Re: Cute error in alh/file.c

[mrk@aps.anl.gov (Marty Kraimer)]

> -----------
> 
> char *shortfile(name)
> char *name;
> {
> int len,i;
> char *shortname;
> 
> 	len = strlen(name);
> 	shortname = name;
>     while (len != 0) {
>         if(*(name+len)== '/') {
>             shortname = name+len+1;
>             break;
>         }
>         len--;
>     }
> }
> 
> -----------
> 
> 
> Notice that there is no return statement? I can only assume that the compilers
> for Sun and HP have `accidentally' optimized 'char *shortname' into the 
> register which is used to return the result. The DECC compiler on the Alpha
> doesn't complain about this construction (do the others?), but the routine
> returns junk which causes a segmentation fault.
> 

I have found that gcc -Wall does a better job of reporting problems than
the sun compiler. It returns the warning:

warning: control reaches end of non-void function

By the way the c rules state:

If no expression appears in the return statement, then no value is returned
from the function; this is always permitted, even if the function has a declared
return type other than void.

C, A Reference Manual, Samuel P. Harbison, etc Third Edition page 234.

The second edition of K&R page 26 has similar words.

This seems like a rather strange rule.

Marty Kraimer