[Info-vax] VAX Macro to C conversion

[Bill Gunshannon]

On 7/10/19 10:06 AM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
> Bill Gunshannon  <bill.gunshannon at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> * no string type
>>
>> So what?  What's so great about a string type?  Fortran
>> didn't have it until 77.  Pascal didn't have it until UCSD.
> 
> Some of Arne's complaints about C are kind of silly, but this is a really
> huge one.
> 
> If you look at CERT advisories regarding security vulnerabilities in the
> past few decades, you will see that the vast majority of them are the direct
> consequence of poor management of null-terminated strings.
> 
> I know, the null-terminated string thing seemed like a good idea, and easy
> to graft onto C, but in the end it has been a terrible, terrible plan and
> has cost us greatly.

1.  Null Terminated Strings are not unique to C.
2.  The competent programmer knows all of this in the first place
     and should write his programs accordingly.  Just because the
     language doesn't range check automatically (COBOL doesn't
     either, probably for the same reason) doesn't mean the
     programmer can't  or shouldn't.

Read  my lips.  It's not the language.

bill