Re: Bash patches format

["Marty E. Plummer" <hanetzer%startmail.com@localhost>]

On Wed, May 30, 2018 at 10:42:27AM +0800, Clark Wang wrote:
> On Wed, May 30, 2018 at 8:25 AM, Marty E. Plummer <hanetzer%startmail.com@localhost>
> wrote:
> 
> > > If people are willing to do the conversion between patch formats for
> > their
> > > own purposes, more power to them. I don't see any compelling reason to
> > > change the format I use.
> > >
> > Could I at least convince you to start doing -p1, if not unified?
> >
> 
> I think the cost is too high. All bash package maintainers on different
> *nix systems will have to change accordingly.
> 
> -clark
Well how about this; we ask the downstreams. List taken from repology,
hopefully these are still all active and accurate. So, to reiterate the
original premise of this thread for the newly added, I suggest the
following:

1. Change the official upstream bash patch format to be -p1 applicable,
as a number of major linux distros either convert the patches in their
own source repo to -p1 (debian and its children, fedora and its children),
or have to take an explicit deviation from their default patch
application method (gentoo) in order to apply -p0 patches.

Optional:
2. Change the format of the patch from a context diff to a unified diff,
for the following reasons:
    a. unified diffs are generally smaller than an equivalent context
    diff, while encoding the same information.
    *** a/lib/readline/history.c    2015-12-28 13:50:31.000000000 -0500
    --- b/lib/readline/history.c    2016-09-30 14:28:40.000000000 -0400
    ***************
    *** 308,312 ****
    	{
    	  if (history_stifled && history_max_entries > 0)
    !           history_size = history_max_entries + 2;
    	  else
    	    history_size = DEFAULT_HISTORY_INITIAL_SIZE;
    --- 310,316 ----
    	{
    	  if (history_stifled && history_max_entries > 0)
    !           history_size = (history_max_entries > MAX_HISTORY_INITIAL_SIZE)
    !                               ? MAX_HISTORY_INITIAL_SIZE
    !                               : history_max_entries + 2;
    	  else
    	    history_size = DEFAULT_HISTORY_INITIAL_SIZE;

    --- a/lib/readline/history.c    2015-12-28 13:50:31.000000000 -0500
    +++ b/lib/readline/history.c    2016-09-30 14:28:40.000000000 -0400
    @@ -308,5 +310,7 @@
    	{
    	  if (history_stifled && history_max_entries > 0)
    -           history_size = history_max_entries + 2;
    +           history_size = (history_max_entries > MAX_HISTORY_INITIAL_SIZE)
    +                               ? MAX_HISTORY_INITIAL_SIZE
    +                               : history_max_entries + 2;
    	  else
    	    history_size = DEFAULT_HISTORY_INITIAL_SIZE;

    b. <opinion> unified diffs are easier to size up at a glance than
    context diffs.

    c. <conjecture based on personal observation> unified diffs are the
    standard for a host of foss projects, especially those using git as a
    vcs solution as it produces context diffs by default and you have to
    purposely change it to do otherwise.

Maintainers, I'd really like to hear your thoughts on this matter. If
the diffs are produced as -p1 unified diffs, then downstreams who do
convert from -p0 context won't have to, and distros who work around it
won't either.

Regards,

Marty