[bug #62398] .../troff/input.cpp: argument "len" is zero in "new unsigned char[len]"

[G. Branden Robinson]

Follow-up Comment #5, bug #62398 (project groff):


[comment #4 comment #4:]
> That tells us what one compiler on one platform does, which is of limited
usefulness for a package that needs to compile in multiple environments.
> 
> If the C++ standard says this is the defined behavior, then the proposed
replacement code is functionally equivalent to the existing code.
> 
> If the standard leaves this behavior undefined, then there's a problem with
the existing code.
> 
> If the standard defines the behavior but some compiler is known to be
noncompliant, that's a different problem--arguably not ours.

I would also add that having a null pointer is not itself a problem in C or
C++--as long as it is not dereferenced.  Such pointers are commonly used, in
what Tony Hoare called his "billion dollar mistake"
[https://www.infoq.com/presentations/Null-References-The-Billion-Dollar-Mistake-Tony-Hoare/].

There may be a code hygiene issue here but unless it rises to the level of
causing operational problems in groff, the ticket severity must remain
"minor".

If a contributor would like to audit the code for problems like this, prepare
patches, and regression-test them, that would be welcome.


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