Re: getopt() and strdup()

Bruce Momjian <bruce(at)momjian(dot)us> writes:
> A while ago I noticed that in some places we strdup/pg_strdup() optarg
> strings from getopt(), and in some places we don't.

> If we needed the strdup(), the missing cases should generate errors. If
> we don't need them, the strdup() is unnecessary, and research confirms
> they are unnecessary. Should we remove the extra strdup/pg_strdup()
> calls, for consistency.

What research? Given the number of different ways argv[] is handled
on different platforms (cf ps_status.c), I am very unwilling to trust
that it's safe to hang onto an argv string for long without strdup'ing
it.

> I think we might have had old platforms that required it, but none are
> still supported today.

And what's your grounds for stating that? All the alternatives in
ps_status.c are still live code AFAICS.

My feeling is it's more likely to be a good idea to be adding strdup's
than removing them.

regards, tom lane