linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH v3] scripts/setlocalversion: fix a bug when LOCALVERSION is empty

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Date:   Tue, 13 Jul 2021 04:59:30 -0400 (EDT)
From:   Mikulas Patocka <mpatocka@...hat.com>
To:     Nico Schottelius <nico-linuxsetlocalversion@...ottelius.org>
cc:     Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@...uxfoundation.org>,
        Masahiro Yamada <masahiroy@...nel.org>,
        linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org
Subject: Re: [PATCH v3] scripts/setlocalversion: fix a bug when LOCALVERSION
 is empty



On Mon, 12 Jul 2021, Nico Schottelius wrote:

> 
> Sorry to say, but I am not convinced by the patch.
> 
> While yes, we might have changed the behaviour slightly, reading
> something on the line of
> 
> if [ -z ... ]
> 
> is significantly more simple, elegant and easier to maintain, than
> a rather atypical special case for setting a variable to empty,
> using
> 
> if [ "${LOCALVERSION+set}" != "set" ] ..
> 
> *and* because it is so atypical, adding a long comment for it, too.
> 
> Additonally, -z should be correct if the variable *is* truly empty. I
> assume it actually isn't and contains whitespace, which is not the same
> as being set and empty.
> 
> Instead of re-adding complexity, could you consider changing the build
> flow so that LOCALVERSION is either unset or empty?
> 
> Nico

I set LOCALVERSION to an empty string (with "export LOCALVERSION="). This 
prevented the kernel from adding a "+" sign to the kernel version. Since 
the commit 042da426f8eb, it no longer works and the kernel adds a "+" sign 
if LOCALVERSION is set and empty.

If you don't like "if [ "${LOCALVERSION+set}" != "set" ]", then please 
provide some other way how to test if the variable is set.

Mikulas