Re: [PATCH] cksum: add --raw option to output a binary digest

[Pádraig Brady]

On 04/02/2023 16:58, Jim Meyering wrote:
> On Sat, Feb 4, 2023 at 5:52 AM Pádraig Brady <P@draigbrady.com> wrote:
> > --raw output is the most composable format, and also is a
> > robust way to discard the file name without parsing (escaped) output.
>
> Very nice. I applied it and ran all tests, and distcheck. All passed.
> TIny suggestions:
>
> > diff --git a/doc/coreutils.texi b/doc/coreutils.texi
> > index 4d7d9439d..536301d63 100644
> > --- a/doc/coreutils.texi
> > +++ b/doc/coreutils.texi
> > @@ -4059,6 +4059,14 @@ input digest string as what is output.  I.e., removing 
> > or adding any
> >   @opindex --debug
> >   Output extra information to stderr, like the checksum implementation being 
> > used.
> >
> > +@item --raw
> > +@opindex --raw
> > +@cindex raw binary checksum
> > +Print an unencoded raw binary digest, not hexadecimal.
> > +No file name or other information is output in this mode.
> > +Bytes are output in network byte order (big endian).
> > +This option is ignored with @option{--check}.
>
> Maybe insert "only" and use active voice, and do mention the "only one
> input" limit:
>
>    Print only the unencoded raw binary digest for a single file.
>    Do not output the file name or anything else.
>    Use network byte order (big endian) where applicable: for bsd, crc and sysv.
>    This option is ignored with @option{--check} and works only with a
> single input.

Much better, thanks.

> Is it worth saying explicitly that unlike other output formats, cksum
> provides no way to check a --raw checksum?

Yes. I'll change your last line to:

  This option works only with a single input.
  Unlike other output formats, cksum provides no way to --check a --raw 
checksum.

thanks,
Pádraig.