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From: meissner@dg_rtp.UUCP (Michael Meissner)
Newsgroups: net.lang.c
Subject: Re:  Header file strings.h
Message-ID: <421@dg_rtp.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 26-Jun-86 11:25:09 EDT
Article-I.D.: dg_rtp.421
Posted: Thu Jun 26 11:25:09 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 27-Jun-86 05:30:35 EDT
References: <1434@brl-smoke.ARPA> <240@killer.UUCP>
Reply-To: meissner@dg_rtp.UUCP (Michael Meissner)
Distribution: net
Organization: Data General (Languages @ Research Triangle Park, NC.)
Lines: 52
Summary: BSD vs. ANSI (& System V)

In article <240@killer.UUCP> tad@killer.UUCP (Tad Marko) writes:
>
>I use the functions quite often, but the header file for MSC is string.h.
>I recently ported a program from MSC to an NBI 4044 running 4.2BSD, and the
>only change necessary was to change 
>
>#include <string.h>
>
>to
>
>#include <strings.h>
>
>everything worked fine after that.  Perhaps this and several other MSC 
>differences are the result of it complying to the new ANSI C standard?

    It goes back a little further than ANSI & BSD.  In the ongoing war
to make System V & BSD mutually incompatible {1/2 -) I guess}, BSD systems
define the string functions in <strings.h>, and System V (and probably
System III before it) use <string.h>.  The ANSI committee started with
one of the /usr/group working documents.  The /usr/group standard was
originally based upon System III.  The time line looks somewhat like:

	v7
	|\
	| \-----------------------------------------------------\
	|							|
	System III-----\					BSD 4.1
	|		\					|
	|		/usr/group starts-------\		BSD 4.1{a,b,c}
	|		|			|		|
	System V\	|			ANSI starts	|
	|	|	|			|		BSD 4.2
	|	|	/usr/group 1st std.	|		|
	|	|	|			|		|
	|	\-------/usr/group continues	|		|
	|		|			|		|
	System V.2	becomes IEEE P1003	issues 4/30/85 	|
	|		|			public bulletin	|
	SVID----\	|			|		|
	|	|	issues P1003.1		|		|
	|	X/OPEN	|			|		|
present	...		...			...		...
	|		|			|		|
future	System V.3	revisied std?		public review	BSD 4.3
	(ships?)				(Sept 1986?)	(ships?)


* Note, the time line is distorted somewhat.

	Michael Meissner
	Data General
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