Re: [MiNT] SV: Bug: xa_boot.log has unix line-endings

[Eero Tamminen <oak@helsinkinet.fi>]

Hi,

On perjantai 23 marraskuu 2012, Jo Even Skarstein wrote:
> > From: Eero Tamminen [oak@helsinkinet.fi]
> > All Unix documentation is in Unix line end format.  User should
> > get used to that and use programs that handle them.
> 
> Yes, but this is MiNT documentation, not unix documentation.
> And MiNT is an extension of TOS.

A unix extension to it...


> > I quickly tested Guck, RDD and Everest on TOS and all of them handled
> > Unix line endings just fine.  On Windows you can use WordPad or some
> > programmer's editor.
> > 
> > About only file where it makes sense to have TOS/DOS line endings is
> > the first MiNT readme.  That could tell what are sensible file viewers
> > to use.
> 
> I don't see a single reason why it makes sense to *not* have TOS/DOS line
> endings?

Some reasons:

* Unix line endings aren't a problem.  If you're MiNT user, you anyway
  need to be able to view Unix line endings, also on TOS, and that works
  fine there even with >20 year old TOS text viewers.

* Code already has Unix line endings.  Adding DOS ones requires changing
  the code and the changes can miss some places.  Then there can be
  versions of those programs floating around which output Unix line endings,
  TOS line endings and a mix of them.

* IMHO having mix of different line endings is worse (especially from
  the same program).  All the Unix derived command line stuff (e.g. gcc)
  is anyway outputting Unix line endings, so one could as well standardize
  to that.

* When code is shared with some unix program, I'm pretty sure Unix upstream
  definitely won't accept patches adding DOS line ending.

* While some TOS & DOS programs can have problems with Unix line
  endings, same might be true also in the other direction.  Some
  (Unix derived) MiNT programs might have problems with DOS line-endings.

* Code and binary size is marginally smaller.


> Are there *any* TOS text-editors or viewers that doesn't understand this?

Not that I would know of.

> This is not scripts that has to be read by some unix shell, but
> documentation and logs that are supposed to be read by humans
> on TOS machines.

How many programs you're asking to be eventually "fixed" for your
line-ending preferences?   :-)


	- Eero

PS. I don't have a strong opinion on this, but I don't see what's
the problem and where your fixing would end, that's why I'm playing
the devil's advocate.