Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!lll-crg!ames!ucbcad!ucbvax!decvax!mcnc!rti-sel!dg_rtp!meissner From: meissner@dg_rtp.UUCP (Michael Meissner) Newsgroups: comp.lang.c Subject: Re: draft ANSI standard: needs your tomatoes Message-ID: <753@dg_rtp.UUCP> Date: Sat, 13-Dec-86 13:11:28 EST Article-I.D.: dg_rtp.753 Posted: Sat Dec 13 13:11:28 1986 Date-Received: Tue, 16-Dec-86 01:04:29 EST References: <1384@hoptoad.uucp> <5421@brl-smoke.ARPA> <1155@ucbcad.BERKELEY.EDU> <7375@utzoo.UUCP> <738@dg_rtp.UUCP> Reply-To: meissner@dg_rtp.UUCP (Michael Meissner) Organization: Data General (Languages @ Research Triangle Park, NC.) Lines: 21 In article <738@dg_rtp.UUCP> throopw@dg_rtp.UUCP (Wayne Throop) writes: >> henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) > >>> ... The constants EXTERNAL_NAME_LENGTH (6), INCLUDE_FILES_NEST >>> (4), and SOURCE_LINE_LENGTH (509) in particular seem to be very >>> inadequate... >> SOURCE_LINE_LENGTH is a bit curious, and the choice >> of minimum value for it is truly bizarre. > >"Bizarre?" Really? Isn't that the longest ANSI varying length format >record which will fit into a 512-byte block? Oops, no that would be >508... hmmmmmmmm... where DOES that limit come from? > >Wayne Throop!mcnc!rti-sel!dg_rtp!throopw As I remember it, it came from a record oriented system, that stored a length word (2 bytes) at the front, and some sort of trailer at the end. The last byte (trailer) may have been the fortran carriage control character (0, 1, +, etc.) that is prepended. Michael Meissner !mcnc!rti-sel!dg_rtp!meissner