Re: Portability of fopen (foo, "wb") (Was: bug in AC_COMPUTE_INT)

[Guido Draheim]

Guido Draheim wrote:
> The "b" is an ansi-C requirement, however there may be some systems
> that are simply not compliant. [...] I just
> found second hand information that some DEC ultrix libc did barf
> at "b".

I did a bit of web digging, and I found first hand information in a
tex package dating back to 14-Aug-87...
>                 For non-Unix operating  systems, it is  generally
>                 necessary to open  binary files differently  than
>                 text files,  since  the C-runtime  libraries  use
>                 that distinction to decide how to translate  Unix
>                 line terminators.  Every system  so far has  used
>                 the letter  "b" in  the  fopen() mode  string  to
>                 select this mode, and  every Unix system  ignores
>                 the "b", except Ultrix,  which raises a  run-time
>                 error, sigh...   I  have therefore  replaced  the
>                 mode string by RB_OPEN and WB_OPEN

with the ongoing success of windows however, I assume that no younger
system will have ever had this bug in its libc. And it *is* a bug.

-- guido                                Edel sei der Mensch, hilfreich und gut
31:GCS/E/S/P C++$++++ ULHS L++w- N++@  d(+-) s+a- h.r(*@)>+++ y++ PS++PE 5++X-