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Message-ID: <43427AF7.6040900@byu.net>
Date: Tue, 04 Oct 2005 06:52:07 -0600
From: Eric Blake <ebb9 AT byu DOT net>
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To: cygwin AT cygwin DOT com
Subject: Re: please test: coreutils-5.90-1
References: <433F5562 DOT 1060806 AT byu DOT net> <20051004081151 DOT GC4436 AT calimero DOT vinschen DOT de>
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According to Corinna Vinschen on 10/4/2005 2:11 AM:
> On Oct  1 21:34, Eric Blake wrote:
> 
>>I've uploaded a test version of coreutils, 5.90-1.  [...]
>>  cat's --binary or -B option has been removed.  It existed only on
>>  MS-DOS-like platforms, and didn't work as documented there.
> 
> 
> How is that supposed to work in future?  Cat is a texttool so it
> seems not to be safe to let the --binary option go.

In the upstream sources, --binary was unquestionably broken, among a maze
of #ifdefs and attempted support for DJGPP.  There was a cygwin-specific
patch to try to rectify it applied in 5.2.1 which I forward ported to
5.3.0, but I have not analyzed it closely enough to see if it still made
sense in every situation.  But on a quick inspection, it looks to me like
the only time --binary made any difference was with the -n, -s, or -E options.

In 5.90, the upstream sources removed DJGPP support, and have no ifdefs,
so it is easier to follow.  Also, it always uses binary mode unless -n,
- -s, or -E is specified.  The argument against binary in those three modes
is that a line containing just CR-LF is no longer an empty line when read
in binary mode, combined with the fact that those three options munge the
output according to whether the line is empty or not.  Furthermore,
neither -n, -s, nor -E are required by POSIX, so they have no requirements
that they have to operate in a binary mode.  Therefore, having a --binary
option makes no sense, at least in the upstream maintainer's viewpoint.

If anyone really ever did use `cat -s --binary' to purposefully make -s
read input in binary, then speak up now.  It would only make a difference
if you cat a file that resides on a text mount.  I doubt that it was
well-used, but if so, then the argument can still be made that upstream
should not have removed the option; and I can still see about maintaining
a cygwin-specific patch that restores a rudimentary --binary option even
if upstream stays by their decision to no longer maintain a --binary option.

- --
Life is short - so eat dessert first!

Eric Blake             ebb9 AT byu DOT net
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