Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!dgp.toronto.edu!flaps
From: flaps@dgp.toronto.edu (Alan J Rosenthal)
Subject: Re: strcpy
Message-ID: <8804091440.AA02433@explorer.dgp.toronto.edu>
Organization: University of Toronto
References: <7712@apple.Apple.Com> <7485@brl-smoke.ARPA> <10731@mimsy.UUCP> <7506@brl-smoke.ARPA> <4251@hoptoad.uucp> <6286@dhw68k.cts.com> <4215@ihlpf.ATT.COM> <6476@dhw68k.cts.com>
Date:	Sat, 9 Apr 88 08:40:50 EDT


david@dhw68k.cts.com (David H. Wolfskill) writes:
 >Suppose...
  [
    strcpy's order were implementation-defined, and this implementation
    defined it as being left-to-right.
  ]
 >Then, an algorithm to clear a given
 >string (str1) to a given value (other than NUL) could be coded:
 >
 >	*str1 = ch;
 >	for (c1 = str1; *++c1 != '\0'; *c1 = *(c1 -1));
 >
 >or (remembering the characteristics of the implementation):
 >
 >	*str1 = ch;
 >	strcpy(str1+1, str1)
 >
 >but I think the latter is easier to comprehend.


Gosh, I find these both really complicated.  (I must say however that
the most complicated part of the first example is the fact that the
_for_ body is placed inside the control structure, and the increment
inside the test!)

Why not do the simple:

    for(p = str1; *p; p++)    /* optionally insert "!= '\0'" */
	*p = ch;

ajr

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