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From: chips@usfvax2.UUCP (Chip Salzenberg)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Distinguished pointers (was Re: Weird syscall returns)
Message-ID: <821@usfvax2.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 20-Aug-87 14:36:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: usfvax2.821
Posted: Thu Aug 20 14:36:12 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 22-Aug-87 11:37:42 EDT
References: <1158@copper.TEK.COM> <6858@auspyr.UUCP> <17171@cca.CCA.COM> <503@sugar.UUCP>
Organization: AT Engineering, Tampa, FL
Lines: 29
Summary: CR vs LF

In article <503@sugar.UUCP>, peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva) writes:
>> What is an implementation of C supposed to do on an OS/machine/character-code
>> combination that doesn't have the foggiest that there is such a thing
>> as distinct "new line" and "carriage return" characters?  From the looks of
>> the discussion here, I'd gather that OS9 is just such a beast and its C
>> compiler is making the best of this brain damaged situation that it can.

This compiler botched the job.

> There is no "new line" character in ASCII. UNIX uses "line feed" as the new
> line character. OS/9 uses "carriage return". I'd say the 'C' language itself
> is suffering from parochialism here.

Not quite; no useful language can pander to every (hostile? :-]) environment.

> I would say that
> since OS/9 is a UNIX lookalike, using CR for NL instead of LF was probably
> not the best choice... but at least it's better than using both of them.

I once re-targeted a UNIX C compiler from the Z-80 to the 6809, so as to
compile OS-9 programs.  My solution to the above-mentioned problem was to
define '\n' as 0x0D and '\r' as 0x0A.  This did not produce the correct
behavior for '\r', but it did prevent the ('\r' == '\n') problem; and since
the OS-9 I/O services consider 0x0D as `newline' (CR-LF), it would have been
_very_ difficult to make '\r' behave correctly anyway.
-- 
Chip Salzenberg            UUCP: "uunet!ateng!chip"  or  "chips@usfvax2.UUCP"
A.T. Engineering, Tampa    Fidonet: 137/42    CIS: 73717,366
"Use the Source, Luke!"    My opinions do not necessarily agree with anything.