Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!unhd.unh.edu!al
From: al@unhd.unh.edu (Anthony Lapadula)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: New 'n' Improved comp.lang.c FAQ List
Message-ID: <1991Apr2.173253.13858@unhd.unh.edu>
Date: 2 Apr 91 17:32:53 GMT
References: <1991Apr1.203024.19679@unlv.edu> <31946@shamash.cdc.com> <3739@jethro.Corp.Sun.COM>
Organization: University of New Hampshire
Lines: 27

In article <3739@jethro.Corp.Sun.COM> fguille@France.Sun.COM writes:
>
>    Almost, but not quite, Mr. Grover.  The *really* correct version of this:
>    
>            char *itoa(int i)
>              {
>                static char retbuf[5];         /* biggest int: 32768 */
>                sprintf(retbuf, "%d", i);
>                return retbuf;
>              }
>[....]
>
>       static char retbuf[6];         /* biggest int: 32768 */

I wanted to stay out of this discussion.  I really did....

I know this thread grew out of an April Fool's joke, but I just can't
let this pass.

Even if you know that your system has 16-bit int's (which is a poor
assumption -- we should know by now that all the world's a VAX :-),
itoa could still be requested to print out, say, "-20000", which
requires a buffer of size *7*.

-- Anthony (uunet!unhd!al, al@cs.unh.edu) Lapadula

"I would agree with you if you were right."  --  Dr Sayer, "Awakenings"