[Info-vax] Whither VMS?

[Richard B. Gilbert]

P. Sture wrote:
> In article <habq5n$pi6$3 at naig.caltech.edu>,
>  glen herrmannsfeldt <gah at ugcs.caltech.edu> wrote:
> 
>> Michael Kraemer <M.Kraemer at gsi.de> wrote:
>> < glen herrmannsfeldt schrieb:
>>  
>> <> Well, the C gets() function, I believe still part of the standard,
>> <> has no way to know the length of the buffer.  The only answer is
>> <> not to use it, but it does seem fair to blame the language in that
>> <> case. 
>>  
>> < To be nitpicking: it's not part of the language,
>> < neither are all other functions.
>> < But I agree, at least the doc's should deprecate its use.
>>
>> I have seen that discussed.  There are some questions in K&R as
>> to the library being part of the language.  Most agree that it is
>> for ANSI C.
>>  
>> <> Otherwise, yes, it is up to programmers to check at the
>> <> appropriate points.
>>
>> And to always use fgets() instead of gets().
>>
> 
> Is there a handy reference to this stuff? I mean a summary of what C 
> calls to avoid and why (possibly detailing safe and unsafe 
> circumstances).
> 

I've never seen or heard of one.  It's not necessary to "avoid" certain 
calls.  It IS necessary to understand exactly what you are doing.  C is 
really just a "portable" assembler.  You have to keep in mind that a 
slip on your part might crash your process or even your system.

C hands you both near total control AND near total responsibility!  Use 
it with care.  Consider whether or not C is the appropriate language for 
what you are trying to do.