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From: guy@gorodish.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Function prototypes versus open()
Message-ID: <20838@sun.uucp>
Date: Wed, 10-Jun-87 16:03:48 EDT
Article-I.D.: sun.20838
Posted: Wed Jun 10 16:03:48 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 13-Jun-87 05:36:53 EDT
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> It should be noted that the 4.2BSD manual page for open(2), dated 2
> July 1983, and the 4.3BSD manual page for open(2), dated May 14 1986,
> both clearly show that open() has three, and exactly three,
> parameters.  The value of the third parameter is simply ignored in most
> cases, which is quite different from saying that the presence of the
> parameter is optional.

It should also be noted that plenty of 4.[23]BSD code uses "open" as
if the third argument were options, so the fact that the manual does
not explicitly indicate the third parameter as optional probably does
not mean that one is obliged to provide it.  Plenty of 4.[23]BSD code
will break on systems that don't support "open" with the third
argument optional.
	Guy Harris
	{ihnp4, decvax, seismo, decwrl, ...}!sun!guy
	guy@sun.com