bug#17246: grep-2.19 planning

[Jim Meyering]

On Wed, May 14, 2014 at 10:44 AM,  <address@hidden> wrote:
> Paul Eggert <address@hidden> wrote:
>
>> ..., as would a simple C file whose main
>> function uses execlp to run the grep executable.
>
> Except on platforms that don't *have* execlp...

Do we cater to such systems? Without execlp/execvp, many
of the programs in coreutils will fail to build, including these:

$ git grep -l -E 'exec[a-z][a-z]? \('
chroot.c
env.c
install.c
nice.c
nohup.c
runcon.c
setuidgid.c
sort.c
split.c
stdbuf.c
timeout.c

> I really think that moving to shell scripts is just making more
> work for yourselves:
>
> - Users without a shell are going to be suprised / upset and are
>   going to complain.

If they notice in the interval between grep-2.19 and 2.20.

> - You wil have to spend time dealing with these bug reports and emails.
>
> - You're planning to eventually do something for a C program anyway to
>   undo the shell scripts.
>
> Why not revert the change, or use the new code from Norihiro, and avoid
> the headaches all around?

Not fair to testers/translators, and lack of a timely patch.

> Then do another clean-up release after that.  The urgency to release
> RIGHT NOW seems to be self-induced, at least to me, looking in from the
> outside.

I'll be happy to make another release, soon, including a few
other deferred patches.  I will try to refrain from spending
any more time discussing this.  Feels unproductive.

I have just made the second prerelease snapshot.
Will post shortly.