Article View: net.bugs
Article #18nami misfeature, cont.
From: utzoohenry
Date: Mon, 05 Apr 1982 19:10
Date: Mon, 05 Apr 1982 19:10
25 lines
1260 bytes
1260 bytes
We seem to have an inconsistency ahead of us. Like this: The Unix Time-Sharing System: As another limiting case, the null file name refers to the current directory... Unix 3.0 INTRO(2): Unless specifically stated otherwise, the null path name is treated as if it named a non-existent file... I can't find any places in the 3.0 manual where anything is "specifically stated otherwise". What to do? I am ambivalent about this one. There is something to be said for the V7 interpretation, although the do-something-reasonable-for- strange-input principle is weaker for system calls than for programs that users invoke directly. On the other hand, objecting to null filenames would have caught a number of bugs I've seen at one time or another. Note that the -1 pointer points to a null filename in V7. So does the NULL pointer if you are running split-space. On the whole, I think any use of a null filename is likely to be the result of a bug, so it should be trapped. In practice, the 3.0 interpretation will probably triumph by sheer weight of numbers.
Technical Details
Message-ID:
<anews.Autzoo.1532>Path:
arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!henryShow Full Headers
Complete Article Headers
Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!henry From: utzoo!henry Newsgroups: net.bugs Subject: nami misfeature, cont. Date: Mon, 05 Apr 1982 19:10:04 +0000 Message-ID: <anews.Autzoo.1532>