questions from using lint

Tainter tainter at ihlpg.UUCP
Fri May 16 01:04:48 AEST 1986


>>>And as someone pointed out, assignments return a value too, so should we
>>>cast them to void as well?  Oh yeah, assignment is `different'.
>If I say "a = b", I have clearly used the value of the expression.
> Gary Samuelson

No.  You have only used the value of the expression "b", not the expression
"a = b" (which happens, by definition, to return the value of the expression
"b").  The argument stands.  The principle behind ignoring, even meaningful,
return codes is:
    I don't have any particular response to this error so I will fall
    back on whatever default error handling the system provides.

Admittedly, this is not the desired response when what is being written is
a general tool.  ROBUSTNESS provides GENERALITY but costs DEVELOPMENT TIME.

--j.a.tainter



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