Bug#88045: Policy is contradictory (I think)

[Edward Betts <edward@debian.org>]

Juliusz Chroboczek <jch@pps.jussieu.fr> wrote:
> Now POSIX leaves the behaviour of ``echo'' with arguments starting
> with `-' undefined (in order to accomodate both SYSV and BSD versions
> of echo).  In addition, POSIX allows echo to be a shell builtin.
> 
> Therefore, the script given in 3.3.6 will not work if echo is a shell
> builtin with SYSV semantics.  This is not a purely theoretical issue:
> ksh93 behaves just like that, and can therefore not be used as /bin/sh
> on a Debian system.
> 
> Solutions include:
> 
> 1. making all /bin/sh scripts use printf instead of echo -n (this is
>    the portable way; POSIX deprecates the use of echo);
> 
> 2. making all /bin/sh scripts use /bin/echo instead of echo (not
>    portable to other POSIX systems).
> 
> 3. making all /bin/sh scripts use GNU shelltool instead of echo (yuck).
> 
> 4. updating section 4.4 in policy with a caveat about echo.

I seem to remember that we need to replace all the echos in the init.d scripts
to support internationalisation.

If we did it in a flexible manner with a home-made tool we would even be able
to support themeing. Load the RedHat theme, and suddenly the init.d messages
look like they do on redhat:

Starting J. Random Program                             [Success]

And it would make it easier to make a Linux Progressive Logo patch, of course
this makes the init.d scripts unportable, without the accompanying tool, but
who cares if init.d scripts are not portable.

-- 
Don't worry  --  shop.