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From: mark@applix.UUCP (Mark Fox)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.ultrix
Subject: Ultrix 2.0 executable dumps core on 1.2
Message-ID: <12683@felix.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 12-Nov-87 18:02:35 EST
Article-I.D.: felix.12683
Posted: Thu Nov 12 18:02:35 1987
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Nov-87 07:50:45 EST
Sender: chuck@felix.UUCP
Reply-To: mark@applix.UUCP (Mark Fox)
Organization: APPLiX Inc., Westboro MA
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Approved: zemon@felix.UUCP

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I have a program built on an Ultrix 2.0 system. It executes a new system
call (getmnt) which didn't exist in 1.2. Guess what happens if I try to execute
it on a 1.2 system -- it dumps core with the following message and stack trace:

% a.out
Bad system call (core dumped)
% adb a.out
$c
_getmnt(7fffe2e0,7fffd8dc,a00) from 30e
_getdfnms(7fffe304) from 155
_main(1,7fffe380,7fffe388) from 92

Two questions:

1) How can I *reliably* tell at runtime that I am on a pre-2.0 version of
   Ultrix so that my application doesn't issue this or other "Bad system calls"?
   (A compile-time check that would force me to have separate 1.2 and 2.0
   distributions of my application is not acceptable. Requiring all of my
   users to upgrade to 2.0 isn't either.)

2) Will subsequent versions of Ultrix simply return an error to a
   "Bad system call" or will they continue to rudely and inexcusably dump
   core? Really, dumping core is a bug not a feature, isn't it?
-- 
                                    Mark Fox
       Applix Inc., 112 Turnpike Road, Westboro, MA 01581, (617) 870-0300
                    uucp:  {ames,rutgers}!harvard!m2c!applix!mark