Subject: Re: patch for share/man/man4/Makefile to help small machines
To: None <Julian.H.Stacey@regent.e-technik.tu-muenchen.de>
From: Charles M. Hannum <mycroft@gnu.ai.mit.edu>
List: current-users
Date: 10/09/1994 12:59:36
Here's an analysis of your `bug report' concerning bsd.subdir.mk.
Frankly, it's an *extremely* bad report, one of the worst ever sent to
one of our lists. I'm sending this to current-users in the hope that
people will take note of it, and attempt to send better bug reports in
the future.
Remember, *your* problems get fixed faster and *you* get a much
friendlier response if you send a decent bug report! Really! Bad or
misdirected bug reports may get dropped indefinitely.
Anyway, an annotated copy of your mail:
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From: Julian H Stacey <Julian.H.Stacey@regent.e-technik.tu-muenchen.de>
To: current@NetBSD.ORG
Subject: Re: patch for share/man/man4/Makefile to help small machines
Cc: stacey@freefall.cdrom.com
Message-Id: <94Oct9.163224met.43037@eikon.regent.e-technik.tu-muenchen.de>
Date: Sun, 9 Oct 1994 16:32:19 +0100
[...]
But neither is it nice when the make goes recursive if it can't cd to a non
existant directory,
[That was the only piece of useful information in the entire message,
and even it was worded in a mildly inflammatory way.]
& I simply don't have the space for other architectures
on that box (PC532).
[The amount of disk space you have in your machine is irrelevant to
the bug.]
(I dont have a net on the PC532, I figure _loads_ of
other people don't want man's for other arch's forced on them either).
[I figure _loads_ of other people can speak for themselves, and the
term `forced on' is inflammatory. Absolutely nothing is being `forced
on' anyone here.]
I _do_ maintain a full source tree in the spirit of completness,
to give to friends, for dial in access on my large i486 box, but on my PC532
I _must_ strip the slack.
[Irrelevant.]
What would be ideal would be if someone could fix the NetBSD mk macros,
so if a SUBDIR element doesn't exist, the make doesnt go recursive
atemmpting the CD,
[It would be nice if every bug were magically gone, but nobody is
going to fix them if you don't send decent bug reports! This one
doesn't come even close, but I fixed it anyway.]
(FreeBSD doesn't suffer this,
[Like we care?]
perhaps NetBSD has been fixed
recently, but it certainly used to suffer this).
[Well, how about telling us which version of the .mk files you're
using?]
If mk macros were to be fixed, that'd be the ideal solution:
- If I then strip the slack, & make -i, it'll work,
- & your big systems will be happy too, compiling manuals to
export shared to nets.
I spend most time working on FreeBSD & PC532 specific NetBSD things,
[Yes, but what does that have to do with the bug?]
so don't personally want to fix
[The fact that you didn't enclose a patch demonstrates that.]
the fragile NetBSD share/mk/* ;
anyway,
[The existance of a single bug hardly makes it `fragile'. The use of
that term is inflammatory.]
I figure the fixes will be more popular & acceptable
if they come from someone like you :-)
[Irrelevant, and incorrect. We judge things on technical merits.]
I'd be happier to not need my patch man/man4/Makefile, if only someone would
fix share/mk/* SUBDIR handling so `su ; make -i' didnt recurse infinitely
on absent directories :-)
[You've said that three times now. Do you suppose that we get the
point?]
Best Regards
Julian Stacey <stacey@freefall.cdrom.com>
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