getopt(3) posting FLAME

[Arthur David Olson]

> Again, 'real' getopt will accept all of the above combinations of -s and -g
> above. . .

I don't know about you, but I write code that gets used on machines other than
the one I use.  I get to keep this in mind when I write the code.  If I make
use of something that's available on my machine and that isn't available on
some other machine, I'll regret it down the line.

>From this perspective, the "getopt" that's been posted to the network is the
"real" getopt.  I know it'll be available on any machine my software goes to--
simply because I can put the posted version of getopt on the tape I send.  The
AT&T version of getopt is "unreal" from this perspective--there's nothing I can
do (legally) to guarantee that it will be available at the receiving end.  Of
course, there is something AT&T could do--put the source code for the "real"
getopt.c in the public domain.  Hint, hint.

As always, the contents of this article are entirely my own responsibility.
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