#include<iostream> 
using namespace std; 
class A
{
    int a[];
};

int main()
{
    cout<<sizeof(A);
    return 0;
}
class A
{
    int a[]; // zero sized array
};

You should receive a warning when compiling this due to int a[] being a zero sized array.

When I compile this I get warning: ISO C++ forbids zero-size array 'a' although I am using the 2003 standard.

You have declared a zero size array in the class therefore the class has no data and is zero-sized. Since the array has members it appears that the compiler (mine at least) does not automatically make sure it's size is non-zero, which is normally required to ensure all objects have a different memory address which is a requirement of the standard.

Declare an array of these and the all have the same address, this appears to be non-conforming, however since you have done something that is forbidden I guess that is not unexpected, I'm slightly surprised that it isn't an error.

Visual Studio 2012 produces warning that it is a non-standard extension. The solution is to make it a pointer.

Many compilers have an "extension" to allow for zero-size arrays, I don't understand why, but they do. According to standard, this code should not compile. And those compilers that implement this zero-size array extension, end up producing a class with size of 0, as a quirk. In my opinion, this extension should not exist, but it does.

void main() should not exist either, but it does in many compilers.

Supporting void main() is acceptable in the sense that the compiler can just silently insert an implicit int return value of 0, and it's all the same.

Allowing zero-sized arrays implies that some objects can be a size of 0, which violates some core assumptions in the C++ memory model. I see it as much more brazen than most other extentions that generally just slightly bend a few corner-cases of the standard or allow for some older syntax traditions.

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