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From: creps@silver.bacs.indiana.edu
Newsgroups: comp.bugs.misc
Subject: Re: PKARC Serious Squash Bug, part 2
Message-ID: <23900001@silver>
Date: Sat, 12-Sep-87 00:49:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: silver.23900001
Posted: Sat Sep 12 00:49:00 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 13-Sep-87 06:30:22 EDT
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Organization: Indiana University BACS, Bloomington
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Nf-From: silver.bacs.indiana.edu!creps    Sep 11 23:49:00 1987


>   Hex 90 is a NOP.
>   What are the propects for a binary files to begin with a NOP?

   Well, for a non-text data file, I'd say the prospects were one in every
256 files.

>   It's a good thing to keep in mind, but it doesn't sound like
>   a serious problem.
>     ^^^^^^^

   To me it sounds like it can be a serious problem. Remember the saying,
"If anything can go wrong, it will?" This is especially true in computer
programming. Due to the speed at which computers operate, it's very easy
to exhaust all possible combinations of paths a particular routine can
take in a relatively short timespan. That's why it's important to prove
(mathematically) that a given algorithm is correct for any input it may have.
   I'd say most people probably aren't going to have problems with this
particular program, but knowing what I do now, I'd hesitate to use it on
my files.
   (I hope this didn't sound too much like a lecture.)
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Steve Creps on the VAX 8650 running Ultrix 2.0-1 at Indiana University.
	creps@silver.bacs.indiana.edu
Cowhand: "How 'bout some more beans, Mr. Taggert?"
Taggert (Slim Pickens): "Hell, I'd say you boys have had enough already!"