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Date:      Mon, 2 Jun 1997 21:40:41 -0800 (AKDT)
From:      Steve Howe <un_x@anchorage.net>
To:        freebsd-hackers <hackers@freebsd.org>
Subject:   Re: signed/unsigned cpp 
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.3.95q.970602212800.5129F-100000@aak.anchorage.net>
In-Reply-To: <199706021529.BAA00871@labs.usn.blaze.net.au>

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On Tue, 3 Jun 1997, David Nugent wrote:

> 
> It isn't only a portability issue, but also a c++ standards issue.
> c++ distinguishes between these three types. Ansi c only has two
> and there it *is* a portability issue as to whether char* is signed
> or unsigned. This is one of the many ambiguities that c++ has the
> luxury to resolve. :)

i hate to carry on anything trivial ... but,

having a "default signedness" seems like trouble to me.  when you
are writing code, you should have some intentions for a signedness.
imho, c++ should've just kept 2 types of signedness and made sure
one or the other was always specified - then you wouldn't have
the kludge of "whatever some other compiler deems it to be".
i can't imagine a worthwhile use of that.

if i am using an "unsigned char *", i expect my code to use an
"unsigned char *".  it does not benefit any cross-compiler
or any other architecture to say "no - i will use it as
a signed char *".

but i have been wrong before :)
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