On: The Little C Function From Hell

[mikeash]

It works for == -1, but not for < 0, which is a common way to check for error returns from UNIX calls.

Any decent compiler should warn that such a check is always false, but people don't always pay attention to that stuff....

[nitrogen → mikeash]

C is my absolute favorite language, and as such, I learned a long time ago to pay very close attention to compiler warnings and Valgrind memory errors.

[mikeash → nitrogen]

Sadly, a lot of people have never learned this valuable lesson, and happily build their code with hundreds or even thousands of warnings.

[regularfry → mikeash]

Got it in one :-)