/* Get either a set of 3 longs or a string. */
long l1, l2, l3;
char *s;
-long length;
+/*
+ * The function expects a pointer to a integer in this case, not a long
+ * or any other type. If you specify a type which is larger
+ * than a 'int', the upper bits might not be initialized
+ * properly, leading to random crashes on platforms like
+ * Tru64 or Linux/Alpha.
+ */
+int length;
if (zend_parse_parameters_ex(ZEND_PARSE_PARAMS_QUIET, ZEND_NUM_ARGS() TSRMLS_CC,
"lll", &l1, &l2, &l3) == SUCCESS) {