Re: new coreutil? shuffle - randomize file contents

[Jim Meyering]

Frederik Eaton <address@hidden> wrote:
> Attached is a second patch, which contains a ChangeLog entry and some
> formatting changes as requested by Jim.

Can you update your patch to be relative to coreutils-CVS,
  <http://savannah.gnu.org/cvs/?group=coreutils>
rather than to the aging 5.2.1?

Also, formatting should adhere to the gnu coding standards.
A good way to start is by using GNU indent with the default
settings.

shred also tries to obtain a random seed.
It'd be nice (eventually) to have both programs
use the same mechanism.

Please use FIXME rather than XXX to mark bits of
code that need more attention.

Regarding this:
   error (SORT_FAILURE, 0, _("%s: invalid field specification `%s'"),
            _(msgid), spec);
-  abort ();
+  abort (); // XXX is this ever reached? need comment if it is

That code is never reached, because the preceding error
call invokes `exit (SORT_FAILURE)'.  The abort is to pacify
gcc -Wall.

Regarding this:
+  char *randseed = 0;
please use `NULL', instead:
  char *randseed = NULL;

I've just noticed that this would make sort
use a file in $HOME (~/.gnupg/entropy).  That
dependency on $HOME would be a first for coreutils.
I'm reluctant to pull in all of that EGD-related code
just to get a default seed in some environments.
Do any of you have a feel for how important (or how
widely available) EGD support is in practice?