[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Steven M. Schweda) writes:
> Greetings:
>
> While trying to build a recent edition of wget on a Tru64 system, I
> ran into a problem, apparently involving gnulib's maint.mk
> ("build-aux/maint.mk"?)
>
> On a system with an old gzip, say version 1.2.4 (which is supplied
> with Tru64), the victim gets much spewage from an unhappy gzip test.
> For example:
>
> urtx# gmake
> gzip 1.2.4 (18 Aug 93)
> usage: gzip [-cdfhlLnNrtvV19] [-S suffix] [file ...]
> -c --stdout write on standard output, keep original files unchanged
> -d --decompress decompress
> -f --force force overwrite of output file and compress links
> -h --help give this help
> -l --list list compressed file contents
> -L --license display software license
> -n --no-name do not save or restore the original name and time stamp
> -N --name save or restore the original name and time stamp
> -q --quiet suppress all warnings
> -r --recursive operate recursively on directories
> -S .suf --suffix .suf use suffix .suf on compressed files
> -t --test test compressed file integrity
> -v --verbose verbose mode
> -V --version display version number
> -1 --fast compress faster
> -9 --best compress better
> file... files to (de)compress. If none given, use standard input.
> Making all in lib
> [...]
>
> The cause of this clutter appears to be this part of maint.mk:
>
> # Do not save the original name or timestamp in the .tar.gz file.
> # Use --rsyncable if available.
> gzip_rsyncable := \
> $(shell gzip --help|grep rsyncable >/dev/null && echo --rsyncable)
> GZIP_ENV = '--no-name --best $(gzip_rsyncable)'
>
> Sadly, old versions of gzip send the help/usage report to stderr, not
> stdout, so ">/dev/null" alone does not discard it. (And grep wouldn't
> see an "rsyncable", even if it were there.) Folding stderr into stdout
> looks harmless to me (not quite a proof of correctness, I realize), and
> seems to solve the spewage problem:
>
> gzip_rsyncable := \
> $(shell gzip --help 2>&1 |grep rsyncable >/dev/null && echo
> --rsyncable)
>
>
> For the record, that's on Tru64 V5.1B-4 (Patch Kit 6), but I'd expect
> that anyone with a sufficiently obsolete gzip would see it, too.
Fixed in gnulib's maint.mk, thanks!
/Simon
