Why do C and C++ compilers allow array lengths in function signatures when they're never enforced?

Question

This is what I found during my learning period:

#include<iostream>
using namespace std;
int dis(char a[1])
{
    int length = strlen(a);
    char c = a[2];
    return length;
}
int main()
{
    char b[4] = "abc";
    int c = dis(b);
    cout << c;
    return 0;
}  

So in the variable int dis(char a[1]) , the [1] seems to do nothing and doesn't work at
all, because I can use a[2]. Just like int a[] or char *a. I know the array name is a pointer and how to convey an array, so my puzzle is not about this part.

What I want to know is why compilers allow this behavior (int a[1]). Or does it have other meanings that I don't know about?

Answer 1

It is a quirk of the syntax for passing arrays to functions.

Actually it is not possible to pass an array in C. If you write syntax that looks like it should pass the array, what actually happens is that a pointer to the first element of the array is passed instead.

Since the pointer does not include any length information, the contents of your [] in the function formal parameter list are actually ignored.

The decision to allow this syntax was made in the 1970s and has caused much confusion ever since...