Re: proposal: add getlimits to the list of installed programs

[Pádraig Brady]

Eric Blake wrote:
> Jim Meyering <jim <at> meyering.net> writes:
> 
>>   $ ./getlimits --help
>>   Usage: ./getlimits
>>   Output platform dependent limits in a format useful for shell scripts.
>>
>>   $ ./getlimits
>>   OFF_T_MAX=9223372036854775807
>>   OFF_T_OFLOW=9223372036854775808
>>   OFF_T_MIN=-9223372036854775808
>>   OFF_T_UFLOW=-9223372036854775809
> 
> I just thought of a counter-argument against including it in a distro - the 
> value of OFF_T_MAX is dependent on compile-time options (particularly on a 32-
> bit machine, depending on whether you enabled large file support).  When used 
> _entirely_ within coreutils, there is no issue - the same compile options 
> that 
> you used to build the programs under test were also used to build getlimits.  
> But if coreutils starts exporting it, then the answer given by getlimits will 
> be wrong when used for a program compiled under the opposite choice of off_t 
> size.

I thought of this on the train also and was specifically
thinking of coreutils compiled as 32 bit on a 64 bit machine.
Anyway, a good argument for keeping this as a project specific tool.

> 
> So, I'm now leaning towards never installing it.  But it may make sense to 
> add 
> a gnulib module that has an autoconf macro that you can call which will 
> AC_SUBST the particular limits you need in parted.

cheers,
Pádraig.