Path: utzoo!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!att!cbnewsm!stanl
From: stanl@cbnewsm.ATT.COM (stanley.b.lippman)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: hp exit c++ static destructors
Message-ID: <6422@cbnewsm.ATT.COM>
Date: 10 Nov 89 15:31:12 GMT
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 32


>>peter@media-lab.media.mit.edu

>> I just found that without the explicit call to exit() the destructors
>> never get called. Hence the outputstream just disappears (if I put
>> a flush in the main() without using exit() at least it prints, but
>> still does not call any destructors). Is that supposed to be so?

>> I have no idea where to look as to what went wrong. Any hints?

*** this behavior of the HP9000 series is discussed in the paper 
    ``C++: From Research to Practice'' by myself and Barbara Moo, 
    p. 127 in the 1988 Usenix C++ Conference Proceedings.

    the problem, in a nutshell (or kernel) is that cfront provides
    its own instance of exit in libC.a.  this instance insures the
     execution of static destructors.  

    the CC command presumes that the call 
	cc myFoo.c libC.a libc.a

    will link in the first encountered instance of exit.  however,
    unless the user's code has an explicit call of exit, the
    binding of exit to the libc.a instance is done outside the
    conventional binding rules.  

    i'm not familiar enough with the hp line to provide any insight
    into its behavior.

    stan lippman
    at&t bell laboratories
    warren, nj