Re: FreeBSD 4.0

[Bruce Korb <korb AT datadesign.com>]

Loren James Rittle wrote:
> Hi Bruce,
> 
> The issue is that stdio.h isn't the only system header under [Free]BSD
> that uses the _BSD_VA_LIST_ define.  Basically, approximately 10 other
> system header files need the same treatment as stdio.h.
> 
> In your opinion, should all those other headers be processed just like
> stdio.h?  Or, do you need more input on the matter?
> 
> There is another camp that dislikes this approach since they want to
> use gcc as the default compiler on the system and really want
> _BSD_VA_LIST_ to appear in the /usr/include version of the headers.

First off, I am strongly in the camp that says the fewer headers
that get secreted off some place the better.  In other words,
if the standard BSD compiler is GCC, then the standard BSD headers
should be compatible with it.

From the perspective that the future will be compatible, the
remaining question is what to do on older systems that use _BSD_VA_LIST_.
The most straght forward answer is:  do that which has the smallest
impact while still being certain to not break other implementations.
Since I do not know the exact usage of the _BSD_VA_LIST_ token, I hesitate
to propose a solution.  But the solution should vanish in the next few
decades as the old implementations die away :-).

In other words, fix the old systems with fixinc and the new ones with
source changes.