[Info-vax] nice for VMS

[Arne Vajhøj]

Richard B. Gilbert wrote:
> Michael Kraemer wrote:
>> Arne Vajhøj schrieb:
>>
>>>
>>> It happens - struct(ure)s that are written or read to or
>>> from file/socket and have to be packed.
>>>
>>> Obviously not very funny when the code later has to be ported
>>> to Solaris/SPARC.
>>
>> In this case it might be better to align the structure members
>> manually on 4/8 byte boundaries by inserting appropriate
>> padding members. Wastes space, but reduces headaches.
> 
> A great deal depends on how often the structure is accessed!  If once a 
> day, forget it.  If 10,000 times a day it's probably worth fixing.

If it is Solaris/SPARC it is a problem even once a day.

Because unaligned access crashes the program (segmentation fault).

Arne