magic numbers? (teach me, please)

[Bob Bishop]

In article <416 at ihdev.UUCP>, pdg at ihdev.UUCP (P. D. Guthrie)
writes:

>       Forgive me if this is
>       wrong, but I do not have any method of checking, but
>       the magic numbers for say plain executable 4.x Vax and
>       plain executable SysV.x Vax are the same, but SysV.x
>       Vax and SysV.x 3B20 are different.  Could someone
>       comfirm this?

This is true, BUT it doesn't mean you can execute BSD binaries
on a SysV VAX (nor, presumably, vice versa). The file formats
are actually different. Running a BSD binary on a SysV VAX
results in behavior almost, but not entirely, unlike what the
programmer intended.

-- 
Bob Bishop

"What's so unpleasant about being drunk? You ask a glass of water!"