Re[2]: [PATCH v2] Huge performance boost for recursion (cp, du, find, ls, rm, mv)

>Defensive coding about p != NULL is a good practice that shouldn't be
>avoided unless a branch-analyzer is used as an automatism to grant p
>!= NULL at every code change.

  Or people could realize that a nullable pointer (indicating an option:
either NULL or a reference to an object) and a non-nullable pointer
(an unconditional reference to an object) are two different types, even
if the C type system does not treat them as such; document their
interfaces accordingly; and make sure the function contracts are
respected. Using a nullable pointer where a non-nullable one is expected
is a bug, and so is the opposite even though it won't cause a segfault.

  Defensive programming is a sign of lack of control on the code.
"I don't know what my input is at this point, so I'll add a check just
in case." Not exactly inspiring trust.

  It's just like input sanitization, which should only happen in the
outer layers because *you should always know whether you're handling
sanitized or unsanitized input*.

  Defense in depth is good practice when you're operating a system that
can be breached. Programming is different - it's not operating the
system, it's designing it, and I'd rather not have my architect say
"is it breachable here? I don't know, but who cares, we test for
intrusions anyway".

--
  Laurent