Re: bug: return doesn't accept negative numbers

[Linda Walsh]

Bob Proulx wrote:
> Linda Walsh wrote:
> > Bob Proulx wrote:
> > > Exit codes should be in the range 0-255.
> > ---
> >         I suppose you don't realize that 'should' is a subjective opinion that
> > sometimes has little to do with objective reality.
>
> Sigh.  Okay.  Keep in mind that turn about is fair play.  You are
> giving it to me.  Please be gracious on the receiving end of it. 
---
        I *do* love it!   I strive vociferously, to not be hypocritical,
so what I put out, feel free to give back -- where I get in trouble, is
that is how I operate with other people (not from the start, but given time,
I start reciprocating their behavior and language toward me...)

        Mirroring, or adopting another's form of address/speech, etc, is
usually considered a good thing to develop rapport, (Ha!)... -- expcept
when the other person is being a jerk!...then it causes problems...

        Unfortunately unless I catch myself, 'mirroring' is almost
unconscious for me.  But it works to my disadvantage as often or more
so in society these days (with everyone being so 'friendly' by default 
[not!]).

        So try to buffer and average input and start from a 'positive'
friendly point -- things go up or down from there.


> You
> do realize that you should comply with documented interfaces.  Why?
> Because that is the way the interface specification is documented.  If
> you want things to work easily then most generally the easiest way is
> to follow the documented practice.  Unless you have an exceptional
> reason for doing something different from the documented interface
> then actively doing anything else is actively trying to be broken.
----
        Ok, lets look at what you say below...


> POSIX was intended to document
> the existing behavior so that if you followed the specification then
> you would have some hope of being able to run successfully on multiple
> systems.  And it was intended to curb the differences from becoming
> greater than they were already.  It tries to reign in the divergent
> behaviors so that there won't be more differences than already exist.
>
> This is what POSIX says about it:
>
>   void exit(int status);
>
>   The value of status may be 0, EXIT_SUCCESS, EXIT_FAILURE, or any
>   other value, though only the least significant 8 bits (that is,
>   status & 0377) shall be available to a waiting parent process.

====
        Exactly!.

        'int status' means it takes a 'signed' value.  It will and it
with 0377, given, but the *input* allows positive and negative numbers.
Then they will be masked to 8 bits.

        That's all I'm asking for.