[PATCH] gen_build_files.sh: Remove bashisms

[Denys Vlasenko]

On Monday 17 May 2010 21:03, Peter Tyser wrote:
> > > I also echo your opinions about keeping the scripts portable.
> > 
> > I can sympathise with this point of view.
> > 
> > However, I can see another point of view:
> > 
> > Why, after years and years of happily using bash, everybody should be
> > tortured now by being forced to work in a shell which:
> > 
> > * does not have a single source release linked to its homepage
> >   (http://gondor.apana.org.au/~herbert/dash/)
> > * does not support many (any?) bash extensions, even simple ones
> > * does not have a testsuite
> > 
> > Why?
> > 
> > Who are those people and why I am forced to use their shell now?
> > 
> > Why am I a hostage now to their whim on when, and *whether*,
> > they will agree to fix bug foo or implement feature baz?
> > bash didn't have bug foo and had feature baz, and I was happy.
> > Now I'm not.
> 
> I definitely see your points.  But I don't think this discussion should
> be centered on dash.  To me its a debate about using portable POSIX
> compliant shell scripting vs using bash-specific shell scripting.  If we
> use POSIX compliant code, dash, as well as most other shells should work
> without issue.  If we use bash-specific shell scripting bash will work,
> and others *may* work.
> 
> The 2 acceptable solutions to me would be (in order of preference):
> 1. Use POSIX compliant shell scripting, and using /bin/sh as the
> interpreter.
> 
> 2. Use bash shell scripting, and use /bin/bash as the interpreter.
> 
> Right now, we're using bash scripting, but using /bin/sh as the
> interpreter.  This is what I think is broke.  If we use /bin/sh as the
> interpreter, we shouldn't be using bashisms.  If we use /bin/bash as the
> interpreter, than we're free to use bashisms as we please.
> 
> So in any case, in my mind it comes down to using option #1 or #2 above
> - and I do see both sides of that argument.  Either #1 or #2 would be an
> improvement in my opinion.


Ok, let's go for choice #1
-- 
vda