1994.02.15 04:28 "Re: 'b' and 'l' versus 'M' and 'I' -- libtiff++?", by Richard Minner

It has been pointed out that 'b' is used on some computers to signify binary mode (as opposed to text mode). As a result is has been suggested that 'M' and 'I' are used instead.

But since the mode string isn't actually passed to fopen but parsed by the library it doesn't really matter if 'b' is used in another context. You can ofcourse make your own private modifications and implement 'M' and 'I' checking.

Yes, I noted that it wasn't really all that important, and in retrospect I'm sorry I bothered to mention it. "Never mind."

I was thinking of adding '#ifdef NO_READ_SUPPORT' and '#ifdef NO_WRITE_SUPPORT' to all modules to make the library smaller in cases where only writing is needed. Any comments?

I think that would be a nice feature, however I would rather see the library designed such that compile-time switches are not needed (at all); I don't like building library variants. For separating read/write support this could be done by having different entry points, such that you only pull in the support you actually use. Anyway, Sam commented a while back:

        Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1993 08:46:28 PDT

        ... Right now the code
        has reached its "life expectancy" and putting much effort into it is
        not really worth it. Any future major effort will almost certainly
        be done in C++...

I gather he is not likely to want to integrate even "simple" changes into a new master release. Making diffs available through this list (posting if small else via ftp) may be a reasonable way for multiple people to maintain/extend/improve the existing library, but it could get messy. Sam, what's up with you and libtiff?

--
Richard Minner rtm@island.com {uunet,sun,well}!island!rtm
Island Graphics Corporation Sacramento, CA (916) 736-132

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