[Python-Dev] RE: [Python-checkins] python/dist/src/Tools/scripts md5sum.py, 1.3, 1.3.8.1 (original) (raw)

Tim Peters tim.one at comcast.net
Tue Sep 30 09:45:18 EDT 2003

! -b : read files in binary mode (default) ! -t : read files in text mode (you almost certainly don't want this!)

When is -t useful?

I don't know that it ever is. md5sum.py before 2.3 didn't have such an option, and always used binary mode. md5sum.py in 2.3 suddenly grew this option, and defaulted to text mode, which is a disaster for normal usage on Windows. On the CVS head I switched the default back to binary mode, but left -t in since we had released a version supporting a -t option (and as the default, no less).

I can invent a use case for -t (a text file checksum independent of platform line-end convention), but it's strained (it's never been a real use case in my protracted life ).

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