Re: [Gretl-users] bug? with string substitution
On Mon, 18 Dec 2017, Sven Schreiber wrote:
Am 17.12.2017 um 23:24 schrieb Allin Cottrell:
> So, yes, this is a bug (associated with an old usage of
> "sprintf", but a usage that supposedly still ought to work). I'll
> see what can be done, but also I guess we should officially
> deprecate the command-form of "sprintf"
Could you run one of your shell-magic scripts to check which of
the function packages use that form? I'm a bit afraid of yet
another necessary round of updates, like we have had for turning
boolean "=" into "==".
Point taken, but this is a bit different. Using "=" as a test for
equality almost always worked OK, despite being deprecated. On the
other hand, the command-form of "sprintf" has not yet been
deprecated (so far as I can tell) yet in the context of a loop as in
Peter's script it has stopped working (properly).
So I'd say the first priority is to get the old form of sprintf
working again, if possible, while also officially deprecating it.
The second priority is then to future-proof function packages by
ensuring that they use the currently recommended form -- and in that
context, I agree, some "shell magic" would be helpful.
Allin