>>> Now, I've also heard of valgrind, but never used it. I'm sure a >>> 'regular' c-programmer must know about and use all these things, everyday. >> >> Again, not something that lends itself to using in a unit-test. > >Now that I think of it, I seem to remember that this is useful for >testing long-running processes (eg, daemons) -- not sure but it does >kinda go with the name.
Always wondered what this thing was. FWIW, ... http://dot.kde.org/1140466742/ How did you choose the name Valgrind? Shaggy dog story (and FAQ!). The name comes from Nordic mythology. Originally (before release) the project was named Heimdall, after the watchman of the Nordic gods. He could "see a hundred miles by day or night, hear the grass growing, see the wool growing on a sheep's back" (etc). This would have been a great name, but it was already taken by a security package, "Heimdal". So instead we named a recently-acquired cat Heimdall, and kept searching. For a while the project had no name at all. Eventually we settled on Valgrind, which is another Nordic name. "Valgrind is the name of the main entrance to Valhalla (the Hall of the Chosen Slain in Asgard). Over this entrance there resides a wolf and over it there is the head of a boar and on it perches a huge eagle, whose eyes can see to the far regions of the nine worlds. Only those judged worthy by the guardians are allowed to pass through Valgrind. All others are refused entrance." It's not short for "value grinder", although that's not a bad guess. Useless fact: most people pronounce it "val-grind". I pronounce it "val-grinned", for no particular reason. Maybe someone familiar with Nordic languages and mythology can tell us how the word should be spoken? --author Julian Seward -- [email protected] http://www.kernel-panic.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/kplug-lpsg
