Re: gzip 1.3.9 on IRIX 5.3 feedback

[Ralf Wildenhues]

[ apologies for the resend ]

Continuing <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.gnu.gzip.bugs/9/focus=18>:

* Paul Eggert wrote on Thu, Dec 21, 2006 at 09:08:24PM CET:
> Georg Schwarz <address@hidden> writes:
> 
> > sure, but in that case it would make sense to have configure not fail
> > if -e does not work, or not to check for it in the first place.
> 
> Autoconf could probably be modified to prefer a grep that supports -e
> to one that does not.  But I'm not sure why it wants -e at all.
> Perhaps one of the other Autoconf readers knows?

For one, because in the Autoconf package,
  make check

invokes tests that make use of this feature.  See
autoconf/lib/freeze.mk:check-forbidden-patterns and
autoconf/lib/*/Makefile.am:forbidden_patterns

Since the workaround is so easy in this case (./configure GREP=grep),
and I'd call IRIX an, umm, rather less important target, but most of all
since Autoconf has documented for a long time now that AC_PROG_GREP
checks for multiple -e, I would vote for keeping it that way.

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Ralf