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Diffstat (limited to 'xc/util/patch/README')
-rw-r--r-- | xc/util/patch/README | 98 |
1 files changed, 98 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/xc/util/patch/README b/xc/util/patch/README new file mode 100644 index 000000000..c8bd0e9c4 --- /dev/null +++ b/xc/util/patch/README @@ -0,0 +1,98 @@ +This version of patch contains modifications made by the Free Software +Foundation, summarized in the file ChangeLog. Primarily they are to +support the unified context diff format that GNU diff can produce, and +to support making GNU Emacs-style backup files. They also include +fixes for some bugs. + +There are two GNU variants of patch: this one, which retains Larry +Wall's interactive Configure script and has patchlevels starting with +`12u'; and another one that has a GNU-style non-interactive configure +script and accepts long-named options, and has patchlevels starting +with `12g'. Unlike the 12g variant, the 12u variant contains no +copylefted code, for the paranoid. The two variants are otherwise the +same. They should be available from the same places. + +The FSF is distributing this version of patch independently because as +of this writing, Larry Wall has not released a new version of patch +since mid-1988. I have heard that he has been too busy working on +other things, like Perl. + +Here is a wish list of some projects to improve patch: + +1. Correctly handle files and patchfiles that contain NUL characters. +This is hard to do straightforwardly; it would be less work to +adopt a kind of escape encoding internally. +Let ESC be a "control prefix". ESC @ stands for NUL. ESC [ stands for ESC. +You need to crunch this when reading input (replace fgets), +and when writing the output file (replace fputs), +but otherwise everything can go along as it does now. +Be careful to handle reject files correctly; +I think they are currently created using `write', not `fputs'. + +2. Correctly handle patches produced by GNU diff for files that do +not end with a newline. + +Please send bug reports for this version of patch to +bug-gnu-utils@prep.ai.mit.edu as well as to Larry Wall (lwall@netlabs.com). + --djm@gnu.ai.mit.edu (David MacKenzie) + + Patch Kit, Version 2.0 + + Copyright (c) 1988, Larry Wall + +You may copy the patch kit in whole or in part as long as you don't try to +make money off it, or pretend that you wrote it. +-------------------------------------------------------------------------- + +Please read all the directions below before you proceed any further, and +then follow them carefully. Failure to do so may void your warranty. :-) + +After you have unpacked your kit, you should have all the files listed +in MANIFEST. + +Installation + +1) Run Configure. This will figure out various things about your system. + Some things Configure will figure out for itself, other things it will + ask you about. It will then proceed to make config.h, config.sh, and + Makefile. + + You might possibly have to trim # comments from the front of Configure + if your sh doesn't handle them, but all other # comments will be taken + care of. + + If you don't have sh, you'll have to rip the prototype of config.h out + of Configure and generate the defines by hand. + +2) Glance through config.h to make sure system dependencies are correct. + Most of them should have been taken care of by running the + Configure script. + + If you have any additional changes to make to the C definitions, they + can be done in the Makefile, or in config.h. Bear in mind that they may + get undone next time you run Configure. + +3) make + + This will attempt to make patch in the current directory. + +4) make install + + This will put patch into a public directory (normally /usr/local/bin). + It will also try to put the man pages in a reasonable place. It will not + nroff the man page, however. + +5) Read the manual entry before running patch. + +6) IMPORTANT! Help save the world! Communicate any problems and + suggested patches to me, lwall@netlabs.com (Larry Wall), + so we can keep the world in sync. If you have a problem, there's + someone else out there who either has had or will have the same problem. + + If possible, send in patches such that the patch program will apply them. + Context diffs are the best, then normal diffs. Don't send ed scripts-- + I've probably changed my copy since the version you have. + + Watch for patch patches in comp.sources.bugs. Patches will generally be + in a form usable by the patch program. Your current patch level + is shown in patchlevel.h. |