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From: jsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Re: Uses of "short" ?
Message-ID: <71@hadron.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 14-Nov-85 01:05:33 EST
Article-I.D.: hadron.71
Posted: Thu Nov 14 01:05:33 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 15-Nov-85 08:30:00 EST
References: <486@houxh.UUCP> <2600017@ccvaxa> <2883@sun.uucp> <48@hadron.UUCP> <1931@srcsip.UUCP> <2984@sun.uucp>
Reply-To: jsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao)
Organization: Hadron, Inc., Fairfax, VA
Lines: 30

Here are some more.
	>  Make as much static as possible.  (No, not electricity.)
	Rephrase: restrict the scope of all variables and functions
	as much as possible.  Use auto's and static's in preference
	to extern's.
	>  Declare all functions which return a value as such.
	>  If possible, declare non-value-returning functions as void.
	>  After (not if) you use lint, do as little type-casting as
	possible.  Instead, take a long look at what you're doing.
	Are you forgetting to check return values?  Passing more bits
	than you can use? ...  THEN cast types.
	>  If you are using an extern in exactly the same way in code
	in different functions in different modules, perhaps you can
	make a single function to do all of this, and reduce the
	scope of the extern.
	>  Do not use constants in functions.  Well, maybe 0.
	MAYBE 1 or -1.  Never 0 for a null pointer, or end-of-string.
	NEVER strings.
	>  NUL is not NULL.  ('\0' and (char *)0 may well be the
	same -- but it's not saying what you mean.  Or, did you mean
	to say that a nul character was the same object as a null
	pointer?
	>  Always check.  Your return values.  Your pointers.  Your
	data, before you divide.  This is not so much "portability"
	as "defensive programming," but what the hey.

More abounds.  Want more bounds?  Keep asking.	;-)
-- 

	Joe Yao		hadron!jsdy@seismo.{CSS.GOV,ARPA,UUCP}