From: Sean O'Dell <sean@...>
Date: 2004-06-26T02:25:42+09:00
Subject: Re: Is it considered Harmful?

On Friday 25 June 2004 10:11, Lennon Day-Reynolds wrote:
> [snip]
>
> > No code should "expect" data to be there that isn't.  If a C extension
> > wraps a native C struct as a Ruby object with Make_Struct, then when it
> > unwraps it, and gets nothing or a NULL pointer, it shouldn't continue to
> > try and use it. That's sloppy coding.
> >
> >        Sean O'Dell
>
> I agree with you about it being sloppy programming, but then again,
> part of the reason that I write code in Ruby (and Python, Java, C#,
> Perl, etc.) is so that I can be a little sloppy, without getting
> segfaults or buffer overruns. Programming in C seems to consist mostly
> of wrapping unsafe calls in error checks and handlers; I would hate to
> see Ruby become similarly burdened due to low-level hacks like #class=
> or #become entering the langauge core.

I was actually speaking of Ruby C code, not so much Ruby script code.  Ruby 
should be stable even in exceptional circumstances, although you might not 
get the results you're after.  It still shouldn't crash.  C code shouldn't 
use internal data without performing some checks, especially if the data 
makes the rounds to other libraries/extensions and such.

	Sean O'Dell