bug#17722: Makefile rule fix and cleanup patches

[Jim Meyering]

On Fri, Jun 6, 2014 at 5:16 PM, Paul Eggert <address@hidden> wrote:
> Jim Meyering wrote:
>>
>> using scripts for egrep and fgrep may be removed
>
>
> Let's not remove the scripts, as they're better on platforms where they're
> supported.  Users of a script can more-easily understand and modify what it
> does, which is a better match for the GNU project's overarching goals.
>
> Instead, we should use scripts on GNUish platforms, and fall back on binary
> executables only on platforms that don't have a working shell.

That might fly: use the work-around (separate build rules)
only where needed -- assuming the code changes end up being
small and clean. Though if they're that small and clean, why
wouldn't we want to keep the build rules simple and the same
for everyone?  IMHO, being able to look at the contents of
obsolete wrapper scripts has no added value.