Re: main(int argc, char *argv[])


On Fri, 29 Apr 2005, Kenneth Brody wrote: 

Don't call main().  Instead, have main() do what it needs to do with
argc/argv, then call the recursive function, and have everything call
that instead of main().


  Good advice. I usually write a function called 'process',
int process(FILE *in, FILE *out);
and have it do all the work, 'main' being a wrapper around it. So if
for some reason I ever needed to perform the whole operation recursively,
it wouldn't be too hard.
  Of course, the OP should think carefully about what he's trying to
do; recursing on any significant part of the program is usually the sign
of a newbie mistake, as with those beginners who write

    int get_user_command_from_menu() {
        int choice;
        printf("Choose something (1-5).\n");
        scanf("%d", choice);  /* no error-checking! */
        if (1 <= choice && choice <= 5)
          return choice;
        else {
            printf("That was an invalid choice.\n");
            printf("Please select 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.\n");
            return get_user_command_from_menu();
        }
    }


In fact, I believe I've seen in this group that calling main() is
specifically forbidden by the standard.  (Or at least it's not
standard behavior, being either "implementation defined" or
"undefined behavior".)


  Wrong.  Calling 'main' recursively in C is perfectly fine and okay.
You may be thinking of The Language That C Is Not, in which calling
'main' /is/ disallowed.

HTH,
-Arthur
.