Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!microsoft!randyo
From: randyo@microsoft.UUCP (Randy ORRISON)
Newsgroups: comp.mail.misc
Subject: Re: What does %u mean to smail 3?
Keywords: smail percent internet mail address
Message-ID: <10217@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 10 Jan 90 18:18:12 GMT
References: <110@puzzle.UUCP>
Reply-To: randyo@microsoft.UUCP (Randy ORRISON)
Organization: Learning Systems Development, Microsoft
Lines: 26

In article <110@puzzle.UUCP> news@puzzle.UUCP (newshound) writes:
| 	What significance does %u have to smail 3?  I sent a mail message
| to someone at uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu, using this form:
| 	username%uokmax.ecn.uoknor.edu@my_backbone
| and it was resolved to
| 	username2155879098okmax.ecn.uoknor.edu@my_backbone

Without looking at the source, I would be willing to bet that somewhere
in smail3 is a line like this:

    printf(address);

The '%u' in the address is being interpreted by printf as a format
specification for an unsigned int, and it's grabbing garbage off the
stack to put in there.  The solution, of course, is to not use an
address as a format string.  Either printf("%s",address), or even
better, fputs(address,stdout) will do what is needed.

Disclaimer:  This is a great way to look like a fool if I'm wrong.

    -randy
-- 
Randy C. Orrison -- Just an employee of Microsoft Corp, not a spokesman
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