GNU bloat

2006-03-08 15:11:00 -08:00

gcal: The Gregorian calendar program (GNU cal) 3.01

I installed gcal to test my ISO 8601 parser. I have some differences with it.

First, if you type gcal --help, you get this:

gcal: The Gregorian calendar program (GNU cal) 3.01

Copyright (c) 1994, 95, 96, 1997, 2000 Thomas Esken

Usage:  gcal [[OPTION...] [%DATE] [@FILE...]] [COMMAND]

Usage:  gcal [-|/{[?|h|??|hh|L|V]|{CDFIPHKNORSXbcfijnpqrsuv}}] [[MM] [YYYY]]

  -h,  --help          Display this help text and quit program
  -hh, --usage[=ARG]   Display extended help text and quit program
  -L,  --license       Display software license and quit program
  -V,  --version       Display version information and quit program
  -p,  --pager         Direct output through external `less' pager

Use `gcal --usage[=ARG]|[=?] --pager' for more information.

Email bug reports to 
or (if this fails) to .

So the –help option returns no actual help. Seeing this, I tried -hh. Here are SOME of the options it prints out.

–exit-status-help-non-zero
Set EXIT status of program to 127 on `–help’ etc.
-R ARG

–response-file=ARG

Create response file for the `@FILE‘ option

ARG = Store arguments of command line in file ARG

-S ARG

–shell-script=ARG

Create shell script which contains the arguments of command line

ARG = File name of the shell script

–export-date-variables
Export local date variables from file to file
–export-text-variables
Export local text variables from file to file
-u

–suppress-calendar

Suppress output of calendar sheet explicitly
-p

–pager

Direct output through simple internal pager
–mail[=ARG]
Send output via `mail’ program to user

[ARG] = Email address, otherwise eMail is send to user `boredzo’

–adjust-value=ARG
Set reference value for rise/set time respectively shadow length

ARG = Angular value respectively factor in range: -90.0…+90.0

–atmosphere=ARG
Set base data of Earth’s atmosphere

ARG = Air pressure and temperature separated by `,’ character

Air pressure in Millibar (actual: 1013.250)

Air temperature in degrees Celsius (actual: +15.000)

–limit
Limit rise/set times of Sun to the day
–precise
Represent astronomical times and data with utmost precision
–execute-command
Execute `%![ARG]’ shell commands and “TVAR[?|\:]COMMAND” assigments

finally, at the very end:

------------------------oOO      \\\_''/      OOo---------------------------
Thomas Esken               O     (/o-o\)     O  eMail: deleted
Im Hagenfeld 84                 ((  ^  ))       Phone: +49 deleted
D-48147 Muenster; Germany    \____) ~ (____/    MotD : 2old2live, 2young2die

So:

  1. Why does this program reproduce functions (e.g. pipe to mail) already provided by the shell?
  2. Why does it need to know about the atmosphere? (UPDATE 2006-12-06: Thomas Ptacek says that it is to compute sunrise times.)
  3. WHY does it have such an awful email signature in there?

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2 Responses to “GNU bloat”

  1. Colin Barrett Says:

    Looks like GNU Cal is 2bad2use.

  2. Douglas M. Gross Says:

    GNU Cal is only impressive in the incredible CWH®† that the developer(s?) has spent on it.

    † Countless Wasted Hours®

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