Re: dd.c: code issue, assignment with no effect

[Jim Meyering]

Felix Rauch Valenti <address@hidden> wrote:
> While working on a prototype for a static analysis tool, we found the
> following issue in dd.c of coreutils version 5.94.
>
> The assignment in the following line of the function iwrite() has no
> effect (line number 755 of dd.c):
>         nwritten = -1;
>
> Right after the assignment is a 'break' statement, which exits the
> while loop and also the scope of the variable 'nwritten'. Hence, the
> assigned value of '-1' can never be used.

Thank you for reporting that.
I've removed the unnecessary line.

2006-03-30  Jim Meyering  <address@hidden>

        * src/dd.c (iwrite): Remove assignment without effect.
        Reported by Felix Rauch Valenti.

Index: src/dd.c
===================================================================
RCS file: /fetish/cu/src/dd.c,v
retrieving revision 1.192
diff -u -p -r1.192 dd.c
--- src/dd.c    8 Mar 2006 18:57:39 -0000       1.192
+++ src/dd.c    30 Mar 2006 13:24:51 -0000
@@ -761,7 +761,6 @@ iwrite (int fd, char const *buf, size_t
             a device's end.  (Example: Linux 1.2.13 on /dev/fd0.)
             Set errno to ENOSPC so they get a sensible diagnostic.  */
          errno = ENOSPC;
-         nwritten = -1;
          break;
        }
       else

> We do not know whether the assignment was inserted erroneously or
> whether some other code was removed from the code that rendered the
> assignment useless.

I don't know either.
You're welcome to check the logs.