From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
From: Ian Lance Taylor <ian@cygnus.com>
To: hjl@lucon.org
Cc: bfd@cygnus.com
Subject: Re: A patch for elf.c
Date: Wed, 09 Dec 1998 09:35:00 -0000
Message-id: <199812091735.MAA29788@subrogation.cygnus.com>
References: <m0znllH-0000UXC@sea.lucon.org>
X-SW-Source: 1998/msg00078.html

   From: hjl@lucon.org (H.J. Lu)
   Date: Wed, 9 Dec 1998 07:42:46 -0800 (PST)

   > introduced with a change to the function a few months ago.  The fix is
   > to avoid introducing bugs; clearing memory is just treating the
   > symptom.

   To me, clearing memory is the super set of setting one field to
   zero. I am a better safe than sorry person. I have no time
   to second guess if there is another field I should clear.

I know you don't mean this, but to me ``I have no time to second
guess'' sounds like ``I have no time to figure out how the code works,
or what the right patch is.''  In a long running project like GNU,
anybody who wants to make changes has to take the time to understand
them.  We're not quickly hacking stuff together for the big demo next
Wednesday; we're writing code that should, ideally, survive for twenty
years.

I also agree with Roland's point.

Ian