Bug#792202: texlive-bin: Please make the CreationDate, ModDate and ID field deterministic

[Norbert Preining <norbert@preining.info>]

tag 792202 + wontfix
thanks

Hi Reiner,

thanks for contacting us and for your work on reproducible builds.
I agree that this might be a nice aim, but we cannot throw out
30 years of behaviour that might be expected by loads of people
as a default setting, so what you are asking for is not acceptable.

> Subject: Don't include "CreationDate:" in ps files generated by dvips
> 
> --- a/texk/dvipsk/dvips.h
> +++ b/texk/dvipsk/dvips.h
> @@ -7,7 +7,6 @@
>  
>  /*   This file is the header for dvips's global data structures. */
>  
> -#define CREATIONDATE
>  
>  #define MAX_CODE 0x110000
>  #define MAX_2BYTES_CODE 0x10000

For sure not by default, but Karl Berry agreed that if someone provides
a patch to have the creationdate removed via an option (disabled by default),
then he will include it.


> --- a/texk/web2c/pdftexdir/pdftex.web
> +++ b/texk/web2c/pdftexdir/pdftex.web
> @@ -14434,10 +14434,7 @@
>    dvi_four(25400000); dvi_four(473628672); {conversion ratio for sp}
>    prepare_mag; dvi_four(mag); {magnification factor is frozen}
>    old_setting:=selector; selector:=new_string;
> -  print(" TeX output "); print_int(year); print_char(".");
> -  print_two(month); print_char("."); print_two(day);
> -  print_char(":"); print_two(time div 60);
> -  print_two(time mod 60);
> +  print(" TeX output ");
>    selector:=old_setting; dvi_out(cur_length);
>    for s:=str_start[str_ptr] to pool_ptr-1 do dvi_out(so(str_pool[s]));
>    pool_ptr:=str_start[str_ptr]; {flush the current string}

Definitely not, since this is expected behaviour from TeX and friends
since ages, again.

Please note, for reproducible builds one *can* use the option
	-output-comment <string>
which should replace the time stamp with the provided comment.

Furthermore, the next release of pdftex (in TL2016) will have
patches inspired by reproducible build to mitigate the effects
(see SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH patches).

I hope that helps

Norbert

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PREINING, Norbert                               http://www.preining.info
JAIST, Japan                                 TeX Live & Debian Developer
GPG: 0x860CDC13   fp: F7D8 A928 26E3 16A1 9FA0  ACF0 6CAC A448 860C DC13
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