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From: grandi@noao.UUCP (Steve Grandi)
Newsgroups: net.bugs.4bsd,net.unix-wizards
Subject: 4.3BSD sort(1) broken for records with embedded nulls
Message-ID: <491@carina.noao.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 19-Aug-86 20:11:07 EDT
Article-I.D.: carina.491
Posted: Tue Aug 19 20:11:07 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 21-Aug-86 01:05:58 EDT
Organization: Natl. Optical Astronomy Observatories, Tucson, AZ USA
Lines: 17
Xref: mnetor net.bugs.4bsd:886 net.unix-wizards:7611

Subject: sort will no longer work on records with embedded nulls
Index:	usr.bin/sort.c 4.3BSD

Description:
	For 4.3BSD, sort(1) was modified (for efficiency) to use fgets/fputs to
read and write data records instead of getc/putc.  This change breaks sort
for data records that have embedded nulls; they will generate spurious error 
messages "missing newline before EOF" and the data will be totally scrambled.
Repeat-By:
	Read the code.
Fix:
	1) Reinstall the slow 4.2BSD version.
	2) Don't use sort(1) as a quick hack when you really should use qsort(3)

-- 
Steve Grandi, National Optical Astronomy Observatories, Tucson, AZ, 602-325-9228
{arizona,decvax,hao,ihnp4,seismo}!noao!grandi  grandi%draco@Hamlet.Caltech.Edu