Re: Migrating to larger numbers

Kai Henningsen (kaih@khms.westfalen.de)
08 Jun 1999 20:25:00 +0200


o.r.c@p.e.l.l.p.o.r.t.l.a.n.d.o.r.u.s (david parsons) wrote on 07.06.99 in <7jhvkv$s21@pell.pell.portland.or.us>:

> I'll just have to toss it and replace it with gcc? That is, in
> the words of the immortal bard, less than optimal. (I have the
> same objection to 64-bitification of time_t; I'd much rather see
> time_t become a struct timeval or some similarly opaque type that
> doesn't depend on changing the definition of the C language.)

A struct timeval - indeed, any non-arithmetic type - depends on changing
the definition of the C language, and of course of POSIX too. I might add
it depends on a change that is quite unlikely to be approved, either.

There's only one large-capacity time_t allowed by the C standard (or
POSIX) that can hold more than the largest integer type - double. (Well,
or float if it's indeed larger.) Do you really want to use floating-point
here?

> >This is silly.
>
> Well, that statement I can agree with. But probably not in the
> way you'd want.

Obviously, I agree differently than you do.

MfG Kai

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