Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-sd!hp-sdd!ucsdhub!isg100!elgar!ag
From: ag@elgar.UUCP (Keith Gabryelski)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix
Subject: SCO XENIX bug prevents smail from working correctly.
Summary: return(exitstat) vs. exit(exitstat) bit me hard.
Message-ID: <31@elgar.UUCP>
Date: 19 Jan 89 00:15:34 GMT
Reply-To: ag@elgar.UUCP (Keith Gabryelski)
Organization: Elgar Corporation, San Diego, CA
Lines: 46


The SCO XENIX C compiler (mine is version 2.2) does not handle a
return from main() correctly.  A return from main should be the same
as an exit from main.  It isn't.

You can confirm this by compiling, running, and checking the exit
status of:

	main(){ return 0; }

and

	main(){ exit(0); }

(On my machine, a 386 box running 2.3.1 OS and 2.2 dev system
The former's exit status is 1.  The latter's exit status is 0.

Smail uses a return from main().

Smail will always exit (if mail was delivered ok) with a status of `2'
even though the exitstat is 0.

HDB (SCO 2.3.1) barfs (returns exit status info to calling site) on
any status other then `0' from rmail (rmail is linked to smail).
[Sorry Brian, I should have found this earlier.]

`recmail' (news) expects any non-zero return value of MAILER
(/usr/bin/smail) to be an indication of an error and returns mail
while passing the error along to `rn'.  This shows itself to the user
as `rn' barfing after any `R' or `r' command (and returning mail to
you, the sender) even though mail has been sent.  (Mailing to a
moderator would also barf, although I haven't tried it).

The following patch to smail[main.c] will fix this:

212c212
< 	return( exitstat );
---
> 	exit( exitstat );

This gist is, smail must use exit() instead of return to leave main
with a status code.

Pax, Keith
-- 
ag@elgar.CTS.COM         Keith Gabryelski          ...!{ucsd, crash}!elgar!ag