Re: sort: new feature: use environment variable to set buffer size (original) (raw)

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From: Jim Meyering
Subject: Re: sort: new feature: use environment variable to set buffer size
Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2012 11:02:54 +0200

Pádraig Brady wrote:

Thanks for the detailed rationale, however the existing env variables are significant to more utils than sort(1). I.E. they're generally system level settings, rather than command level. Also sort -S is very portable, even though not standardised. solaris' sort(1) has -S and GNU sort is used on most other platforms, which has -S available since TEXTUTILS-2010-58-gbf86c62

Note also this thread on the selection of a default buffer size for pipes: http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.gnu.coreutils.general/878/focus=887

So currently I'd be 70:30 against adding such a variable.

Thanks for replying, Pádraig. Those are good points. Another is that we have a strong aversion to adding support for new environment variables in coreutils programs because it makes formerly-robust usage prone to malfunction or abuse.

Imagine a script that worked fine before, but when someone ends up running sort with some unusual or extreme envvar setting that now makes that shell script's use of sort fail.

With a new envvar as proposed, every sort-using script would have to be retrofitted with code to keep an erroneous or malicious envvar setting from impacting sort.

Just say "No!" to new envvars ;-)