Re: [bug-grep] Bug in grep 2.5.1a (+ patch to fix it)

[Julian Foad]

Gordon Lack wrote:
>    However, I'm started reporting this as a bug in grep, not in Fedora. 
> It isn't of much use for people collecting the grep source from the GNU
> repository if fixes are only in a Fedora distribution as additonal
> patches.

Of course, and thank you for helping in this way.

>    I'm now getting a little confused as to whether I'm talking to Fedora
> development or Grep development.  The Changelog at savannah.gnu.org
> indicates that my original fix (reported as fixed in Fedora) has gone
> into the GNU code.  (However, I can't run CVS through my firewall, so I
> can't download CVS code...)

What's going on, roughly, is that Tim Waugh has a collection of patches for 
grep that are applied in the Red Hat / Fedora distributions.  GNU Grep has been 
almost stagnant for several years and has a lot of catching up to do.  No-one 
has much time to work on getting the patches into the master source.

You could help, if you would, by creating a regression test script for any 
known bug or patch, such as the bug(s) you are currently looking at.

Stepan Kasal and I have write access to the CVS repository, and we will apply 
patches once we can see them to be correct and well written, with regression 
tests.  I have been looking through the existing patches, trying to work out 
what they do and whether they are doing it properly, but I can only do that for 
the simple ones and the well-documented ones.

I would like to commit tests for known bugs as soon as possible, and not wait 
until a fix is available.  (If we want to release the next version before all 
of the tests pass, we would probably disable the ones that fail.)

- Julian