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From: karl@haddock.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: String Processing Instruction
Message-ID: <419@haddock.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 30-Mar-87 19:31:41 EST
Article-I.D.: haddock.419
Posted: Mon Mar 30 19:31:41 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 1-Apr-87 02:04:19 EST
References: <15292@amdcad.UUCP> <978@ames.UUCP> <15304@amdcad.UUCP> <232@winchester.mips.UUCP> <15317@amdcad.UUCP>
Reply-To: karl@haddock.ISC.COM.UUCP (Karl Heuer)
Distribution: na
Organization: Interactive Systems, Boston
Lines: 19

In article <15317@amdcad.UUCP> rpw3@amdcad.UUCP (Rob Warnock) writes:
>[Sometimes instead of using strcat] I find myself doing:
>	char *p = &buf[0];
>	strcpy(p, "piece");		p += strlen(p);
>	strcpy(p, "another piece");	p += strlen(p);
>	sprintf(p, "format%d%s", args...); p+= strlen(p);
>	strcpy(p, "still another piece"); p += strlen(p);
>	etc...

Me too.  I wish strcpy et al would return a pointer to the *end* of the copied
string (fgets too, as someone else brought up).  In fact, one could argue that
the low-level routine should not even bother to write the final '\0'; then
your example would become
	*_strcpy(_sprintf(_strcpy(_strcpy(p, "piece"), "another piece"),
		"format%d%s", args...), "still another piece") = '\0';

(Which can still be written using temporaries if the code gets too opaque!)

Karl W. Z. Heuer (ima!haddock!karl or karl@haddock.isc.com), The Walking Lint