Re: date: unclosed date string comments

[sunnycemetery]

2020-08-06, 01:36, Kaz Kylheku (Coreutils):
> This is a lack of diagnosis that adds up to it being a feature that  
> a comment which does not close is closed implicitly by the end of  
> the string.

I can certainly live with that.

> Once this kind of thing escapes into the wild, the safest thing is to  
> document it. A fix for this (like making date exit with a diagnostic and  
> failed termination status) will break something for someone somewhere.

I agree.  Do you think I should submit a patch?

> You can fix looseness in compilers more easily because when you  
> tighten something in a compiler, the diagnostic blows up in the face  
> of a developer.
>
> If you tighten something in a utility, something breaks in the field,  
> because it is a run-time check.

Well put.  The historical context was interesting as well.  Thank you.