4.3BSD sort(1) broken for records with embedded nulls

Steve Grandi grandi at noao.UUCP
Wed Aug 20 10:11:07 AEST 1986


Subject: sort will no longer work on records with embedded nulls
Index:	usr.bin/sort.c 4.3BSD

Description:
	For 4.3BSD, sort(1) was modified (for efficiency) to use fgets/fputs to
read and write data records instead of getc/putc.  This change breaks sort
for data records that have embedded nulls; they will generate spurious error 
messages "missing newline before EOF" and the data will be totally scrambled.
Repeat-By:
	Read the code.
Fix:
	1) Reinstall the slow 4.2BSD version.
	2) Don't use sort(1) as a quick hack when you really should use qsort(3)

-- 
Steve Grandi, National Optical Astronomy Observatories, Tucson, AZ, 602-325-9228
{arizona,decvax,hao,ihnp4,seismo}!noao!grandi  grandi%draco at Hamlet.Caltech.Edu



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