Re: cksum: mode flag change when using --tag --untagged

[Pádraig Brady]

On 06/03/2024 15:32, Daniel Hofstetter wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I noticed some unexpected behavior and I'm unsure whether it's a bug
> or a feature.
>
> When using --untagged with non legacy checksums, the mode flag in the
> output is ' ' (space), meaning text mode:
>
> $ printf "hello" | cksum --untagged --algo=md5
> 5d41402abc4b2a76b9719d911017c592  -
>
> However, if I add --tag, the mode flag changes to '*', meaning binary mode:
>
> $ printf "hello" | cksum --tag --untagged --algo=md5
> 5d41402abc4b2a76b9719d911017c592 *-
>
> According to 
> https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/cksum-common-options.html#index-_002d_002dtag,
> --tag implies binary mode. On the other hand, --untagged overrides
> --tag and so I expected text mode in the output.
>
> So, is this behavior a bug or a feature?
>
> I'm using coreutils 9.4 on Linux.

That's an edge case, but still a bug.
Should be fixed with the attached.

thanks,
Pádraig

cksum--tag--untagged.patch
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