhaustive list of the rules that must be applied.
To use the C++ checked pointers, the module including all header files it includes must be compatible with the Clean C subset. All the system headers for Neutrino as well as the <malloc_g/malloc.h> header satisfy this requirement.
The most obvious aspect to Clean C is that it must be strict ANSI C with respect to function prototypes and declarations. The use of K&R prototypes or definitions isn't allowed in Clean C. Similarly, you can't use default types for variable and function declarations.
Another important consideration for declarations is that you must provide forward declarations when referencing an incomplete structure or union. This frequently occurs for linked data structures such as trees or lists. In this case, the forward declaration must occur before any declaration of a pointer to the object in the same or another structure or union. For example, you could declare a list node as follows:
struct ListNode;
struct ListNode {
struct ListNode *next;
void *data;
};
Operations on void pointers are more restrictive in C++. In particular, implicit coercions from void pointers to other types aren't allowed, including both integer types and other pointer types. You must explicitly cast void pointers to other types.
The use of const should be consistent with C++ usage. In particular, pointers that are declared as const must always be used in a compatible fashion. You can't pass const pointers as non-const arguments to functions unless you typecast the const away.