Text File

Aucbvax.2405 fa.unix-wizards utzoo!decvax!ucbvax!c-alayto@CCA-UNIX Wed Jul 22 06:59:41 1981 ^D and <EOF> From: c-alayto at CCA-UNIX (Alexis Layton)

What Dave Crocker <DCROCKER@UDEL> and others have called a bug is really nothing of the sort. My understand of UNIX typing conventions is as follows: Most line terminating characters (i.e. newline) insert themselves into the input buffer before causing the read(2) to return. The function of ^D (or for those of you who have changed it, whatever tchars.t_eofc is) is to cause read(2) to return with the contents of the buffer WITHOUT inserting itself. In the case that the buffer is empty, then read(2) returns 0, which is the proper definition of end of file. This is totally consistent and (I believe) well documented. (I only have the 4bsd documentation here, so I can't speak for all UNICES.)

----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen <jgoerzen@complete.org> of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/

This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided:

1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles.

2. The following notice remains appended to each copy:

The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.