Path: utzoo!yunexus!geac!syntron!jtsv16!uunet!tank!nic.MR.NET!umn-d-ub!rutgers!cmcl2!adm!smoke!gwyn
From: gwyn@smoke.BRL.MIL (Doug Gwyn )
Newsgroups: comp.std.c
Subject: Re: What's a good prototype for write(2)?
Message-ID: <8756@smoke.BRL.MIL>
Date: 26 Oct 88 09:42:30 GMT
Article-I.D.: smoke.8756
References: <902@vsi.COM>
Reply-To: gwyn@brl.arpa (Doug Gwyn (VLD/VMB) <gwyn>)
Distribution: comp
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 18

In article <902@vsi.COM> friedl@vsi.COM (Stephen J. Friedl) writes:
>What is a proper prototype for write(2)?

	extern int write(int, const char *, unsigned);
describes the existing function and should be used if you want to
avoid relying on the automatic parameter conversions that prototypes
provide (in order that your code continue to work on older systems).

>but how does this deal with a successful
>write very near the maximum unsigned value?

You have to cast the result to unsigned before comparing it to the
requested count.  But before you do that, test for -1 (error).

>P.S. - I know that write(2) is not specified in the dpANS.

But it is specified by IEEE 1003.1-1988 (they don't use prototypes).
My copy isn't at hand so I can't check just how it ended up.