[PATCH] change default --format from gnu to posix

[Mike Frysinger]

The posix standard has been released for over 20 years, and tar has
supported it for almost as long (at least since 2004).  The docs have
said the default will change in a future version for almost as long,
so lets finally actually switch it.

* NEWS: Update.
* configure.ac (DEFAULT_ARCHIVE_FORMAT): Change GNU to POSIX.
* doc/tar.texi: Update gnu & posix format sections mentioning defaults.
---
 NEWS         |  4 ++++
 configure.ac |  2 +-
 doc/tar.texi | 12 +++++-------
 3 files changed, 10 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 6ad1c377e4b0..4e853cc106fa 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,6 +1,10 @@
 GNU tar NEWS - User visible changes. 2021-02-13
 Please send GNU tar bug reports to <bug-tar@gnu.org>
 
+version 1.35
+
+* Changed default --format option from gnu to posix.
+
 version 1.34 - Sergey Poznyakoff, 2021-02-13
 
 * Fix extraction over pipe (savannah bug #60002)
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 0d31d1eeaf1a..e8e02ffb35b5 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ AC_ARG_VAR([DEFAULT_ARCHIVE_FORMAT],
            [Set the default archive format. Allowed values are: V7, OLDGNU, 
USTAR, POSIX, GNU. Default is GNU])
 
 if test -z "$DEFAULT_ARCHIVE_FORMAT"; then
-  DEFAULT_ARCHIVE_FORMAT="GNU"
+  DEFAULT_ARCHIVE_FORMAT="POSIX"
 fi
 case $DEFAULT_ARCHIVE_FORMAT in
   V7|OLDGNU|USTAR|POSIX|GNU) ;;
diff --git a/doc/tar.texi b/doc/tar.texi
index 389a344800de..8eab6717bf36 100644
--- a/doc/tar.texi
+++ b/doc/tar.texi
@@ -9501,7 +9501,7 @@ most @samp{posix} archives as well, with the only 
exception that any
 additional information (such as long file names etc.)@: will in such
 case be extracted as plain text files along with the files it refers to.
 
-This archive format will be the default format for future versions
+This archive format is the default format starting with version 1.35
 of @GNUTAR{}.
 
 @end table
@@ -9520,9 +9520,8 @@ formats:
 
 The default format for @GNUTAR{} is defined at compilation
 time.  You may check it by running @command{tar --help}, and examining
-the last lines of its output.  Usually, @GNUTAR{} is configured
-to create archives in @samp{gnu} format, however, future version will
-switch to @samp{posix}.
+the last lines of its output.  Historically, @GNUTAR{} was configured
+to create archives in @samp{gnu} format, however, it now uses @samp{posix}.
 
 @menu
 * Compression::                 Using Less Space through Compression
@@ -10380,9 +10379,8 @@ other purposes.  As a result, @GNUTAR{} format is
 incompatible with the current @acronym{POSIX} specification, and with
 @command{tar} programs that follow it.
 
-In the majority of cases, @command{tar} will be configured to create
-this format by default.  This will change in future releases, since
-we plan to make @samp{POSIX} format the default.
+Historically, @command{tar} was commonly configured to create this format
+by default.  This changed starting from version 1.35 to @samp{POSIX}.
 
 To force creation a @GNUTAR{} archive, use option
 @option{--format=gnu}.
-- 
2.33.0