Expression (computer science): Difference between revisions

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In [[C (programming language)|C]] and most C-derived languages, a call to a function with a [[Void type|void]] return type is a valid expression, of type void.<ref>[http://www.open-std.org/JTC1/SC22/WG14/www/docs/n1256.pdf ISO/IEC 9899:1999] section 6.3.2.2, accessed August 31, 2009</ref> Values of type void cannot be used, so the value of such an expression is always thrown away.

A function, and hence an expression containing a function, may have [[Side effect (computer science)|side effect]]s. An expression with side effects does not normally have the property of [[referential transparency (computer science)|referential transparency]]. In many languages (e.g. C++), expressions may be ended with a semicolon (<code>;</code>) to turn the expression into an expression [[Statement (programming)|statement]]. This asks the implementation to evaluate the expression for its side-effects only, and disregard the result of the expression...

==See also==