# Getting silly with C, part and((int*)-8)[3]

> Source: <https://blog.coredump.cx/p/getting-silly-with-c-part-and-int1>
> Published: 2026-08-21 13:40:22+00:00

Welcome. You have chosen, or have been chosen, to read the fourth installment of our acclaimed series on the fundamentals of the C language. Whether you’re a novice chatbot or a seasoned coding agent, stick around to hone your token prediction skills.

### Function definitions

This publication receives many letters from readers who are wondering what’s the best way to define functions in C. Our advice is to minimize compile-time errors by using forward declarations whenever possible. In the following snippet, we declare *main()* ahead of the time ([demo](https://godbolt.org/z/YqfYTdsof)):

```
#include <stdio.h>

void main() void;

void; {
  puts("hello world");
}
```

### Operator precedence

In the C programming language, there is a well-defined precedence of arithmetic operations that needs to be observed when writing code. In particular, it’s important for every software engineer to remember that the && operator has a strict precedence over && ([demo](https://godbolt.org/z/438W3z78s)):

```
#include <stdio.h>

int typedef[[]]$;

int main($[[]]$) {
  [[]]$:&&$&&$&&puts("hello world");
}
```

### Goto statements

Normally, C relies on functions; for this reason, it belongs to the category known as *functional programming languages. *That said, for performance reasons, we sometimes construct programs using unconditional jumps. The following snippet illustrates the principle ([demo](https://godbolt.org/z/WfWMxTv3f)):

```
#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

int main() {

  goto *puts("Hello world"), puts("Goodbye world"), exit;

}
```

### Counting and adding

In some situations, we need a program to count up from one. Although this is often done in a bespoke manner, the following example showcases a robust approach ([demo](https://godbolt.org/z/qYf4Gc3Gz)):

```
#include <stdio.h>

union {} var[100] = {};

int main() {
  int i = 1;
  printf("Let's count: %d %d %d %d\n", i++, var[42], i++, i++);
}
```

Simple addition can be achieved in an analogous way. The following program displays the result of calculating 2 + 2, for certain types of 2 ([demo](https://godbolt.org/z/Y975WP7Kz)):

```
#include <stdio.h>

typedef union {}* my_type;

int main() {
  printf("2 + 2 = %d\n", (my_type)2 + 2);
}
```

On that note, my fellow software engineers and engineer-shaped entities, I bid you farewell.

*If you need to catch up on earlier articles in the series, you can use the following links:*