most languages don't even HAVE a specification so in most languages literally EVERYTHING everything is undefined behavior

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oersted 3 hours ago | parent [-]

UB doesn't mean that it is not specified (actually it is often very well specified), it means that compilers can and do assume that such code patterns will not be present. Those cases may not be considered and can lead to unexpected behaviour.

Additionally, some (most?) UB is intentionally UB so that optimisers are free to do fancy tricks assuming that certain cases will never happen. Indeed, this is required for high performance. If they do happen, again, it can lead to unexpected behaviour.

PS: Most languages that don't have a specification declare their primary implementation to be specification-as-code. Rust is an example of that, and it does still have UB: the cases that the compiler assumes will not happen.

	▲	mbrock 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		undefined behavior is the behavior of code patterns "for which this International Standard imposes no requirements" and the behavior is in fact almost always predictable and agreed upon by compiler vendors and the users of the language, which is why you are able to use programs that rely on undefined behavior probably every single second you are using the computer edit: for example I'm typing this into Safari which means probably every key press and event is going through JSC JIT compiled functions—which have, structurally and necessarily and intentionally, COMPLETELY undefined behavior according to the spec—and yet it miraculously works, perfectly, because the spec doesn't really matter