Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cca!g-rh
From: g-rh@cca.CCA.COM (Richard Harter)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Why NULL is 0
Message-ID: <25411@cca.CCA.COM>
Date: 9 Mar 88 18:54:49 GMT
References: <2550049@hpisod2.HP.COM> <7412@brl-smoke.ARPA> <3351@chinet.UUCP> <10574@mimsy.UUCP> <10576@mimsy.UUCP>
Reply-To: g-rh@CCA.CCA.COM.UUCP (Richard Harter)
Organization: Computer Corp. of America, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 17

Just a small addendum to Chris's excellent summary -- the current generation
of PR1ME C compilers use a 48 bit size for all pointers; but earlier versions
used 48 bits for char pointers and 36 for everything else.  I don't know if
all formats are the same -- but then I don't need to know that.  All I need
to know is that everything works properly if I cast all of my pointers right.

And this really works!  Recently I did a PRIMOS upgrade of our software.
I took 40,000 lines of C, developed and maintained, under UNIX, and ported
it to PRIMOS with 0 pointer problems.  [There are sundry incompatibilities in
library routine calls, another matter.]

Long live portable software.
-- 

In the fields of Hell where the grass grows high
Are the graves of dreams allowed to die.
	Richard Harter, SMDS  Inc.