bug#30525: Unexpected matches for input data from a patch file

[SF Markus Elfring]

> I believe there are actually several different issues here,

Yes. - I agree.


> perhaps it's worth stating them explicitly to ensure we're
> on the same page.

I thank you for your very detailed answer.


> Grep's default coloring is red text and default background.

This setting can be fine in several use cases.


> But TAB (and space) are empty characters - they do not have text.

I know this detail also.


> Because the default background color is not changed,

Can this display detail be adjusted anyhow (like it is provided
by the tool “ack” by default)?


> you will not see them highlighted with a color.

This can trigger questionable interpretations of the involved
software behaviour.


> This is an unexpected "gotcha" - some terminal programs
> do NOT color tab characters at all!

I am curious if such a situation should become better known.



> they just move the cursor,

Indentation is performed then at least.


> while others print multiple spaces which are colored.

This would be nice if you could actually see a different colour.


> You might see different results on your terminal

This can happen because of variations in involved programming interfaces
and supported display capabilities.


> - which means "grep" is not the problem at all here.

There are additional constraints to consider.


> You asked about replacing non-printable characters.
> This is easy enough to do with existing programs,

Do you know any approach which provides a complete replacement
for an usable visual representation already?


> so not likely to be added as a new option to grep.

The match colouring evolved. So I imagine that a corresponding
character replacement could be performed by a companion tool
(similar to your command examples).


> Hope this helps,

I am also curious on how the application knowledge will evolve
further for regular expressions in recent software versions.
Patch code filtering might become safer and easier.

Regards,
Markus