Re: beta-tester call draft

[Bruno Haible]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for the feedback.

>       If you are using git submodules, something like this:
>         $ git -C gnulib pull origin master
>         $ git commit -m 'build: update gnulib submodule to latest' gnulib

With the newest 'bootstrap', this would not be needed. But many packages
still use older or forked 'bootstrap' variants, for which the option
'--no-git' does not do what one would expect. I'm adding this paragraph:

     If the package is using a git submodule named 'gnulib', it is
     also advisable to do
       $ git commit -m 'build: Update gnulib submodule to latest.' gnulib
     (as a preparation for step 5, because the --no-git option does
     not work as expected in all variants of 'bootstrap').

> >    5. Regenerate the fetched and generated files of your package.
> >       Depending on the packge, this may be a command such as
> >         $ ./bootstrap --no-git --gnulib-srcdir=$GNULIB_SRCDIR
> >       or
> >         $ export GNULIB_SRCDIR; ./autopull.sh; ./autogen.sh
> >       or, if no such script is available:
> >         $ $GNULIB_SRCDIR/gnulib-tool --update
> 
> Here, perhaps you can add, "If you are using git submodules, just run a 
> plain './bootstrap'."

This would be a bit dangerous, because 'bootstrap', by default, switches
back to the stored commit.

> >       If there is a failure, due to differences between the 'sh' and 'py'
> >       results, please report it to <bug-gnulib@gnu.org>.
> 
> I tried this on my well-worn copy of GNU diffutils, and got the 
> following diagnostics. These were all diagnostics about backup files, or 
> files I manually deleted by moving them into a '.del' subdirectory (an 
> old habit of mine), or symlink loops that I had created to test.
> 
> Perhaps the advice should start with, "Start with a fresh checkout from 
> Git."

We want to give people trust in using the Python implementation also
in worn working directories, not only in fresh checkouts. And I want to
hear about bugs in worn working directories.

Now that the bug with dangling symlinks is fixed, I feel confident
*not* to ask for a fresh checkout.

Bruno