@Georg
And why?
Well, you know why, but lets go into details, just for fun.
Because atoi() is ANSI, C89, C99 etc. It's a standard function. In short: I don't feel like touching such standard function, which should be pretty obvious.
I consider StrToLong() to be
less standard, and subject to change, as long as the original functionality isn't compromised. It obviously is a calculated risk to change the behaviour, but this is one of the smallest changes in MorphOS. There are many more fundamental ones. I have no problem changing functionality if it offers new and improved features. However, it should happen in a way that it breaks as little old behaviour as possible. Staying in the confines of the original AmigaOS 3.1 API doesn't just cut it for me (or us the MorphOS Team in general).
In this StrToLong()-case the positivies are: Having old applications automagically support hex numbers when reading numbers via StrToLong() and ReadArgs() /N. Negatives: Potentially breaking some applications that depend on the call stopping on hex identifier. So far I haven't seen myself, or heard of any reports that would indicate any software breaking due to this change.
As a funny remark, some seem to have had
broken atoi at some point.