Re: stdin help

Alastair wrote:
> >
> > Please don't answer off-topic queries with off-topic material.
> > Limit your reply to suggestions as to where to look. The reason is
> > that the experts who can correct any errors you might make are not
> > here to make those corrections, so bad advice may not be caught.
> >
>
> What!??!!
> you're above comments are just not required here - please do not reply
> unless you have somthing useful to add.
>
> I was using the C++ example as an illustration of a way it could be
> done, so that I could explain how you cannot easily do this in C
> (therefore to do with the C language). Also if I think a solution can
> be done better in a different language I won't hesitate to suggest it
> (even if this is the C forum)...
>
> Alastair

There are ongoing disputes on topicality. Most of the regulars here
think this group is about the standard C language and that discussions
about non-portable constructs (such as threads) should be directed
to newsgroups where they are relevant. There are several reasons
for this, including:

1) standard C is a big enough topic to keep one group quite busy
2) maintaining focus on a limited topic helps keep expertise
within the group. Too big a focus is no focus.
3) errors are more likely to be caught/better advice given in groups
where relevant specialists hang out.

All that said, I personally have a tendancy to give advice I am
confident of while at at the same time redirecting the poster to
a group that is more appropriate for their specific needs. Some
think that is too much, as it encourages discussion of the off topic
part of the post, though setting follow-ups can repair that somewhat.
And some are not as friendly as they might be about pointing out the
above, causing hurt feelings and belligerence on the part of
the recipients of less than kind posts (I think this may explain
Kenny, though his upbringing may also be to blame there).

I think your advice was not particularly good here, in that you had no
idea what platform the user was using (his question gave no clue that
I could see). The ways to achieve what he wants are different on
Windows than on Linux, and no doubt different still a VAX or an
embedded system. Whether or not multiple threads/processes
is the way to do it would thus best be discussed in a more
appropriate forum.

> And further - I'll answer anything that I can help with.
Nobody can stop you from posting what you want on this or any
group, assuming you don't run afoul of abuse policies of your ISP or
posting route. What might happen is that regulars can and will
killfile you if they find you unreasonable, resulting in a loss of
audience when you have a question which the many experts on
the group (of which I am NOT one) could have helped you answer.

-David

.

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