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Re: Found and fixed bug in groups(1). Want the diff?
From: |
Jim Meyering |
Subject: |
Re: Found and fixed bug in groups(1). Want the diff? |
Date: |
Tue, 26 Sep 2006 08:44:31 +0200 |
Iain Calder <address@hidden> wrote:
> OS: GNU/Linux Debian 3.1 (sarge)
> Command: /usr/bin/groups
> Problem: Doesn't return failure when unable to display output.
> Notes: groups(1) is a small shell script; 42 lines excluding
> the copyright comments.
>
> The author went to great lengths to return failure when the
> program is unable to display output, but didn't do so on the main
> code path. Thus the program's behaviour is inconsistent. Witness:
>
> $ groups --version; echo $?
> groups (GNU coreutils) 5.2.1
> 0
> $ groups --version >&-; echo $?
> 1 <--- echo failure reflected in exit status
>
> $ groups ic; echo $?
> ic : ic dialout cdrom floppy audio src video plugdev
> 0
> $ groups ic >&-; echo $?
> 0 <--- echo failed, yet status is successful!
>
> The code was obfuscated. I fixed the bug, made the script
> shorter as well as cleaner, then added a couple of comments.
> Is this code being maintained? To whom should I send my diffs?
Thank you for the report.
This list is the place to send diffs.
But please send diffs against the latest (in the CVS repository
http://savannah.gnu.org/cvs/?group=coreutils)
or at least against the latest test release: coreutils-6.2:
ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/coreutils/coreutils-6.2.tar.bz2
FYI, I cannot reproduce those problems with the groups
script from coreutils-6.2:
$ groups --version >&-; echo $?
/p/bin/groups: line 49: echo: write error: Bad file descriptor
1
$ groups ic >&-; echo $?
id: ic: No such user
1