INFO: Misspelling "Default" Gives No Error

• The Microsoft C/C++ Compiler (CL.EXE) included with: - Microsoft C for MS-DOS, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0ax - Microsoft C for OS/2, versions 6.0, 6.0a - Microsoft C/C++ for MS-DOS, version 7.0 - Microsoft Visual C++ for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.5, 1.51 - Microsoft Visual C++ for Windows, 32-bit Edition, versions 1.0,

       2.0, 2.1, 4.0, 5.0
  

It has been reported that when the keyword "default" is misspelled, the C/C++ compiler does not generate an error and the executable code does not execute the "defualt" branch in any case.

This is not a problem with the C/C++ compiler. In C and C++ any name followed by a colon (:) is a label. In a switch statement the case and default keywords are special types of label which are used by the switch statement. When the keyword "default" is spelled incorrectly, it is treated as a label. You could use a goto statement to reference the label. The switch statement, however, does not recognize it. Since a "default:" label is not required by the switch statement, no error is (or can be) generated.

NOTE: It is not good programming practice to jump to a label that is within a switch statement from outside the switch statement.