d88-jwa@byse.nada.kth.se (Jon W{tte) (06/16/91)
-rwxr-xr-x 1 bin bin 26197 May 6 10:36 /usr/bin/patch*
This patch has no manual, and obviously got in here in one of the
last upgrades (2.0.1 or development tools) It appears to want
a COFF binary as argument...
This wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that the name
"patch" is already taken by the familiar "patch" (as opposed to
"diff -c")
This is a stupid name clash, and dangerous since many scripts from
the net assume "patch == ~diff.c" and I bet some scripts from
Apple assume "patch == <mysterious binary>"
Any light to shed on the matter ?
--
Jon W{tte
h+@nada.kth.se
- Speed !chuq@Apple.COM (Chuq Von Rospach, only here for the beer) (06/19/91)
d88-jwa@byse.nada.kth.se (Jon W{tte) writes: >-rwxr-xr-x 1 bin bin 26197 May 6 10:36 /usr/bin/patch* >This patch has no manual, and obviously got in here in one of the >last upgrades (2.0.1 or development tools) It appears to want >a COFF binary as argument... Good question. It's not on my 2.0.1 system, so wherever it came from, it doesn't seem to have put there by the installation process. -- Chuq Von Rospach >=< chuq@apple.com >=< GEnie:CHUQ or MAC.BIGOT >=< ALink:CHUQ Nebula Awards Hacker =+= Reviewer, Amazing =+= #include <standard/disclaimer.h> Editor, OtherRealms +=+ Thank you for not telling me what Tim is saying.
tony@tui.marcam.dsir.govt.nz (Tony Cooper) (06/19/91)
Here's a couple of tips, hints, and tricks from my unpublished volume entitled "Tips, Hints, and Tricks for A/UX", subtitled "Facts, Facets, and Fallacies". In article <D88-JWA.91Jun16153617@byse.nada.kth.se>, d88-jwa@byse.nada.kth.se (Jon W{tte) writes: |> |> -rwxr-xr-x 1 bin bin 26197 May 6 10:36 /usr/bin/patch* |> |> This patch has no manual, and obviously got in here in one of the |> last upgrades (2.0.1 or development tools) It appears to want |> a COFF binary as argument... Not only does the file have no manual, it doesn't even exist. You can tell what is part of 2.0.X by looking at the list of files in /FILES. Very useful list - tells what all the files are for as well. I've never seen that on any other Unix system yet Unix systems are famous for having zillions of files that noone knows what are for. |> This is a ... name clash, and dangerous since many scripts from |> the net assume "patch == ~diff.c" and I bet some scripts from |> Apple assume "patch == <mysterious binary>" The way to handle local additions to the system is to put them in, say, /usr/local/bin and to put /usr/local/bin in you path ahead of the standard system bin directories. That way all the local files get executed in preference to the system ones when there is a name clash. It means that you can creat your own, say, man and install it into the system without having to touch the old man (by renaming it to man.old or something) or without having to call it something new (like woman). Then users who like the old man can still use it by typing /bin/man or setting an alias, and Apple scripts will still use the correct man since they (should) refer to it as /bin/man (or whatever the correct name is). Cheers, Tony Cooper sramtrc@albert.dsir.govt.nz
d88-jwa@cyklop.nada.kth.se (Jon W{tte) (06/19/91)
(Chuq Von Rospach, only here for the beer) writes: >-rwxr-xr-x 1 bin bin 26197 May 6 10:36 /usr/bin/patch* Good question. It's not on my 2.0.1 system, so wherever it came from, it doesn't seem to have put there by the installation process. It might be on the developer's tools beta CD. I'll dig it up and check... If anyone's listening, you REALLY REALLY should change the name of this utility, since "patch" is already taken and well-known. -- Jon W{tte h+@nada.kth.se - Speed !
kire@cyklop.nada.kth.se (Jan-Erik M}ngs) (06/19/91)
/usr/bin/patch is a part of CFront 2.1.
.
Jan-Erik "Kire" Mangs (kire@nada.kth.se)jazz@Apple.COM (David W. Brubeck) (06/19/91)
'/usr/bin/patch' is not a patch at all, but a program used to apply patches. It essentially does a backwards 'diff', working from a patch file, on to one or more other files specified inside the patch file. Dave Brubeck Developer Technical Support jazz@apple.com