Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: 0 and pointers.( Re: Abandon NULL for (0))
Message-ID: <1989Oct13.170621.29782@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <8634@goofy.megatest.UUCP> <2550107@hpisod2.HP.COM>
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 89 17:06:21 GMT

In article <2550107@hpisod2.HP.COM> decot@hpisod2.HP.COM (Dave Decot) writes:
>> Anyway, it's wrong.  The standard signal() function's signal handlers
>> are NOT variadic; they receive precisely one int argument.
>
>This is why many operating systems on which C is used have had to add
>some other interface (or if they can do it compatibly, add arguments to
>the handling function) to workaround this design defect...

The point is not that more arguments are not useful, nay, important; the
point is that arbitrarily changing the specs for signal handlers was a
terrible mistake and very unportable.  Defining a new interface is the
right approach.
-- 
A bit of tolerance is worth a  |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
megabyte of flaming.           | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu