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From: Wolfgang Helbig <helbig@Informatik.BA-Stuttgart.DE>
Message-Id: <199710261256.NAA07666@rvc1.informatik.ba-stuttgart.de>
Subject: Re: cvs commit: src/gnu/usr.bin/diff system.h
In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.96.971026145508.3606A-100000@lsd.relcom.eu.net> from "[______ ______]" at "Oct 26, 97 03:03:07 pm"
To: ache@nagual.pp.ru (=?KOI8-R?B?4c7E0sXKIP7F0s7P1w==?=)
Date: Sun, 26 Oct 1997 13:56:40 +0100 (MET)
Cc: hackers@FreeBSD.ORG
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> Those ctype macros are pain. General rule is that only EOF,0..255 range
> is allowed per POSIX and ANSI. It means that ctype(char) is illegal
> if char have 8bit set, because negative sign extension happens. Possible
> workarounds:
> 1) If the program assumes ASCII-only, test isascii() before any ctype
> macro call.

isascii() is a non ISO-C extension. So better yet we change the
program in question to make it independent of this bogus assumption.

> 2) Add (unsigned char) cast to all ctype macros calls. Direct cast mask
> possible programmer errors like ctype(s) instead of ctype(*s).

  2a) Pass an unsigned char (or int with its value in EOF, 0..UCHAR_MAX)
      right away, i. e. change the definition ``char *foo'' to
      ``unsigned char *foo'' whenever possible.

> 3) Add -funsigned-char to CFLAGS, it seems to be best way unless some
> programs assume that char is signed somewhere. Many old BSD programs does.

This makes our source depend on a non portable feature of gcc, which I
think should be avoided.

So I suggest to adopt method 2) and 2a).

Wolfgang