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From: dce@mips.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Why we can't cater to bad code
Message-ID: <191@quacky.mips.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 24-Feb-87 23:23:54 EST
Article-I.D.: quacky.191
Posted: Tue Feb 24 23:23:54 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 27-Feb-87 07:32:04 EST
References: <14833@amdcad.UUCP> <428@omepd> <701@instable.UUCP>
Reply-To: dce@quacky.UUCP (David Elliott)
Distribution: world
Organization: MIPS Computer Systems, Sunnyvale, CA
Lines: 21

Ok, folks, it's time to 'fess up about the NULL pointer deal.

The fact is that we need to have some new obscurity in Unix systems:

	User (looks like his name is Melvin): I think the compiler is
		broken because this program doesn't work on the new machine.
	Guru (looks like Ed Gould; who else?): Let's see...
	User: I do a strcpy() of the result of getlogin() and ...
	Guru: YOU DO WHAT?!? Hahahaha! What? Were you raised in a barn?
		Everyone knows that you can't dereference a NULL pointer!
	User: But...but...but it works on the Vax!
	Guru: That's no reason, silly computer nerd! You are hereby relegated
		to the position of computer elf until 1999 or until you go
		to work on a VMS system.

If everyone could do it, we wouldn't get paid so much (well, not that
much really, Mash).
-- 
			David Elliott

UUCP: 	{decvax,ucbvax,ihnp4}!decwrl!mips!dce, DDD:  	408-720-1700