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From: guy@gorodish.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: C pointer to a function
Message-ID: <29213@sun.uucp>
Date: Sun, 27-Sep-87 01:46:12 EDT
Article-I.D.: sun.29213
Posted: Sun Sep 27 01:46:12 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 27-Sep-87 22:15:05 EDT
References: <501@acf3.NYU.EDU>
Sender: news@sun.uucp
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Lines: 26
Keywords: static pointer function

> 	The question here concerns the scope of the pointer to
> 	the function foo.
> 	Specifically, why might the pointer be defined as static?

Which "pointer to the function foo"?  There are no pointers to functions
anywhere in your example (nor are there any in Rochkind's example, either).
The only things declared as static here are the function "foo" (

	static char *foo(name)

does NOT declare a function pointer, it declares a function that *returns* a
pointer) and the variable "path".

The reason why "path" is declared "static" was given by another poster; it
cannot be automatic, because a pointer to it is returned by "foo", but when
"foo" returns "path" will be discarded and the pointer to it will no longer be
a pointer to a valid object.

The reason why "foo" is declared "static" is that it is presumably not used by
any code outside the module in which it is defined, and it is good programming
practice not to export anything from a module unless it is to be used by code
outside that module - in other words, declare everything with file scope
"static" unless you can't do so.
	Guy Harris
	{ihnp4, decvax, seismo, decwrl, ...}!sun!guy
	guy@sun.com