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points by dns_snek 2 days ago | 0 comments
> I can always write code like `if(ENOSYS) { return Ok("*") } instead of returning Err(ENOSYS)

You can do that but it's going to feel bad to write that and it's going to stand out like a sore thumb to anyone who reads it. But "errno" is just ambient state that's completely invisible unless you happen to have the manpage fresh in your memory.

[–] hedora 2 days ago
They had to write

   if(ENOSYS) {
     return "*";
   }
after seeing that other implementations use different sentries like "*0" and that the spec says they MUST return NULL. That must have felt bad too.
[–] dns_snek 2 days ago
Not the library authors but their users!