RE: Incorrect quoting of """" """" in master branch, with SHELL=cmd.exe

I think the fundamental problem you are facing is:
- cmd.exe (and batch files) parse quoting one way.
- where-as programs parse the command line "any-way-they-please", usually (but not always) using some compiler-language specific run-time-library (RTL).  (Unix shells are very different: the parsing is done by the shell and the program is provided a pre-parsed argument list).

Erik,
One work-around you might try is "call" every command.  Since "call" is a built-in in cmd.exe, this should start cmd.exe for every command; thereby running everything (batchfiles and "real" programs) all under a cmd shell.
I.e.
  target:
          call foo
          call prog1.bat
          call prog2.EXE
Done this way cmd.exe is consistently used, and you "only" figure out quoting once.


I'm most(only) familiar with the microsoft's C RTL, it very much parses quoting differently from cmd.exe batch files.

Using a fairly recent ms-CRTL version (different versions have slightly different behavior) I get this:
  cmd.exe command         argv[1] from ms CRTL
  ---------------         --------------------
  foo.exe "a b"           a b
  foo.exe "a "b"          a b
  foo.exe "a ""b"         a "b
  foo.exe "a """b"        a "b
  foo.exe "a """"b"       a "b
  foo.exe "a """""b"      a ""b
  foo.exe "a """"":b"     a "":b
  foo.exe "a """"""b"     a ""b
  foo.exe "a """""""b"    a ""b
  foo.exe "a """"""""b"   a """b
  foo.exe "a \" b"        a " b

Note in the last example above, a batchfile would see TWO arguments (not one).
  1st: "a \"
  2nd: b"


.dfc.


From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Erik Carstensen
Sent: 2013-05-03 Friday 08:17
To: [email protected]
Subject: Incorrect quoting of """" """" in master branch, with SHELL=cmd.exe

When passing """" """" to a shell, it is evaluated to a single word " " if cmd.exe evaluates it, but  to an unquoted single space if make short-circuits the cmd.exe argument.

Test case:
foo.mk<http://foo.mk> contains:
SHELL=cmd.exe
$(info x is $(x))
default:
    mkdir $(x)

Makefile contains:
SHELL=cmd.exe
default:
    $(MAKE) -f foo.mk<http://foo.mk> x=a"""" """"b

With 3.82 (which lets cmd.exe handle the quotes), this yields:
x is a" "b
With master (which short-circuits it), it yields:
x is a
*** No rule to build target 'b'. Stop.

My actual use case is similar to the 'mkdir' invocation in foo.mk<http://foo.mk> (a file with spaces needs to be quoted twice in order to be passed to commands in a recursive make). I have found sufficient workarounds for my use cases.

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