Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2002 22:30:25 -0400 From: Garance A Drosihn <drosih@rpi.edu> To: arch@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Thinking about more work on 'patch' Message-ID: <p0511171db8f1029092b3@[128.113.24.47]>
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When checking the 'patch' utility while doing the "no newline"
update, I noticed that both OpenBSD and NetBSD have a number
of nice updates to clean up parts of the source code. I also
noticed that both of them have a version of patch which is
BSD-licensed, apparently because someone got Larry Wall to
re-license one of the early versions of patch [I am a little
vague on the exact details there...].
FreeBSD has the following versions of patch in the src tree:
src/usr.bin/patch (entirely moved into the attic)
src/gnu/usr.bin/patch (what we are actually using as
/usr/bin/patch, it is based on
patch 2.1)
src/contrib/patch (an attempt to bring in a more
recent version of gnu-patch,
namely, version 2.5).
What I'd like to do is something like:
Take the patch from OpenBSD or NetBSD, and put it in
src/usr.bin (I think theirs are based on patch 2.0.<x>).
Then add whatever updates the other one has done, and
then add whatever updates we (as freebsd) have done.
The idea is to end up with a bsd-licensed version which has
all the stuff we're used to, along with all of the cleanup
changes done by NetBSD and OpenBSD. I could also glance at
patch 2.5 and see if there's any particularly attractive
options than it has, and re-implement them (not "copy &
paste them", but rewrite the options to keep a BSD license).
I am in no rush to do this, but does this seem like a
worthwhile thing to do? I would not want to commit
anything to src/usr.bin/patch until I had a pretty good
start on the work, but on the other hand I don't want to
start on the work if no one would want the end result...
Initially I'd suggest putting it in with 'PROG=bpatch' in
the Makefile (just so it will not install over the patch we
presently use), and only switch it to being 'patch' when we
are comfortable that I have all the pieces in the new version.
Once done, we could then toss both of the other two versions
into the attic. Is this worth doing?
--
Garance Alistair Drosehn = gad@gilead.netel.rpi.edu
Senior Systems Programmer or gad@freebsd.org
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute or drosih@rpi.edu
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