standards/187378: stdlib.h doesn't define W* macros (e.g. WEXITSTATUS)

[Garrett Wollman]

The following reply was made to PR standards/187378; it has been noted by GNATS.

From: Garrett Wollman <wollman at bimajority.org>
To: Roman Bogorodskiy <novel at FreeBSD.org>
Cc: bug-followup at freebsd.org
Subject: Re: standards/187378: stdlib.h doesn't define W* macros (e.g.
 WEXITSTATUS)
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2014 14:15:41 -0400

 <<On Tue, 11 Mar 2014 20:52:34 +0400, Roman Bogorodskiy <novel at FreeBSD.org> said:
 
 >   Peter Pentchev wrote:
 >> > stdlib.h should define W* macros like WEXITSTATUS etc. However, it doesn't.
 >> 
 >> FWIW, this is even documented in FreeBSD's stdlib.h :)
 >> 
 >> /* XXX XSI requires pollution from <sys/wait.h> here.  We'd rather not. */
 >> 
 >> Yes, I know this doesn't help you much; I'm just trying to point out
 >> that, well, this is not an accidental omission, but a deliberate design
 >> decision.  For the reasons for it you'll have to ask the people who did
 >> it - this particular text seems to have been added by Garrett Wollman
 >> back in 2002, but I think that he was just documenting the status quo
 >> rather than making a decision right there and then.
 
 In IEEE Std.1003.1-2001 (SUSv6), those macros were marked as XSI
 extensions.  FreeBSD does not claim to implement XSI (which mostly
 memorializes old System V mistakes that the vendors who control The
 Open Group were unwilling to give up on).  In IEEE Std.1003.1-2008
 (SUSv7), they are marked CX (mandatory C extensions) instead.  The
 change history is unhelpful; I've sent a query to the Austin Group
 list asking if anyone can recall why this change was made.
 
 -GAWollman