Re: many packages FTBFS, if $TAPE is set

[John Goerzen <jgoerzen@complete.org>]

On Tue August 28 2007 3:11:20 pm Eduard Bloch wrote:

> Oh, come on. People who put $TAPE into the default environment may also
> link /dev/null to /dev/hda (or /dev/sda) and complain to the coretutils
> maintainer because ln isn't unable to think for them.

I don't think so.  Hasn't tar defaulted to something approximately /dev/rmt0 
for *YEARS*, not just on Linux but on just about every platform, if -f is 
not given?

Assuming that tar goes to stdout is a losing proposition, I think, and not 
just because of TAPE.

Besides, it is perfectly valid to set a variable named TAPE even if the 
person is not using it with tar.  Perhaps they are using it with mt, custom 
scripts, etc.

-- John