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From: Jonathan Wakely <jwakely.gcc@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 21 Mar 2022 10:21:45 +0000
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Subject: Re: passing command-line arguments, still
To: "gcc@gcc.gnu.org" <gcc@gcc.gnu.org>
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On Sat, 19 Mar 2022 at 17:10, James K. Lowden wrote:
> > > 3.  The "f" stands for "flag", meaning on/off.
> >
> > It does stand for "flag", and it looks like at some point in ancient
> > history if was on/off, but then came options like -falign-loops=N.
>
> IME, someone made a mistake in the past, and that mistake is now
> becoming mistaken for a standard.  I don't mind living with some cruft
> -- it's not as though gcc is unique in that regard -- but at the same
> time I see no reason to vernerate it or perpetuate it.
>
> In plain words, if we recognize that -f indicates an on/off switch,
> let's use it that way, deprecate those that don't, and not add new -f
> options that take arguments.

Why should the historical convention that hasn't been true for years
win over the current one that is in wide usage?

Trying to revert to some idealised point in history will just cause
pain and break things now. It's better to just accept that the
original meaning mutated and "on/off flag" is no longer true.