Re: Deprecating non-functional SHAREDSTRINGS build option and xstr(1)

> [...] I was certainly never opposed to removing SHAREDSTRINGS support
> from the build system, I didn't even know it was supposed to be
> there.  [...]  But that's an entirely different thing than the
> programs (mkstr and xstr) being removed.

True.

But - I just checked their 5.2 manpages, on the theory that they are
probably unchanged since 5.2 - and my reaction is that mkstr is way too
specialized to belong in the base system (like diskpart(8) in that).

xstr I'm less sure of.  Something like it strikes me as potentially
still useful, especially as a first step towards translations, but,
while it's a closer call, I still end up on the side of "not generally
useful enough to belong in base".  Especially given the BUGS section
and related things, like probably not handling string literal
concatenation (since it likely hasn't been touched, except superficial
changes such as prototyping updates, since NetBSD started).

> Further I see nothing in mkstr.c which would in any way "not work",

Me neither, but is what it does generally useful enough to earn it a
place in everybody's /usr/bin?  In my opinion, no.

> If "I don't see a need for it" is to be the criteri[on] for what to
> remove, then I can easily send a list of all the things I don't see a
> need to keep, [...]

Yeah, me too.  If we all do, I'd guess /usr/bin will be reduced by at
least half.  (For that matter, how about starting with everything in
/bin or /usr/bin which doesn't have a manpage?  I've yet to see a
system which has manpages for all such.  I'd argue anything installed
in the base system should have a manpage, even if it's just "this is
not documented separately; it is internal to $OTHER_FACILITY", which
would be appropriate for much of /usr/libexec, for example.)

The test shouldn't be "do _I_ see a need for it _for me_?" but rather
"is it useful widely enough to earn it a place in everyone's system?".
I've never found the lpr subsystem useful, but my impression is that
enough people do that I wouldn't agitate for removing it.  For example.

/~\ The ASCII				  Mouse
\ / Ribbon Campaign
 X  Against HTML		[email protected]
/ \ Email!	     7D C8 61 52 5D E7 2D 39  4E F1 31 3E E8 B3 27 4B