Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re:  ST 1.5.0 strlen bug
Message-ID: <1990Feb24.234702.14311@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <12043@nigel.udel.EDU>
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 90 23:47:02 GMT

In article <12043@nigel.udel.EDU> sanj!SACMGR!HENRYM@udel.edu writes:
>>As I understand this is not a strlen bug, but a bug of the program.
>>You cannot test in every lib function for valid parameters, it's the
>>writer of the program who must garantee this.
>
>	Testing a parameter for validity inside a library routine makes
>a lot more sense than checking the parameters before every call...

This is true, other things being equal... but they usually aren't equal.
Most of the time, the caller knows that the parameters are valid and
does not *need* to check them.  The callee can't tell.
-- 
"The N in NFS stands for Not, |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
or Need, or perhaps Nightmare"| uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu