Re: [sr #111044] autoconf should assert existence of all subsidiary tools at startup

On Mon, Apr 1, 2024, at 5:26 PM, Frank Ch. Eigler wrote:
> On Mon, Apr 01, 2024 at 05:10:17PM -0400, Paul Eggert wrote:
>> [...]
>> Not sure I'd go that far. The
>> [https://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/html_node/Utilities-in-Makefiles.html GNU
>> Coding Standards for utilities in makefiles] lists the following as usable
>> without further ado:
>> 
>> awk cat cmp cp diff echo egrep expr false grep install-info ln ls
>> mkdir mv printf pwd rm rmdir sed sleep sort tar test touch tr true
>> [...]
>
> On the other hand, we've had very real reports that e.g. diff was
> missing on some real platforms, which led autoconf astray and ended up
> in misconfigured build trees.  Perhaps autoconf can afford to do some
> sanity checking on these reasonable-sounding but not-universal
> expectations.

Frank, do you have details of those real platforms with missing diff?
As I wrote in <https://savannah.gnu.org/support/index.php?111044>, it's
difficult to implement this kind of sanity check without access to an
environment that *fails* this kind of sanity check.  I could set one up
myself but I wouldn't know if I had picked the right things to leave out.

zw