Re: Use LN_S instead of "ln -s" in Makefile - Mailing list pgsql-hackers

From Ashwin Agrawal
Subject Re: Use LN_S instead of "ln -s" in Makefile
Date
Msg-id CALfoeis=s=scO1cDp-_hq8VDvCmHBNhfYpQLWDu137GaRxrGFg@mail.gmail.com
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In response to Re: Use LN_S instead of "ln -s" in Makefile  (Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us>)
Responses Re: Use LN_S instead of "ln -s" in Makefile
List pgsql-hackers
On Fri, Feb 14, 2020 at 4:57 PM Tom Lane <tgl@sss.pgh.pa.us> wrote:
Ashwin Agrawal <aagrawal@pivotal.io> writes:
> In general, the variable LN_S is 'ln -s', however, LN_S changes to 'cp
> -pR' if configure finds the file system does not support symbolic
> links.
> I was playing with 'ln' for some other reason where I symbolic linked
> it to '/bin/false'. That revealed the failure for
> src/backend/Makefile. Greping for 'ln -s' revealed three places it's
> used. Attaching the patch to fix the same.

Hm.  So, these oversights are certainly bugs in narrow terms.  However,
they've all been like that for a *long* time --- the three instances
you found date to 2005, 2006, and 2008 according to "git blame".
The complete lack of complaints shows that nobody cares.  So I think
a fairly strong case could be made for going the other way, ie
s/$(LN_S)/ln -s/g and get rid of the configure-time cycles wasted in
setting up that variable.

I accede to it.

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