Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!mips!apple!olivea!mintaka!bloom-beacon!eru!hagbard!sunic!dkuug!freja.diku.dk!kimcm
From: kimcm@diku.dk (Kim Christian Madsen)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: What's so bad about scanf anyway???
Message-ID: <1990Nov12.112032.22979@diku.dk>
Date: 12 Nov 90 11:20:32 GMT
References: <16582@netcom.UUCP> <VXogs2w163w@cybrspc> <RJC.90Nov12012356@brodie.uk.ac.ed.cstr>
Organization: Department Of Computer Science, University Of Copenhagen
Lines: 22

rjc@uk.ac.ed.cstr (Richard Caley) writes:

>In article <VXogs2w163w@cybrspc> roy%cybrspc@cs.umn.edu (Roy M. Silvernail) writes:

>    The problem with scanf() is that it can behave unpredictably when you
>    give it badly formatted input. It's better, IMHO, to gets() a whole
>    line, check its validity and _then_ sscanf() it into the target
>    variables.

>Maybe it was just a typo, but repeat after me

>	`GETS is EVIL'

>This has been un unpayed anouncement by paranoids anonymous.

gets can get you into a lot of trouble if used for in a non-controlled
manner, e.g. for user input. Then you be better off by using fgets or
reading char-by-char with getchar() or family. But using scanf() for user
input is asking for trouble!

				Kim Chr. Madsen
just as