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Re: VMS

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From John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com>
Newsgroups comp.os.linux.misc
Subject Re: VMS
Date Mon, 21 Jul 2025 13:31:48 -0700
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On Mon, 21 Jul 2025 20:47:23 +0100
Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> wrote:

> In real life a buffer overrun is not the only outcome to be avoided.
> If you need 20 bytes and you’ve only got 10, _something_ is going to
> go wrong. A bounds check will avoid the outcome being a buffer
> overrun, but you’re still going to have to report an error, or exit
> the program, or some other undesired behaviour, when what you
> actually wanted was the full 20-byte result. That’s what a
> conservative bound helps you with.

Sure - there's nothing wrong with "reserve a bit more than you think
you'll need" in and of itself. But what's been at issue from the start
of this branch discussion is specifically the practice (as was being
advocated) of doing this *as a safeguard* against buffer overruns - a
problem that it does not actually *solve,* just forestalls long enough
for some buggy solution to get embedded and only discovered 20 yrs.
later at some Godforsaken field installation deep in the Pottsylvanian
hinterlands* rather than being caught during development/testing or in
some early deployment.

* (At which point, the field-service tech having finally arrived back
  at the office with a pack of hyenas and the curse of Baba Yaga on
  his/her heels, every other install in the world will abruptly start
  breaking.)

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Thread

Re: VMS Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2025-07-20 14:37 +0000
  Re: VMS Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-21 08:42 +0100
    Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-21 09:12 -0700
      Re: VMS Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> - 2025-07-21 18:44 +0100
      Re: VMS Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-21 20:47 +0100
        Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-21 13:31 -0700
          Re: VMS Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> - 2025-07-23 07:22 +0100
            Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-23 08:04 -0700
              Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-23 08:44 -0700
              Re: VMS The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-23 20:04 +0100
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-23 22:47 +0000
                Re: VMS The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-24 09:56 +0100
              Re: VMS Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> - 2025-07-23 21:53 +0100
                Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-23 14:28 -0700
                Re: VMS Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> - 2025-07-24 00:29 +0100
                Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-24 08:05 -0700
                Re: VMS Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-24 21:51 +0100
                Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-24 15:06 -0700
                Re: VMS Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> - 2025-07-25 07:06 +0100
                Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-25 10:39 -0700
                Re: VMS Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> - 2025-07-26 17:54 +0100
                Re: VMS The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-26 18:02 +0100
                Re: VMS Robert Riches <spamtrap42@jacob21819.net> - 2025-07-27 04:04 +0000
                Re: VMS c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-07-27 01:50 -0400
                Re: VMS The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-27 12:07 +0100
                Re: VMS Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> - 2025-07-27 10:23 +0100
                Re: VMS Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-27 10:55 +0100
                Re: VMS c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-07-27 21:23 -0400
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-28 04:45 +0000
                Re: VMS c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-07-28 02:14 -0400
                Re: VMS The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-28 13:48 +0100
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-28 20:38 +0000
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-28 20:32 +0000
                Re: VMS Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2025-07-28 14:17 -0700
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-29 05:08 +0000
                Re: VMS The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-28 13:44 +0100
                Re: VMS The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-28 13:39 +0100
                Re: VMS Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-07-29 01:03 +0000
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-29 05:29 +0000
                Re: VMS The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-29 11:42 +0100
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-29 19:16 +0000
                Re: VMS Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> - 2025-07-29 12:10 +0100
                Re: VMS The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-29 13:08 +0100
                Re: VMS Bobbie Sellers <bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com> - 2025-07-29 09:51 -0700
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-29 18:53 +0000
                Re: VMS c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-07-29 04:51 -0400
                Re: VMS Rich <rich@example.invalid> - 2025-07-29 13:32 +0000
                Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-28 09:22 -0700
                Re: VMS The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-27 12:11 +0100
                Re: VMS Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-07-27 22:02 +0000
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-28 04:58 +0000
                Re: VMS Stéphane CARPENTIER <sc@fiat-linux.fr> - 2025-08-01 19:13 +0000
                Re: VMS Lew Pitcher <lew.pitcher@digitalfreehold.ca> - 2025-08-01 20:38 +0000
                Re: VMS Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-08-02 00:01 +0000
                Re: VMS c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-02 02:24 -0400
                Re: VMS Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> - 2025-08-02 11:34 +0100
                Re: VMS c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-02 21:02 -0400
                Re: VMS Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-08-03 02:08 +0000
                Re: VMS c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-08-03 01:00 -0400
                Re: VMS c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-07-27 21:31 -0400
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-28 05:03 +0000
                Re: VMS c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-07-28 02:19 -0400
                Re: VMS c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-07-27 21:09 -0400
                Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-28 10:17 -0700
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-28 20:46 +0000
                Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-28 14:34 -0700
                Re: VMS Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2025-07-28 16:34 +0000
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-28 20:48 +0000
                Re: VMS Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-07-29 01:00 +0000
                Re: VMS Pancho <Pancho.Jones@protonmail.com> - 2025-07-29 10:07 +0100
                Re: VMS Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-07-29 23:05 +0000
                Re: VMS c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> - 2025-07-30 02:43 -0400
                Re: VMS Andreas Eder <a_eder_muc@web.de> - 2025-08-02 18:11 +0200
                Re: VMS Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2025-07-24 14:42 +0000
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-24 18:05 +0000
                Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-24 11:14 -0700
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-24 23:10 +0000
                Re: VMS Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2025-07-24 21:16 +0000
                Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-24 23:21 +0000
        Re: VMS John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-07-21 14:05 -0700
        Re: VMS Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> - 2025-07-21 21:14 +0000
          Re: VMS The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> - 2025-07-21 22:19 +0100
          Re: VMS rbowman <bowman@montana.com> - 2025-07-22 02:10 +0000

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