Re: [gtk-list] Re: Gtk--: Tracking down clobbered pointers andmysteriouscrashes

[Erik Mouw <J A K Mouw its tudelft nl>]

On Tue, 25 May 1999 16:08:09 +0100, gtk-list@redhat.com (David Given) wrote:
>>You can get bound checking with a special memory allocator (at the price
>>of slower excecution). Only problem is that AFAIK there are only C memory
>>allocators (dmalloc, efence). I have heard rumours about a bound checking
>>version of gcc, but I can't remember where (maybe egcs or BugTraq).
> 
> Here:
> 
> http://www-dse.doc.ic.ac.uk/~rj3/bounds-checking.html

Ah, that's the one I mean, thanks. After some grep-ing in my mail archive,
I found out that the discussion was on BugTraq: a bounds checking gcc can
be used to avoid buffer overflows in suid root programs, but at the end
the discussion settled down on the fact that a bounds checking compiler
only cures the symptoms, while proper use of pointers solves the problem.

> It's patches on 2.7.2. Why aren't these integrated into egcs?

Don't know. I think the simple answer is: no time, no need. I've seen some
messages on the egcs mailing list about bounds checking being turned on in
g77 (which is just another front-end for gcc), so I think there is some
basic checking available. If you really want to know, ask it on the ecgs
mailing list (egcs@ecgs.cygnus.com).


Erik

-- 
J.A.K. (Erik) Mouw, Information and Communication Theory Group, Department
of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Information Technology and Systems,
Delft University of Technology, PO BOX 5031,  2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands
Phone: +31-15-2785859  Fax: +31-15-2781843  Email J.A.K.Mouw@its.tudelft.nl
WWW: http://www-ict.its.tudelft.nl/~erik/