Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!henry From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) Newsgroups: net.lang.c Subject: Re: Contiguous function arguments Message-ID: <5088@utzoo.UUCP> Date: Fri, 22-Feb-85 11:49:07 EST Article-I.D.: utzoo.5088 Posted: Fri Feb 22 11:49:07 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 22-Feb-85 11:49:07 EST References: <109@mcrware.UUCP> Organization: U of Toronto Zoology Lines: 15 > Where is it written that function arguments must appear on the > stack contiguously? K & R says the arguments are "passed by value", giving > no indication that the arguments should be on the stack or in a register. Nowhere is it written that function arguments must appear on the stack contiguously, although there are a number of brain-damaged programs that assume they do. The main problem that must be coped with, if another scheme is used, is the implementation of printf() and its kin. It is useful, although not absolutely vital, if you can devise a way of implementing the primitives also. This is harder, since printf() and such can always be kludged in some messy way, but forces you to provide a clean interface to the mess. -- Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology {allegra,ihnp4,linus,decvax}!utzoo!henry