Re: progname.h contradicts gnu coding standards

[Eric Blake]

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According to John Darrington on 3/19/2007 9:58 PM:
> The instructions in progname.h say:
> 
> /* Programs using this file should do the following in main():
>      set_program_name (argv[0]);
>  */
> 
> /* Set program_name, based on argv[0].  */
> extern void set_program_name (const char *argv0);

Not a bug.  set_program_name affects error(), in order to print error
messages based on what the user passed in as argv[0], and NOT to print the
program's official name.  And in this instance, you really DO want
argv[0], as the user knows what command they invoked, and not necessarily
the canonical name of that command.

> 
> 
> but the GNU coding standards say:
> 
>  "The program's name should be a constant string; don't compute it from
>  argv[0]. The idea is to state the standard or canonical name for the
>  program, not its file name."

That is in relation to what --version output, or anything else that
outputs the canonical name of a program, should use.

As an example:

$ cp /bin/cp mycp
$ ./mycp
./mycp: missing file operand
Try `./mycp --help' for more information.
$ ./mycp --version | head -n1
cp (GNU coreutils) 6.7

- --
Don't work too hard, make some time for fun as well!

Eric Blake             address@hidden
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