tech-userlevel archive

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index][Old Index]

Re: style, sysexits(3), and man RETURN VALUES for sys programs



In article <20230603120221.0766B609AC%jupiter.mumble.net@localhost>,
Taylor R Campbell  <campbell+netbsd-tech-userlevel%mumble.net@localhost> wrote:
>> Date: Sat, 3 Jun 2023 13:45:44 +0200
>> From: tlaronde%polynum.com@localhost
>> 
>> So I suggest to add a mention of sysexits(7) to style.
>
>I don't think sysexits(7) is consistently used enough, or really
>useful enough, to warrant being a part of the style guide.  Very few
>programs, even those in src, use it, and I don't think anything
>_relies_ on it for semantics in calling programs.

I agree; nothing really uses sysexits except inside sendmail perhaps...
It has been around for more than 40 years:

^As 00062/00000/00000
^Ad D 1.1 81/10/15 20:29:54 eric 1 0 
^Ac date and time created 81/10/15 20:29:54 by eric

and one would think that if it was useful, it would have caught on by now.

I think that it is best for most programs to use EXIT_SUCCESS/EXIT_FAILURE
instead except for ones like init(8)...

christos



Home | Main Index | Thread Index | Old Index