The *ART* of Computer Programming

[Gordon Burditt]

>> >If a program is worth >writing it is worth writing well.  
>> Have you never heard of a one-time program? Or were you not referring to
>> this kind of program?     -- Darren
>
>There is nothing so long-lived as a useful one-shot program!!!

Ok, here's my definition of a one-time program:

A one-shot program is a short program that isn't supposed to be executed, and 
either doesn't compile or compiles with bad code generation using some 
compiler of interest.  Its only function is to demonstrate a compiler bug.

Example (made up but something very close really happened):

main()
{
# ifndef NOBUG
	register 
# endif
		unsigned int i = 4;

	foo( i <<= i );	/* compiler error:  no table entry for op REG */
}
/* nobody ever bothers to write foo() */

						Gordon L. Burditt
						sneaky.lonestar.org!gordon