Groups > comp.lang.c > #120484

Re: main's return rule

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From	Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org>
Newsgroups	comp.lang.c
Subject	Re: main's return rule
Date	Thu, 28 Sep 2017 12:43:44 -0700
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Thomas David Rivers <rivers@dignus.com> writes:
[...]
> Hence the C convention for the return code of main() - 0 is "good", 
> non-zero is "not as good".
[...]

That's not a convention that's defined by the C standard, and there
are systems that follow different conventions.  C requires that
returning 0 or EXIT_SUCCESS denotes success, returning EXIT_FAILURE
denotes failure, and returning any other value has an unspecified
meaning.

Unix-like systems do follow the "zero good, non-zero bad" convenion.
I think MS Windows does too.  OpenVMS, for example, does not.

-- 
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) kst-u@mib.org  <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
Working, but not speaking, for JetHead Development, Inc.
"We must do something.  This is something.  Therefore, we must do this."
    -- Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn, "Yes Minister"

Thread

main's return rule fir <profesor.fir@gmail.com> - 2017-09-28 09:49 -0700
  Re: main's return rule fir <profesor.fir@gmail.com> - 2017-09-28 10:04 -0700
    Re: main's return rule fir <profesor.fir@gmail.com> - 2017-09-28 10:09 -0700
    Re: main's return rule fir <profesor.fir@gmail.com> - 2017-09-28 11:10 -0700
  Re: main's return rule Thomas David Rivers <rivers@dignus.com> - 2017-09-28 15:13 -0400
    Re: main's return rule Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2017-09-28 12:43 -0700
      Re: main's return rule Thomas David Rivers <rivers@dignus.com> - 2017-10-02 10:12 -0400
      Re: main's return rule herrmannsfeldt@gmail.com - 2017-12-10 13:54 -0800
        Re: main's return rule Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2017-12-10 14:39 -0800
          Re: main's return rule herrmannsfeldt@gmail.com - 2017-12-13 05:01 -0800
            Re: main's return rule Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org> - 2017-12-13 09:17 -0800
              Re: main's return rule scott@slp53.sl.home (Scott Lurndal) - 2017-12-13 18:31 +0000
              Re: main's return rule herrmannsfeldt@gmail.com - 2017-12-14 11:51 -0800
      Re: main's return rule Manfred <noname@invalid.add> - 2017-12-13 20:36 +0100
        Re: main's return rule "James R. Kuyper" <jameskuyper@verizon.net> - 2017-12-13 15:14 -0500
        Re: main's return rule supercat@casperkitty.com - 2017-12-14 07:47 -0800
          Re: main's return rule Manfred <noname@invalid.add> - 2017-12-14 20:18 +0100
    Re: main's return rule fir <profesor.fir@gmail.com> - 2017-09-29 07:50 -0700
      Re: main's return rule Chad <cdalten@gmail.com> - 2017-09-29 08:14 -0700
      Re: main's return rule gordonb.3z6ou@burditt.org (Gordon Burditt) - 2017-09-29 13:01 -0500

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