Why Cast Unused Return Values to Void?

Understanding the Rationale Behind Casting Unused Return Values to Void

In certain programming scenarios, one may encounter code that explicitly casts a function's unused return value to void. This behavior can raise questions about its necessity. Is it a pointless exercise, or does it serve a legitimate purpose?

A Deliberate Choice for Explicit Handling

As highlighted by David Anderson, the primary motivation behind casting unused return values to void is to unambiguously indicate to other developers that the function call returns but its output is intentionally disregarded. This approach ensures that potential error codes, if any, are always explicitly managed.

Conveying Intent Even Without C-Style Casts

In C , while C-style casts are often the preferred method for casting return values to void, static casts could also be used. However, for this specific purpose, the brevity of C-style casts seems more appropriate.

Exceptions for Overloaded Operators

When defining overloaded operators, it's essential to be mindful of the function call notation they use. If the operator overload does not employ function call notation, casting to void is not necessary and can be omitted.

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