For me, the second stage in the evolution as a C or a C++ programmer after a discovery like this was to start relying heavily on language standards. After all, it's the ultimate reference about how the language should work on all platforms and compilers.

But then I learn that not all compilers behave exactly the same way, or implement only a subset of a standard for a variety of reasons (every compiler would implement different subsets), and I return full circle back to experimentation with individual implementations.