On 22 Jul 2025 19:33, Brian Bi via Std-Proposals wrote:
>
> On Tue, Jul 22, 2025 at 12:24 PM Paul Caprioli via Std-Proposals <std-
> proposals_at_[hidden] <mailto:std-proposals_at_[hidden]>> wrote:
>
> > The one interesting question in the proposal is whether "void
> main()" should be permitted.
>
> I would suggest it is better not to standardize "void main()".
> As you pointed out, it only adds complexity since "int main()" still
> has to be taught.
> Also, "void main()" is still magical, perhaps more so, because it
> returns EXIT_SUCCESS.
>
> I don't think we have to teach people that `void main()` "returns
> `EXIT_SUCCESS`". Observing the return code of `main` is not a beginner
> topic.

Observing the exit code of a program is the most basic thing, more basic
than any level of C/C++ expertise.

`void main()` makes the behavior even more obscure than an `int main()`
without an explicit `return` statement. If anything, I would like if
`return` was made mandatory in `main`, or, at least, encourage people
towards having it, as the first step. Although at this point there's
plenty of code that don't have it, so this idea likely won't go far.