Is allocating a dynamic array without specifying size well formed code?

Question

The following simple program snippet gives compilation errors with gcc-4.3.4.

Program:

int main() 
{   
    char *ptr = new char[10];     
    char *ptr1 = new char[];      
    return 0; 
}  

Compilation errors:

prog.cpp: In function ‘int main()’:
prog.cpp:4: error: expected primary-expression before ‘]’ token
prog.cpp:3: warning: unused variable ‘ptr’
prog.cpp:4: warning: unused variable ‘ptr1’

But the same compiles cleanly with MSVC without any diagnostic message.

So my question is:
Does the Standard allow an new [] to be called without specifying the size? Or this a bug in MSVC?
Can someone provide a reference from the standard which will conclusively say that the above code example is ill-formed or well-formed?

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I have had a look at:

5.3.4 New [expr.new] &
18.4.1.2 Array forms [lib.new.delete.array]

but couldnt find any conclusive evidence about the behavior.

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EDIT:
Adding the Language Lawyer tag.
I am expecting the answer for an observed behavior regardless of whether it is useful or not, I am fully aware it is not useful nor recommended.

Answer 1

This is not syntactically correct.

Have a look at the syntax for a new-expression.

A noptr-new-declarator must contain an expression between the square brackets, and an expression must have a token in it.

Answer 2

That is not legal c++.

5.3.4 New [expr.new] shows what are legal ways to call new in a big list, which contains this line :

noptr-new-declarator:
        [ expression ] attribute-specifier-seqopt
        noptr-new-declarator [ constant-expression ] attribute-specifier-seqopt

and later it explains what the constant-expression can be (in 5.4.3/6 and 5.4.3/7) :

Every constant-expression in a noptr-new-declarator shall be an integral constant expression (5.19) and evaluate to a strictly positive value.

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After some thoughts, next items should be relavant :

8.3.4/1 [dcl.array], these parts :

In a declaration T D where D has the form

    D1 [ constant-expressionopt ] attribute-specifier-seqopt

and the type of the identifier in the declaration T D1 is “derived-declarator-type-list T”, then the type of the identifier of D is an array type;

and

if the constant expression is omitted, the type of the identifier of D is “derived-declarator-type- list array of unknown bound of T”, an incomplete object type.

5.3.4/1 tells :

This type shall be a complete object type, but not an abstract class type or array thereof

Since you omitted the array size, the type is not complete, and your program is not valid c++.