Re: OT: Windows (Was: Re: Open Source does not mean easily

On Tue, 7 Jan 2025 15:35:44 -0000 (UTC)
cross@spitfire.i.gajendra.net (Dan Cross) wibbled:

In article <vljgbg$28o6f$1@dont-email.me>,  <Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org> wrote:

On Tue, 7 Jan 2025 14:14:38 -0000 (UTC)
cross@spitfire.i.gajendra.net (Dan Cross) wibbled:

In article <vljcbk$27v6l$1@dont-email.me>,  <Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org> wrote:

On Tue, 7 Jan 2025 13:18:54 -0000 (UTC)
cross@spitfire.i.gajendra.net (Dan Cross) wibbled:

In article <vlip2c$24ccb$1@dont-email.me>,  <Muttley@DastardlyHQ.org>

wrote:

On Mon, 06 Jan 2025 16:46:56 GMT
ITYF it is VERY widely shared and having a signal safe API function is

only

step 2 - plenty of the functions in the program itself or 3rd party

library

functions are probably not re-entrant safe and even if they are, having
code stomp over itself - eg if in the middle of writing a log message then

>

a

signal is generated which tried to write a log message itself - is a very
poor way to write code.

>
So don't write code that way.  It does not follow that the only
thing you can do in a signal handler is an some atomic flag
somewhere.

>
Just because you can doesn't mean you should. C lets you do a lot of things
that are a Bad Idea.

>
I have to ask at this point: have you ever written a concurrent
program under Unix?  One that used signals?  For that matter,
have you ever written a program that used `fork()` and caught a
`SIGCHLD`?

>
Is that supposed to be a serious question?

>
Yes.
>

The only thing that should ever be done in a child exit handler is a wait*()
or set a flag.

>
I think perhaps you should try to write some complex programs in
the Unix environment before making such categorial statement.

Don't be patronising. I've probably written more unix software in 30 years
than you've had hot dinners including a fully featured telnetd and numerous
other servers for work and play. And in the places I've worked which included
finance/banking, aerospace and government, the advice was almost always NOT to
use signals in the first place unless there was no choice - eg SIGCHLD - but if
you did then do very little in the handler and nothing that could cause any
re-entrancy issues.

I suspect its you who needs a bit more practice at writing large multi process
and multi threaded applications.