Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!EDDIE.MIT.EDU!mcgill-vision!iros1!pinard
From: mcgill-vision!iros1!pinard@EDDIE.MIT.EDU (Francois Pinard)
Newsgroups: gnu.utils.bug
Subject: Tiny bug in GNU getopt, and multiplication of sources
Message-ID: <8912310022.AA20600@kovic.IRO.UMontreal.CA>
Date: 31 Dec 89 00:22:35 GMT
Sender: daemon@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
Distribution: gnu
Organization: GNUs Not Usenet
Lines: 24

Hello, people.

GNU getopt does not declare the functions alloca nor index.  Function
alloca should return void *, and index should return char *.  This
particular getopt was part of grep 1.5, but I do not feel like
reporting this as a grep bug.

A few GNU routines get multiplied in several products.  I think of
alloca, obstack, regcmp, getopt among others (and soon, readline :-).
Most of them originated from GNU emacs, I believe; but comparing the
same routine in various products reveals that they slightly differ for
reasons not pertaining necessarily to the product in which they stand.
Maybe the time has come to develop a common library of such routines,
with a proper version numbering scheme to help comparison and
reference, and reduce multiplicity.  I suggest these would not nest in
emacs anymore, so to be able to evolve independently, in a faster and
ligthier (?) way.

bug-utils seemed (to me) the best place to discuss such matters.  If I
am in the wrong forum, please someone tell me.

-- 
Franc,ois Pinard                                    pinard@iro.umontreal.ca
(514) 588-4656           ``Vivement GNU!''          ...!uunet!iros1!pinard