Re: [PATCH PING] Honor 'SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH' when generating autoloads.

[Eli Zaretskii]

> Cc: address@hidden
> From: Paul Eggert <address@hidden>
> Date: Sun, 27 Dec 2015 15:26:28 -0800
> 
> * Document the changes in etc/NEWS and in the relevant part of the manual.
> 
> * Use "deterministic-build", not "deterministic-dump", for the name. I didn't 
> understand the need for two variables here; we can add another one if needed.
> 
> * Represent unknown values with nil, not with magic strings like "elided" or 
> "unknown".
> 
> * Make emacs-build-time deterministic, too.
> 
> * Adjust the output of emacs-version and similar functions to omit the build 
> date.
> 
> * Remove what appears to be an unnecessary initialization in 'main'.

Fine with me in general, with the following comments:

> --- a/doc/lispref/intro.texi
> +++ b/doc/lispref/intro.texi
> @@ -491,19 +491,6 @@ Version Info
>  giving a prefix argument makes @var{here} address@hidden
>  @end deffn
>  
> address@hidden emacs-build-time
> -The value of this variable indicates the time at which Emacs was
> -built.  It is a list of four integers, like the value of
> address@hidden (@pxref{Time of Day}).
> -
> address@hidden
> address@hidden
> -emacs-build-time
> -     @result{} (20614 63694 515336 438000)
> address@hidden group
> address@hidden example
> address@hidden defvar

Please let's nott remove this part, we are not removing the variable
(and won't be any time soon).  Let's just document that the value can
be nil in a "deterministic build".

> -;; I think this should be obsoleted/removed.  It's just one more meaningless
> -;; difference between different builds.  It's usually not even an fqdn.
> -(defconst emacs-build-system (system-name)
> -  "Name of the system on which Emacs was built.")
> +(defconst emacs-build-system
> +  (if (not deterministic-build) (system-name))
> +  "Name of the system on which Emacs was built, or nil if not available.")

This causes an error in "M-x report-emacs-bug", so something should be
done here or there.  (I don't understand why you are so objected to
keeping this a string, even though I specifically stated that I would
like to keep it a string.  Is it really worth another dispute?)

Thanks.