Re: [bug #61594] suggest new $(hash ...) function

[Edward Welbourne]

rsbecker@nexbridge.com  (1 December 2021 13:08) wrote:
> I would suggest that adding cryptography to GNU Make would limit its
> reach. There are jurisdictions where it is questionable to import
> software containing any cryptography. In addition, there are numerous
> tools for doing what you want. Something along the lines, for example,
> of:
>
> $(shell git hash-object obj)
>
> Is a simple function that is already supported by GNU Make without
> having to introduce cryptography. This would make a lot more sense to
> me to keep hashing out of GNU Make.

+1.  It also leaves it to the make file author to decide which hash
function to use.  If make took charge of that decision, it would be
stuck with the hash selected for all time, since it would have no way of
knowing how the resulting hashes have been used by diverse different
make files.  An individual project's make files can make the transition
from using one hash to another, since it knows how it's been using the
hashes and how to ensure a clean transition when it comes to change the
hash function used.

        Eddy.