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From: rh@smds.UUCP (Richard Harter)
Newsgroups: comp.object
Subject: Re: How to pay for reusable software
Summary: Standard libraries aren't standard
Message-ID: <396@smds.UUCP>
Date: 18 Apr 91 04:34:54 GMT
References: <1991Apr3.231849.13410@m.cs.uiuc.edu> <291@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>
Organization: SMDS Inc., Concord, MA
Lines: 35

In article <291@dumbcat.sf.ca.us>, marc@dumbcat.sf.ca.us (Marco S Hyman) writes:
> In article <1991Apr12.182420.18587@m.cs.uiuc.edu> johnson@cs.uiuc.EDU (Ralph Johnson) bemoans:
>  > Is the marketplace for reusable software destined to be small?

> Possibly, Ralph, but not for the reasons you give.  I am constantly amazed at
> the number of re-implementations of standard library functions I see in C
> code.  (Especially the number of broken re-implementations of bsearch.) If
> today's programmer (excuse me -- software engineer) can not learn what simple
> functions exist in today's standard C library how can we expect them to learn
> entire inheritance trees from multiple sources in the reusable software world
> of tomorrow.

There is much to what you say.  However...

There is a general problem for the writers of portable code that standard
C libraries aren't standard across the universe of platforms that support
C.  Someday, maybe, all vendors will supply a standard C with standard 
libraries.  In the meantime is it memcpy or bcopy?  Strings.h or string.h?
Etc.  In fairyland all vendors are ANSI and POSIX compliant and you can
write portable C programs using standard libraries that compile, link, and
execute correctly.  Meanwhile back in the U.S. of A. in 1991 life for
software developers who develop code that runs across a multiplicity of
platforms is (most unfortunately) simpler if you roll your own.  A side
benefit is that you don't get unpleasant little surprises from bugs in
vendor supplied library routines.  [Instead you get to invent your own.]

I not disagreeing, mind you.  Re-implementing basic algorithms is a
waste of time and effort.  However it does point out that reusable code
must either be available in complete source, self-contained source code
or as part of a standard implementation that is actually standard.
-- 
Richard Harter, Software Maintenance and Development Systems, Inc.
Net address: jjmhome!smds!rh Phone: 508-369-7398 
US Mail: SMDS Inc., PO Box 555, Concord MA 01742
This sentence no verb.  This sentence short.  This signature done.