Could VS warn about possible stack overflow exceptions?

Question

Consider the following code (for demonstration purposes only):

#include <iostream>

int main()
{
    char pixels[4][1280][720]; // Big enough to cause a stack overflow on my machine
    for (unsigned int i = 0; i < 4; i++)
    {
        for (unsigned int j = 0; j < 1280; j++)
        {
            for (unsigned int k = 0; k < 720; k++)
            {
                pixels[i][j][k] = i + j + k;
            }
        }
    }

    std::cout << pixels[2][640][360];
    return 0;
}

According to answers on this question, the maximum stack size is set by visual studio.

Am I correct in assuming it could warn users about a potential stack overflow? (I tried this myself and didn't get a warning)

P.S: The only reason I'm asking is because I see a lot of questions on SO that could be prevented by such a warning (Yes I know not everyone SO user uses VS).

Answer 1

It already does, in the editions that have the /analyze flag available:

C:\>cl /EHsc /analyze stack.cpp
Microsoft (R) C/C++ Optimizing Compiler Version 18.00.21005.1 for x64
Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation.  All rights reserved.

stack.cpp
c:\stack.cpp(3) : warning C6262: Function uses '3686412' bytes of stack:  exceeds /analyze:stacksize '16384'.  Consider moving some data to heap.

The prefast tool shipped with the DDK/WDK produces similar warnings.

Of course, this is a very simple static check (if the function's stack usage is above a certain threshold). It does not attempt to detect recursive calls or add up total static usage through call chains.