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From: cmcmanis@stpeter.Sun.COM (Chuck McManis)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Subject: Re: Execute -- What does it always return -1?
Message-ID: <131688@sun.Eng.Sun.COM>
Date: 12 Feb 90 19:06:21 GMT
References: <541@qusunb.queensu.CA> <13920044@hpfelg.HP.COM>
Sender: news@sun.Eng.Sun.COM
Reply-To: cmcmanis@sun.UUCP (Chuck McManis)
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View
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In response to the question of why Execute always returns -1 (Steve Koren) writes:

>I think Ian mant that "callee" was compiled ito a separate
>executable in the path.  In any case, I think that the reason Execute()
>doesn't return the proper value is that it's busted.

The correct answer is that Execute thinks it is returning the correct
value. If you read the original DOS technical reference manual you
will see the quote :

"Execute() returns TRUE if the program that was passed was EXECUTED."

It doesn't say anything about return values of the executed function
because it doesn't care about that. The original TriPOS OS assumed that
the function you were executing would take care of getting it's result
status to you by some "other" means. Of course most of us from UNIX or
similar backgrounds think that we should be able to combine these two
results. I believe this is the case in 1.4.


--Chuck McManis
uucp: {anywhere}!sun!cmcmanis   BIX: cmcmanis  ARPAnet: cmcmanis@Eng.Sun.COM
These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.
"If it didn't have bones in it, it wouldn't be crunchy now would it?!"