Re: Pointers as Parameters in Subprocedures

[Barbara Morris <bmorris@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Brad Stone wrote:
> ...
> 3.  What if the pointer pointed to a global variable in the
> module/service program?
> 

It would also work if the pointer pointed to a static variable in the
procedure.  Like Scott said, it doesn't matter what storage the
_pointer_ is in, but it does matter what storage the pointer is pointing
to.  It's safe to return a pointer to static storage, and it's safe to
return a pointer to storage that you have allocated using dynamic
storage allocation (different from the allocation for local variables).

Actually, to muddy the waters a bit (a lot?), there's one case where
it's not safe to pass back static or dynamically allocated storage: if
the call was to a *NEW program, all the storage is deallocated with the
activation group when the program returns.