Subject: tac RFE: accept -z, --zero-terminated option (was: bug#8103: NUL terminated lines

From: Jim Meyering <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2011 00:05:57 +0200

retitle 8103 tac RFE: accept -z, --zero-terminated option
tags 8103 + notabug
thanks

Jim Meyering wrote:
> Bjartur Thorlacius wrote:
>>> Maybe we should modify tac to add the -z option.  Would you care to
>> write a patch?
>> It would be redundant, as tac -s $'\0' is equivalent.
>
> Are you using a non-GNU version of tac?
> If so, please tell us which one -- that may influence
> the decision of whether to make "-s ''" work or to add -z.
>
> With GNU tac, that has never worked:
>
>     $ tac -s ''
>     tac: separator cannot be empty
>
> Making -s accommodate an empty string argument is a possibility,
> but that change looks like it'd be relatively disruptive.
>
> Unless there is already an implementation for which -s '' works,
> I like the idea of adding -z.

I've changed the title and marking this as "not a bug."