Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!elroy!gryphon!vector!rpp386!jfh
From: jfh@rpp386.Dallas.TX.US (John F. Haugh II)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: libpw.a
Summary: alloca is the lazy approach.
Message-ID: <15945@rpp386.Dallas.TX.US>
Date: 21 Apr 89 00:38:44 GMT
References: <157@dftsrv.gsfc.nasa.gov> <10013@smoke.BRL.MIL> <8184@chinet.chi.il.us> <1250@frog.UUCP> <564@aablue.UUCP> <1883@thor.acc.stolaf.edu>
Reply-To: jfh@rpp386.Dallas.TX.US (John F. Haugh II)
Distribution: na
Organization: River Parishes Programming, Dallas TX
Lines: 24

In article <1883@thor.acc.stolaf.edu> mike@mike@stolaf.edu writes:
>I'm the author of GNU grep, and I firmly believe that alloca is Evil.
>Don't use it in new programs!

The idea is wonderful.  Not unlike the goto or middle-tested loops.
It fills an emptiness, but requires some degree of discipline.

>Many people know that Richard strongly advocates the use of alloca.
>But just because Richard uses it in his programs doesn't mean it is
>necessarily a good thing!

It IS a nice concept.  It would be nice if C had better garbage
collection, like LISP.  I always enjoyed SNOBOL and LISP programming
because you use the stuff, then toss it, then use it again.  In C
and others, memory management is a CHORE.

>To repeat: alloca is EVIL.

It doesn't have to be.
-- 
John F. Haugh II                        +-Quote of the Week:-------------------
VoiceNet: (214) 250-3311   Data: -6272  | "When everyone else complies
InterNet: jfh@rpp386.Dallas.TX.US       |  I will too ..."
UucpNet : <backbone>!killer!rpp386!jfh  +-------------------  -- Doug Davis  --