ReadKey like Function in C

[Peter da Silva]

The guy Henry's following up to did rant most egregiously, but...

In article <1989Aug15.161101.19925 at utzoo.uucp>, henry at utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes:
> The point is, the POSIX way of
> doing things is the closest there is to an OS-independent standard;...

But it's not. In particular the Posix method of creating new processes is
highly OS-dependent. It requires major hackery to get it to work anywhere
but UNIX, and a large number of operating systems can't implement it at all.
POSIX is not the answer to the gaps that (by necessity) exist in the ANSI
C standard.

If POSIX is UNIX under another name, to satisfy DoD competitive bidding
requirements, fine. But don't start talking about it as an OS-independant
standard when it isn't one.

The closest thing there is to an OS-independant standard, at least for the
services covered by it, is the Software Tools virtual operating system.
It's inspired by UNIX and C, but doesn't require the UNIX model to work.

Perhaps it would be a good starting point for a REAL OS-interface standard.

> Language standards do not and cannot force vendors to do anything.

Neither can OS standards.

> Please get it through your head that standards committees have far less
> clout than you think.

POSIX included.
-- 
Peter da Silva, Xenix Support, Ferranti International Controls Corporation.
Business: peter at ficc.uu.net, +1 713 274 5180. | "The sentence I am now
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