404368 - xulrunner application.ini --version outputs: "(null)" if copyright field is not defined

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(Toolkit Graveyard :: XULRunner, defect)

Description

[arno renevier]

Attachment: example of application.ini that triggers that behaviour.

when running xulrunner application.ini --version for an application whose copyright field is not defined outputs (for example):

arno myapp 0.1, (null)

As copyright field is not required (according mozilla/xulrunner/examples/simple/application.ini), it would more aesthetic to simply output:

arno myapp 0.1

if copyright field is not defined.

Comment 1

[arno renevier]

Attachment: don't write nsnull if copyright is not defined

Comment 2

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

Seems like much ado about nothing. If anything, why not just send out an empty (or static) string?

gAppData->vendor ? gAppData->vendor : "", gAppData->name, gAppData->version, gAppData->copyright ? gAppData->copyright : "(no copyright)");

Is it worth any extra code to add this?

Comment 3

[Justin Wood (:Callek)]

while I agree with mark in theory, and with the disclaimer that I am not a lawyer, and if someone who is (or is simply more versed in law wants to correct me in this case, where I may be wrong; please do so).

But omitting a copyright message (as it could be included in application.ini) and stating "(no copyright)" are two _entirely_ different things.

Copyright is intrinsic in most jurisdictions; if you write a line of a program; and don't grant your copyright out under some license (which can include full forfeiture of your copyright) then you inherently are the copyright owner; though it might not be attributed everywhere possible (or practical).

Basically stating "(no copyright)" by default when an optional tag is omitted, imho entails a false sense of "you can do anything you want, under the sun, with this code" which may not be true.

p.s. do see again my disclaimer above

Comment 4

[Mark Finkle (:mfinkle) (use needinfo?)]

(In reply to comment #3)
> 
> But omitting a copyright message (as it could be included in application.ini)
> and stating "(no copyright)" are two _entirely_ different things.
> 

I am ok with a blank string too.

gAppData->vendor ? gAppData->vendor : "", gAppData->name, gAppData->version,
gAppData->copyright ? gAppData->copyright : "");

Comment 5

[Benjamin Smedberg]

Comment on attachment 289357 [details] [diff] [review]
don't write nsnull if copyright is not defined

>Index: nsAppRunner.cpp

I'd prefer either separate statements like so:

printf("%s %s %s", vendor, name, version);

if (gAppData->copyright)
  printf(", %s", copyright);

printf("\n");

or use trigraphs:

printf("%s %s %s%s%s\n", vendor, name, version,
                         copyright ? ", " : "",
                         copyright ? copyright : "");

Comment 6

[arno renevier]

Attachment: using separate statements

Comment 7

[Reed Loden [:reed]]

Checking in toolkit/xre/nsAppRunner.cpp;
/cvsroot/mozilla/toolkit/xre/nsAppRunner.cpp,v  <--  nsAppRunner.cpp
new revision: 1.199; previous revision: 1.198
done