Providing `--version` information about toolbox HOT 7 CLOSED

I went through documentation of Meson and there is a way to set
configuration options (the link is here).
But the expected way to use this mechanic is to feed it an input
config and then use the created config. If we want to use this we
need to make toolbox.sh read this kind of data from a separate config
file. Do we want that??

That would require having to build the final shell script from a toolbox.in, wouldn't it?

I think this is another of those things that are best addressed during the rewrite in Go, when we'd have to build the final binary from the sources anyway. The only positive aspect of a shell script is that it's self-contained and can be run straight out of the Git tree, without having to build it and so on. Let's not lose that.

from toolbox.

A --version flag is a reasonable thing to expect, and one would expect it to be easy. However, I can't think of a way to do this that:

• Doesn't require building the final shell script from a toolbox.in to fill in the version number.

• Doesn't require installing a second snippet with the version information that's sourced by the main script at run-time.

As archaic as shell scripts are, the ability to have a single self-contained file that can be run without an intermediate step is one of the more endearing aspects of it. It would be nice to not lose that.

Or maybe I am not being imaginative enough? :/

from toolbox.

I neither use Meson nor sh scripts, but can’t this be solved by an environment variable defined at the top, and maybe be fed via Meson?

from toolbox.

Umm... who will feed them in? Note that it has to work both for the (a) running straight out of Git or ./toolbox case, (b) built and installed, possibly via a distribution package, case.

from toolbox.

I think I would just add constants to that scripts. But I must say that I do not have an idea of shell scripts at all. :/

from toolbox.

I went through documentation of Meson and there is a way to set configuration options (the link is here). But the expected way to use this mechanic is to feed it an input config and then use the created config. If we want to use this we need to make toolbox.sh read this kind of data from a separate config file. Do we want that??

from toolbox.

Toolbox has now been rewritten in Go by @HarryMichal , and the Go version offers a --version flag.

from toolbox.