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Subject: [bug#29745] [PATCH 0/3] Disallow phase returning <unspecified>.
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From: ludo@gnu.org (Ludovic =?UTF-8?Q?Court=C3=A8s?=)
References: <20171216231242.12032-1-arunisaac@systemreboot.net>
Date: Sun, 17 Dec 2017 17:55:15 +0100
In-Reply-To: <20171216231242.12032-1-arunisaac@systemreboot.net> (Arun Isaac's
	message of "Sun, 17 Dec 2017 04:42:42 +0530")
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To: Arun Isaac <arunisaac@systemreboot.net>
Cc: Ricardo Wurmus <rekado@elephly.net>, 29745@debbugs.gnu.org

Hi!

Arun Isaac <arunisaac@systemreboot.net> skribis:

> Patch 1 modifies gnu-build-system to explicitly check the return value of=
 each
> phase for an unspecified value, and if found consider that phase to have
> failed.
>
> Patch 2 fixes several phases in gnu-build-system by making them return #t
> instead of an unspecified value.
>
> Patch 3 fixes the phases in several packages to return #t instead of an
> unspecified value. I was testing patch 1, by trying to build bash. In doi=
ng
> so, I found that the custom phases of many packages were not properly
> returning #t, and fixed all those packages. No doubt, there are many more
> packages that need fixing.
>
> Arun Isaac (3):
>   build: gnu-build-system: Disallow phase returning <unspecified>.
>   build: gnu-build-system: Return #t from phases.
>   gnu: Return #t from phases.

Even though I think it=E2=80=99s a good idea to explicitly return a Boolean
value from build phases for clarity, I=E2=80=99m reluctant to patch 1.  My
objection is that it ends up defining a notion of =E2=80=9Ctrue=E2=80=9D th=
at=E2=80=99s
different from that of Scheme (in Scheme, #f is the only false value;
everything else is true, including =E2=80=9Cthe unspecified value=E2=80=9D=
=E2=80=94see
=E2=80=9CDisjointness of types=E2=80=9D in the R5RS.)

Patches 2 and 3 LGTM.

However, =E2=80=98core-updates=E2=80=99 is supposedly frozen right now (I=
=E2=80=99m Cc=E2=80=99ing
Marius who is the de facto =E2=80=98core-updates=E2=80=99 manager :-)).  So=
 perhaps we
should hold on until the next =E2=80=98core-updates=E2=80=99 is open.

What do people think?

Thanks,
Ludo=E2=80=99.