Why hasn't this ARFLAGS patch not been merged yet?

[Kim Walisch]

Hi,

I have two open source projects (primesieve and primecount) which use
the GNU build system. Both currently print a warning during make
(tested on Ubuntu 15.10 and Fedora 22):

ar: `u' modifier ignored since `D' is the default (see `U')

For primesieve I have opened an issue on GitHub
https://github.com/kimwalisch/primesieve/issues/16 with more details.

A patch has been proposed by Pavel Raiskup to fix this issue
http://www.mail-archive.com/automake-***@gnu.org/msg07705.html
on the 2nd June 2015 but as far as I can see the patch has not been
merged into the master branch yet.

I think that many (maybe even most?!) projects using the GNU Build
System are affected by this issue. So my question is why hasn't this
patch not yet been accepted?

I am asking because I wonder if I should add a workaround in my
configure.ac. But this is obviously not a good solution i.e. it is
better to fix this issue in one upstream project instead of many
downstream projects.

Thanks,
Kim

[Michael Felt]

I suppose in a GNU only world, this would be okay. However, my man page for
ar still says:

-u
Copies only files that have been changed since they were last
copied (see the -r flag discussed previously).

while the option -D is not found.

***@x065:[/data/prj/python/python-2.7.8.2]ar -D
Usage: ar [-X{32|64|32_64|d64|any}] [-clsvCT] [-g|o] {-h|p|t|x}
[--] Archive [File ...]
ar [-X{32|64|32_64|d64|any}] [-clsvCT] [-g|o] {-m|r[u]}
[{-a|b|i} {PositionName}] [--] Archive File ...
ar [-X{32|64|32_64|d64|any}] [-clsvCT] [-g|o] {-d|q}
[--] Archive File ...
ar [-X{32|64|32_64|d64|any}] [-clvCT] {-g|o|s|w} [--] Archive

so, I think adding -D as a default will break "all" for me.

If the patch differentiates between GNU environment and Not GNU - then
nothing said. But, "things" which have been the standard for 10's of years
should not be changed suddenly (why change at all if it is all scripted? I
am not looking for more job security - I prefer productivity :smile: )

Michael

Post by Kim Walisch
Hi,
I have two open source projects (primesieve and primecount) which use
the GNU build system. Both currently print a warning during make
ar: `u' modifier ignored since `D' is the default (see `U')
For primesieve I have opened an issue on GitHub
https://github.com/kimwalisch/primesieve/issues/16 with more details.
A patch has been proposed by Pavel Raiskup to fix this issue
on the 2nd June 2015 but as far as I can see the patch has not been
merged into the master branch yet.
I think that many (maybe even most?!) projects using the GNU Build
System are affected by this issue. So my question is why hasn't this
patch not yet been accepted?
I am asking because I wonder if I should add a workaround in my
configure.ac. But this is obviously not a good solution i.e. it is
better to fix this issue in one upstream project instead of many
downstream projects.
Thanks,
Kim

[Nick Bowler]

Post by Michael Felt
I suppose in a GNU only world, this would be okay. However, my man page for
-u
Copies only files that have been changed since they were last
copied (see the -r flag discussed previously).
while the option -D is not found.

[...]

Post by Michael Felt
so, I think adding -D as a default will break "all" for me.

The patch actually just removes 'u' from the default; it does not add
any nonstandard options. The issue is that some GNU systems are
shipping versions of 'ar' which enable the (GNU-specific) 'D' option
by default, which causes the 'u' option to print a warning and have no
other effect.

[Michael Felt]

whew :)

Post by Nick Bowler

Post by Michael Felt
I suppose in a GNU only world, this would be okay. However, my man page

for

Post by Michael Felt
-u
Copies only files that have been changed since they were last
copied (see the -r flag discussed previously).
while the option -D is not found.

[...]

Post by Michael Felt
so, I think adding -D as a default will break "all" for me.

The patch actually just removes 'u' from the default; it does not add
any nonstandard options. The issue is that some GNU systems are
shipping versions of 'ar' which enable the (GNU-specific) 'D' option
by default, which causes the 'u' option to print a warning and have no
other effect.

[Nick Bowler]

Post by Kim Walisch
Hi,
I have two open source projects (primesieve and primecount) which use
the GNU build system. Both currently print a warning during make
ar: `u' modifier ignored since `D' is the default (see `U')
For primesieve I have opened an issue on GitHub
https://github.com/kimwalisch/primesieve/issues/16 with more details.
A patch has been proposed by Pavel Raiskup to fix this issue
on the 2nd June 2015 but as far as I can see the patch has not been
merged into the master branch yet.
I think that many (maybe even most?!) projects using the GNU Build
System are affected by this issue. So my question is why hasn't this
patch not yet been accepted?

The issue is just cosmetic, right? Everything works fine, just some
noise is printed during the build. The patch just suppresses the
warning message by removing use of the 'u' option.

I believe the Automake project is still looking for a new maintainer[1],
which is probably why the fix has not yet been merged.

[1] https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/automake/2014-11/msg00005.html

Cheers,
Nick