https://en.cppreference.com/w/c/language/union
> When initializing a union, the initializer list must have only one member, which initializes the first member of the union unless a designated initializer is used(since C99).
https://en.cppreference.com/w/c/language/struct_initializati...
ā = {0} initializes the first union variant, and bytes outside of that first variant are unspecified. Seems like GCC 15.1 follows the 26 year old standard correctly. (not sure how much has changed from C89 here)
Maybe C should have stop at K&R C from UNIX V6, at least that would have spared the world in having it being adopted outside UNIX.
When faced with writing a distributed systems application at Bell Labs, and having to deal with C, the very first step was to create C with Classes.
Also had C++ not been invented, or C gone into an history footnote, so what, there would be other programming languages to chose from.
Lets not put programming languages into some kind of worshiping sanctuary.
Which then again, isn't that much of a deal, industry would have steered into other programming languages and operating systems.
Overall that would be a much preferable alternative timeline, assuming security would be taken more seriously, as it has taken 45 years since C.A.R Hoare Turing award speech and Morris worm, and only after companies and government started to feel the monetary pain of their decisions.
History would certainly have taken a different path when AT&T was allowed to profit from Bell Labs work, as their attempts to later regain control from UNIX prove.
Unfortunately that seems the majority opinion on WG14, only changed thanks to government and industry pressure.
Then we have the free beer UNIX clones as well.
Those industry members of WG14 don't seem to have done much security wise language improvement during the last 50 years.
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-toolchains/Z0hRrrNU3Q+ro2T7@tu...
Thank goodness this is not how the software world works overall. I'm not sure you understand the implications of what you ask for.
> if they aren't cheekily mutating over the years
You're complaining about languages mutating, then mention C++ which has added stuff but maintained backwards compatibility over the course of many standards (aside from a few hiccups like auto_ptr, which was also short lived), with a high aversion to modifying existing stuff.
The release cycle of a software speaks a lot about its quality. Move fast, break things has become the new development process.
Do you want to be still using Windows NT, or C++ pred 2004 standard or python 2.0
We learn more and need to add to things., Some things we designed 30 years ago were a mistake should we stick with them.
You can't design everything before release for much software. Games you can or bespoke software for a business as you can define what it does, but then the business changes.