substr outside of string? (Updated: Fixed in later builds.)

BrowserUk has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Update: I spent so long tracking this down that when I discovered the cause I posted before doing the proper checks which show it is fixed in later builds. My apologies.

Any explanations for this?

C:\test>perl
$a = chr(0); $a x= 2**31;
substr( $a, 0, 2**16 ) =~ tr[\0][\1];
substr( $a, 2**16, 2**16 ) =~ tr[\0][\1];
^Z
substr outside of string at - line 2.
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Comment on substr outside of string? (Updated: Fixed in later builds.) Download Code

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Re: substr outside of string? by ikegami (Patriarch) on Jun 16, 2013 at 15:44 UTC
`$a x= 2**31;` creates an empty string, so there's an overflow, so something is using an `I32` or `IV` when it should be using a `STRLEN`. (If this error occurs on a 64-bit build, then it's an I32 being used.) Any substring starting at a position later than zero therefore starts outside of the string.	[reply] [d/l] [select]
Re^2: substr outside of string? by ikegami (Patriarch) on Jun 16, 2013 at 16:04 UTC
`PP(pp_repeat) { ... IV count; <---- ... if (SvIOKp(sv)) { if (SvUOK(sv)) { const UV uv = SvUV_nomg(sv); if (uv > IV_MAX) count = IV_MAX; /* The best we can do? */ <---- WTF else count = uv; } else { const IV iv = SvIV_nomg(sv); if (iv < 0) count = 0; else count = iv; } } else if (SvNOKp(sv)) { const NV nv = SvNV_nomg(sv); if (nv < 0.0) count = 0; else count = (IV)nv; } else count = SvIV_nomg(sv); ... }` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re^2: substr outside of string? by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jun 16, 2013 at 16:04 UTC
$a x= 231; creates an empty string, Look again: `C:\test>perl $a = chr(0); $a x= 231; print length $a; substr( $a, 0, 216 ) =~ tr[\0][\1]; substr( $a, 216, 216 ) =~ tr[\0][\1]; ^Z substr outside of string at - line 3. 2147483648` [download] With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday' Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error. "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.	[reply] [d/l]
Re^3: substr outside of string? by ikegami (Patriarch) on Jun 16, 2013 at 16:08 UTC
On systems with 32-bit IVs, one gets zero. I guess there are two problems, then.	[reply]
Re: substr outside of string? by toolic (Bishop) on Jun 16, 2013 at 15:39 UTC
What perl version? I don't see that message on 5.12.2 or 5.14.2 (update) linux. diagnostics?	[reply]
Re^2: substr outside of string? by BrowserUk (Patriarch) on Jun 16, 2013 at 16:07 UTC
5.10.1 64-bit. And yes, it seems to be fixed in later versions. With the rise and rise of 'Social' network sites: 'Computers are making people easier to use everyday' Examine what is said, not who speaks -- Silence betokens consent -- Love the truth but pardon error. "Science is about questioning the status quo. Questioning authority". In the absence of evidence, opinion is indistinguishable from prejudice.	[reply]
Re^2: substr outside of string? by ikegami (Patriarch) on Jun 16, 2013 at 15:46 UTC
You need to turn on warnings.	[reply]
Re^3: substr outside of string? by toolic (Bishop) on Jun 16, 2013 at 15:49 UTC
I still don't see the message with warnings. `This is perl 5, version 12, subversion 2 (v5.12.2) built for x86_64-li +nux and This is perl 5, version 14, subversion 2 (v5.14.2) built for x86_64-li +nux-thread-multi` [download]	[reply] [d/l]
Re^4: substr outside of string? by ikegami (Patriarch) on Jun 16, 2013 at 15:58 UTC
Re: substr outside of string? by ww (Archbishop) on Jun 16, 2013 at 15:51 UTC
`C:\>perl -E "use warnings;$a = chr(0); $a x= 231; substr( $a, 0, 216 ) =~ tr[\0][\1]; substr( $a, 216, 216 ) =~ tr[\0][\1];" substr outside of string at -e line 1. Use of uninitialized value in transliteration (tr///) at -e line 1.` [download] ... and, neither "uninit" nor "outside string" appears for any value less than `$a x= 2**31` with AS 5.16. If you didn't program your executable by toggling in binary, it wasn't really programming!	[reply] [d/l] [select]