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Path: utzoo!watmath!wateng!padpowell
From: padpowell@wateng.UUCP (PAD Powell)
Newsgroups: net.rumor
Subject: Re: C function replacement
Message-ID: <1690@wateng.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 27-Nov-84 08:15:27 EST
Article-I.D.: wateng.1690
Posted: Tue Nov 27 08:15:27 1984
Date-Received: Wed, 28-Nov-84 02:05:36 EST
References: <20290@wivax.UUCP>
Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 24

	From marcus@wivax.UUCP Mon Nov 26 14:44:18 1984
	Newsgroups: net.rumor
	Subject: C function replacement

	You heard it here first ...

	In Bell Labs' next release of the C language, the function 'sprintf'
	will be replaced by 'attf'.  The old name will still work, but only if
	you prefix the string argument with a fourteen-digit code.


Hurray!  now we can all start using "snprintf()" and "sxprintf()",
which have bounds checking.  I have found the most HORRIFYING number of
errors caused because people did a 

innocent_looking_function(buffer,str)
    {
	sprintf(buffer,"...%s", str);
    }

Imagine the fun if "buffer" is a stack variable. Culprits so far range from
ar to uucp...

Patrick ("stamp out functions that don't have bounds checking") Powell