Re: [Bug-apl] [rb-general] [Reproducible builds] add support for SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH

[John Gilmore]

> > > I'm a member of the Arch Linux Security team working on the reproducible
> > > builds initiative. Right now, apl compiles almost reproducibly, with the
> > > only caveat of embedding some time-based information into a header file.
> > > It would be nice if this could be overriden with an environment variable
> > > (or stripped out whatsoever).

If the header file really doesn't need to have the build time in it
(it's just "nice to have"), then the simplest solution, which is
portable to all platforms and needs no further configuration, is to
just stop putting the time into the generated header file.  This would
apparently make the build fully reproducible.

If there is some reason that that timestamp is really needed, then you
can make it arbitrarily more complicated.  Many build environments are
noticing the presence of the SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH environment variable,
and using the date/time embedded in it.

        John Gilmore

PS:  My first "real" computer job was working on APL*PLUS on an IBM
mainframe in 1972.  I'm glad to see that APL is still around.