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From: mcdonald@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: compare strings, strcmp
Message-ID: <225800241@uxe.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 19 Nov 89 01:38:31 GMT
Article-I.D.: uxe.225800241
References: <4463@blake.acs.washington.edu>
Lines: 25
Nf-ID: #R:blake.acs.washington.edu:4463:uxe.cso.uiuc.edu:225800241:000:961
Nf-From: uxe.cso.uiuc.edu!mcdonald    Nov 18 09:25:00 1989


>I wanted to know what is the best way to compare two strings?
>For example, I have the following decl.

>char array[10000][200];

>What is the fastest way to sort this array? (I heard that 'strcmp' is slow
>if the strings are long. Why?)

Someone suggested writing to disk and using an external sort program.
That seems a little extreme, especially since the vast majority of
routines don't HAVE an external sort routine. The C "qsort" is
surely worth a try, otherwise we really should suggest books for him to 
read.

I don't understand the flames about the "unsafe"
StrEq macro. Look folks, lots of things are unsafe - motorcycles,
steaks, C. For safety you need a toy language. A simple suggestion -
is it REALLY too hard to follow? - is to RTFM, which should warn about
unsafe uses of functions or macros - or to RTF actual declaration of
the macro itself. The question is moot if he calls "qsort",
as it requires a function, not a macro.


Doug McDonald