[Info-vax] Whither VMS?

[ChrisQ]

glen herrmannsfeldt wrote:
> Bill Gunshannon <billg999 at cs.uofs.edu> wrote:
> (snip, I wrote)
>  
> <> One result of null termination is the easy buffer overflow of
> <> many programs today that don't properly check lengths.  
>  
> < And once again we blame the language for the incompetence (or just plain
> < laziness) of the programmers.
> 
> 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.  Otherwise, yes, it is up to programmers to check at the
> appropriate points.
>  

Sorry, but the C library is *not* part of C. It may included as a 
convenience, but there's no reason why you shouldn't write your own, as 
in fact many people do.

For embedded and systems programming work, there is no better language, 
imnsho. Portability, enough low level access for every nook and cranny 
of the machine, while at the same time enough high level facility to 
enable serious systems development.

Could could any such language be anything other than a compromise with 
all that that implies ?...

Chris