Coreutils upgrade context (AmigaOS 4)

This document summarizes how the existing Coreutils patch stacks are organized in this repository, how they interact with the gnulib component, and what that implies for upgrading from the current 5.2-based flow.

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1) What is in this repository

Coreutils branches tracked by gild

From coreutils/series:

• 5.2 → checkout COREUTILS-5_2_1 (GNU tarball URL points to coreutils-5.2.1.tar.bz2)
• 8.27 → checkout v8.27 (GNU tarball URL points to coreutils-8.27.tar.xz)

Patch folders:

• coreutils/5.2/patches/ (9 patches)
• coreutils/8.27/patches/ (2 patches)

Gnulib branch tracked for coreutils 8.27

From gnulib/series:

• for-coreutils-8.27 → checkout 405cd675384221b541b460c43de26d159914fe0a

Patch folder:

• gnulib/for-coreutils-8.27/patches/ (2 patches)

Important: this SHA is the same submodule revision removed by coreutils/8.27/patches/0002-....

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2) How gild wiring works here

Gild behavior (from gild/bin/gild-checkout):

1. git checkout <checkout-id> -B <branch> in <component>/repo
2. create <branch>-base
3. apply all patches from ../<branch>/patches/*.patch via git am

Implications:

• The patch stack is applied against upstream git checkout IDs (tag/SHA), not against already patched trees.
• series third column URL is only used by gild get (archive download), not by gild checkout.

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3) Current build integration status (very important)

native-build/makefile is still pinned to:

• COREUTILS_VERSION=5.2.1
• COREUTILS_SRC_DIR=../coreutils/repo

The active native packaging flow still builds the checked out coreutils tree with host ppc-amigaos and clib2 flags.

Also, build-gcc.sh currently executes:

• gild/bin/gild checkout coreutils 5.2

and has 8.27 preparation commented out.

So operationally, 5.2 is still the default build path.

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4) 5.2 patch stack overview (coreutils/5.2/patches)

0001 (large base port)

0001-Changes-for-AmigaOS-imported-from-adtools-svn-with-modifications.patch

• Very large foundational AmigaOS port.
• Adds lib/amigaos.c and lib/amigaos.h.
• Touches configure, config.hin, many lib/* and src/* files.
• Introduces many #ifdef __amigaos4__ and __NEWLIB__/clib-specific code paths.

Notable behavior/themes:

• Path semantics adaptations (e.g. Amiga absolute path handling with :).
• Environment handling and startup/shutdown hooks in custom Amiga support code.
• User/group wrappers via usergroup.library where applicable.
• Build-system behavior relaxed for mounted-fs detection (warn instead of hard error).
• Various function-level compatibility workarounds in utilities.

0002

• Bison 3 compatibility fix in lib/getdate.y.

0003

• Makes stty non-functional on AmigaOS by compiling a stub main that prints “Not implemented!”.

0004

• Removes doc and man from top-level SUBDIRS (toolchain/doc generation simplification).

0005

• In src/copy.c, uses stat(path) instead of fstat(fd) for AmigaOS4 due to inode behavior mismatch.

0006

• Adds .gitignore for generated artifacts.

0007

• Forces HAVE_WORKING_READDIR=1 for __amigaos4__ && __NEWLIB__.

0008

• clib2/rlimit portability tweak in src/sort.c (e.g. RLIMIT_DATA mapping).

0009

• Replaces config/config.guess and config/config.sub with newer upstream versions (2023 refresh) to support modern hosts (e.g. aarch64 Linux build hosts).

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5) 8.27 patch stack overview (coreutils/8.27/patches)

0001 (main AmigaOS4 build patch)

0001-build-Changes-for-AmigaOS4-compile.patch

Large patch with these key characteristics:

• Adds Amiga installer scripts:
  • AutoInstall/AutoInstall
  • AutoInstall/SubScript
• Adds README.os4 with port history notes.
• Adjusts bootstrap flow to use local gnulib checkout:
  • bootstrap: sets use_git=false
  • GNULIB_SRCDIR=../../gnulib/repo
• Modifies bootstrap.conf gnulib module list (removes mkancesdirs, mkdir-p).
• Edits configure.ac and src/local.mk to reduce/alter optional program set and documentation/man generation flow.
• Many source-level Amiga/clib2 guards in utilities (cp, dd, fmt, install, kill, ls, od, ptx, stat, stdbuf, tee, etc.).

Most significant technical debt in this patch:

• src/sort.c and src/split.c are heavily replaced with much older code lineage (headers indicate 2004-era base), i.e. not a minimal forward-port.
• README.os4 explicitly states sort/split were replaced with old 5.2.1-9 code for porting reasons.

Also notable:

• README.os4 text mentions “coreutils 8.29 ported to AmigaOS4”, while this stack is under 8.27 and targets tag v8.27; this is historical context mismatch and should be treated as a warning sign when rebasing.

0002

0002-build-Remove-submodule-info.patch

• Removes .gitmodules submodule entry and gitlink for gnulib.
• This aligns with adtools using external gnulib/repo + patched gnulib branch rather than nested submodule handling.

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6) Gnulib patch stack for coreutils 8.27 (gnulib/for-coreutils-8.27/patches)

0001

• Changes m4/ls-mntd-fs.m4:
  • hard error → warning if mounted-fs detection fails
  • forces the success branch in AS_IF (explicit AmigaOS4 hack)

0002

• Removes -Wmissing-include-dirs from m4/manywarnings.m4 to avoid warning noise/build friction.

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7) Dependency relationship: coreutils 8.27 <-> gnulib stack

For the 8.27 flow, gnulib is not optional. The coreutils patch expects:

• a matching gnulib checkout at ../../gnulib/repo
• gnulib patches for for-coreutils-8.27

Practical checkout/bootstrap order (recommended):

1. gild/bin/gild checkout gnulib for-coreutils-8.27
2. gild/bin/gild checkout coreutils 8.27
3. cd coreutils/repo && ./bootstrap

(Equivalent to commented intent in build-gcc.sh, but with gnulib first to avoid bootstrap mismatch.)

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8) Why this matters for an upgrade now

If you want to move away from 5.2:

• The repo already contains an 8.27 attempt, but it is not a clean incremental port.
• It includes major historical substitutions (sort/split) and build-system surgery.
• It depends on a pinned gnulib revision + local gnulib patching.
• Native build scripts still default to 5.2.1, so build integration also needs updating.

In short:

• 5.2 stack = old but integrated and currently wired into build.
• 8.27 stack = partially modernized but carries substantial technical debt and cross-component coupling.

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9) Suggested upgrade strategy (context guidance)

For a reliable upgrade path (e.g. newer than 8.27), use this sequence:

1. Keep existing stacks untouched as reference baselines.
2. Start from a clean upstream coreutils tag + matching gnulib baseline.
3. Re-apply only essential AmigaOS deltas first (path handling, environment/runtime, filesystem/mountlist behavior).
4. Avoid large source downgrades (especially sort/split) unless absolutely required.
5. Move optional utility disablement behind configure checks instead of invasive source replacement where possible.
6. Update native-build/makefile only after a validated patched branch exists.
7. Document runtime matrix explicitly (clib2/clib4/newlib support expectations).

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10) Quick reference

• Coreutils series: coreutils/series
• Coreutils patches:
  • coreutils/5.2/patches/
  • coreutils/8.27/patches/
• Gnulib series: gnulib/series
• Gnulib patches:
  • gnulib/for-coreutils-8.27/patches/
• Build integration currently using 5.2:
  • native-build/makefile
  • build-gcc.sh