--> Frank Masingill wrote to Cliff Rhodes <--
 
FM> > Frank, please use int main(void) !!!!
 
FM>But WHY do the books I'm
FM>following not use it?  They are some of the most promient
FM>names like Lafore, etc.  I'm not implying that means they
FM>are right - just asking why you make a point of it?
 
I wish I knew why capable authors used void main(). The only reason I
can think of is that it will compile and they do not think it
necessary to return a completion code to the system.
 
ANSI/ISO C specifies that when running under an Operation System (they
call it a hosted environment), not returning a value results in
undefined behavior. In fact only two forms of main() are specified:
 
int main();
int main(int argc, char *argv[]);
 
C++ is similar in that the above two forms of main() must be 
supported. void main() is not specified, but may be allowed in an 
implementation.
It is a simple thing to return a value from main(), so I cannot
understand why it is not always done. It's not the end of the world if
you don't, but it is a good habit to get into.
 
Cliff Rhodes
cliff.rhodes@juge.com
 
X CMPQwk 1.42 1692 X"None love, but they who wish to love." - Jean Rac
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