Identifier restriction in global scope

Question

In addition, identifiers defined outside a function may not begin with an underscore.

Why does this restriction apply only to variables outside of a function? Not sure what purpose this could serve.

Because ones declared in a function would shadow those. It shouldn't just be out of functions, though. You can still do it with class members etc. — chris, Feb 22 '14 at 06:08

score 1 · Accepted Answer · edited May 23 '17 at 12:15

1

Short answer: in order to avoid name collision with the standard libraries (e.g. STL, libc, etc.)

edited May 23 '17 at 12:15

Community

answered Feb 22 '14 at 06:15

Denis Itskovich

1 Answers1