Can't have label on mid-stream declaration in C?

Question

So this in C99:

label:
  int ret = function(of, stuff);

gives a compile-time error, whereas this:

label:
  ;
  int ret = function(of, stuff);

works just fine.

Is this a compiler bug? Or is this a bug in the definition of the C standard? Or if this is part of the C99 standard, perhaps someone would rise to the defense of the C standard to claim that this makes perfect sense?

Answer 1

Labels, which are defined in N1256 6.8.1 Labeled statements, can only contain statements.

 Syntax  
1      labeled-statement:  
           identifier : statement  
           case constant-expression : statement  
           default : statement

int ret = function(of, stuff); is an declaration, which is defined in N1256 6.7 Declarations and isn't a statement.

Statements are defined below in N1256 6.8 Statements and blocks:

 Syntax
1      statement:
           labeled-statement
           compound-statement
           expression-statement
           selection-statement
           iteration-statement
           jump-statement

compound-statement is so-called blocks, which is 0 or more declarations and statements surrounded by {}.

expression-statement is zero or one expression defined in N1256 6.5 Expressions, followed by a semicolon like i++;. The expression in the syntax is defined in N1256 6.5.17 Comma operator.

selection-statement is if and switch statement.

iteration-statement is while, do-while and for statement.

jump-statement is goto, continue, break and return statement.

As you see, declarations are not a statement, so you cannot put labels to declarations.