Article View: net.lang.c
Article #9512Re: functions that don't return
From: Chris Torek
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 1986 00:05
Date: Tue, 07 Oct 1986 00:05
36 lines
1837 bytes
1837 bytes
In article <147@bobkat.UUCP> pedz@bobkat.UUCP (Pedz Thing) writes:
>I think [the support library start-up code] should be the second
>choice, main(); exit(0);. The reason is two fold. First, unless
>a program specifically bombs off, it should exit with a happy status.
>Falling off the bottom of main I would not consider to be doing
>anything specific yet the return (and exit) value will be random.
But it is doing something specific: the close-brace, if reachable,
is equivalent to `return;'. I doubt that anyone would argue that
double foo() {
return;
}
is correct. Is then
int main(argc, argv) ... {
...
return;
}
correct?
[The trick, of course, is that I have slipped in the keyword `int',
which cannot be found modifying main() in K&R. On the other hand,
the use of exit() to enforce clean termination, and (not so
incidentally) make that last close-brace unreachable, is covered.]
>Second, with a random exit status, it makes the program much less
>usefull. Make(1) will sometimes work and sometimes fail, etc.
Indeed. So fix the program.
--
In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 1516)
UUCP: seismo!umcp-cs!chris
CSNet: chris@umcp-cs ARPA: chris@mimsy.umd.edu
Technical Details
Message-ID:
<3705@umcp-cs.UUCP>Path:
arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!mnetor!seismo!umcp-cs!chrisReferences:
<584@hadron.UUCP> <86900070@haddock> <1216@bunker.UUCP> <147@bobkat.UUCP>Show Full Headers
Complete Article Headers
Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!mnetor!seismo!umcp-cs!chris From: chris@umcp-cs.UUCP (Chris Torek) Newsgroups: net.lang.c Subject: Re: functions that don't return Message-ID: <3705@umcp-cs.UUCP> Date: Mon, 6-Oct-86 20:05:19 EDT Article-I.D.: umcp-cs.3705 Posted: Mon Oct 6 20:05:19 1986 Date-Received: Wed, 8-Oct-86 06:43:15 EDT References: <584@hadron.UUCP> <86900070@haddock> <1216@bunker.UUCP> <147@bobkat.UUCP> Reply-To: chris@umcp-cs.UUCP (Chris Torek) Organization: University of Maryland, Dept. of Computer Sci. Lines: 36