On 17/11/10 23:51, Paul Eggert wrote: > On 11/17/10 14:33, Pádraig Brady wrote: > >> Note it scans command line args twice which >> adds some overhead in all cases. >> The first scan is to find --debug so we're not >> dependent on the position of --debug > > I have some qualms about that patch. It's not just the extra overhead: > the patch causes --debug to change the semantics of argument processing > (as opposed to merely outputting debugging info), which could lead to > Heisenbugs. "The script started working when I added --debug" > is a bug report that we never want to hear.
Yes that is marginally safer but less useful in the common case of using an isolated +... $ sort --debug +1 sort: using `en_US.utf8' sorting rules sort: non-portable file name +1; use ./+1 instead sort: open failed: +1: No such file or directory Since neither solution is ideal, perhaps it better to drop this. Simple changes for marginal gains tend to compound. I'll sleep on it. cheers, Pádraig.
