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Re: [PATCH 1/4] t4xxx: don't use iconv(1) without ICONV prereq

From
Junio C Hamano <gitster@pobox.com>
Date
Feb 9, 2026, 17:55 UTC
Message-ID
<xmqq4inp6bup.fsf@gitster.g>
In-Reply-To
<20260209-b4-pks-ci-msvc-iconv-fixes-v1-1-1e3167cd8828@pks.im>
Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im> writes:
Show 28 quoted lines
> We've got a couple of tests that all use the iconv(1) executable to
> convert the encoding of a commit message. All of these tests are
> prepared to handle a missing ICONV prereq, in which case they will
> simply use UTF-8 encoding.
>
> But even if the ICONV prerequisite has failed we try to use the iconv(1)
> executable. But it's not a safe to assume that the executable exists in
> that case. And besides that, it's also unnecessary to use iconv(1) in
> the first place, as we would only use it to convert from UTF-8 to UTF-8,
> which should be equivalent to a no-op.
>
> Fix the issue and skip the call to iconv(1) in case the prerequisite is
> not set. This makes tests work on systems that don't have iconv at all.
>
> Note that arguably, it's even unsafe to assume that the iconv(1)
> executable exists only because Git has been built with support for it.
> A more wholistic approach would thus be to split up the ICONV prereq
> into two prereqs: one that tells us whether Git has been built with
> ICONV support, and one that tells us whether the iconv(1) executable
> exists. But that would lead to a bunch of changes throughout our tests,
> and for arguably negligible benefit.
>
> Signed-off-by: Patrick Steinhardt <ps@pks.im>
> ---
>  t/t4041-diff-submodule-option.sh             | 8 ++++++--
>  t/t4059-diff-submodule-not-initialized.sh    | 8 ++++++--
>  t/t4060-diff-submodule-option-diff-format.sh | 8 ++++++--
>  3 files changed, 18 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
The repetition across three files look a bit disturbing X-<.
Show 16 quoted lines
> diff --git a/t/t4041-diff-submodule-option.sh b/t/t4041-diff-submodule-option.sh
> index 4d4aa1650f..4dd4954260 100755
> --- a/t/t4041-diff-submodule-option.sh
> +++ b/t/t4041-diff-submodule-option.sh
> @@ -37,8 +37,12 @@ add_file () {
>  			test_tick &&
>  			# "git commit -m" would break MinGW, as Windows refuse to pass
>  			# $test_encoding encoded parameter to git.
> -			echo "Add $name ($added $name)" | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding |
> -			git -c "i18n.commitEncoding=$test_encoding" commit -F -
> +			message="Add $name ($added $name)" &&
> +			if test_have_prereq ICONV
> +			then
> +				message=$(echo "$message" | iconv -f utf-8 -t $test_encoding)
> +			fi &&
> +			echo "$message" | git -c "i18n.commitEncoding=$test_encoding" commit -F -

This was a bit unexpected. Do we give any guarantee to builds that lack iconv support that "git -c i18n.commitEncoding=... commit" will pass the payload verbatim? I would have expected ICONV prerequisite is used on the whole test_expect_success to exclude the tests that are affected, not at such a low level.

Previous: Patrick SteinhardtNext: Torsten Bögershausen
Message 6 of 38 in “Fix tests with missing iconv(1) executable”
  1. 0/4 Fix tests with missing iconv(1) executablePatrick Steinhardt, Feb 9, 2026
  2. 1/4 t4xxx: don't use iconv(1) without ICONV prereqPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 9, 2026
  3. 2/4 t4205: improve handling of ICONV prerequisitePatrick Steinhardt, Feb 9, 2026
  4. 3/4 t5550: add ICONV prereq to tests that use "$HTTPD_URL/error"Patrick Steinhardt, Feb 9, 2026
  5. 4/4 t6006: don't use iconv(1) without ICONV prereqPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 9, 2026
  6. Junio C HamanoFeb 9, 2026
  7. Torsten BögershausenFeb 10, 2026
  8. Patrick SteinhardtFeb 10, 2026
  9. Junio C HamanoFeb 10, 2026
  10. Christian CouderFeb 16, 2026
  11. Christian CouderFeb 16, 2026
  12. Patrick SteinhardtFeb 17, 2026
  13. Patrick SteinhardtFeb 17, 2026
  14. 0/4 Fix tests with missing iconv(1) executablePatrick Steinhardt, Feb 17, 2026
  15. 1/4 t4xxx: don't use iconv(1) without ICONV prereqPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 17, 2026
  16. 2/4 t4205: improve handling of ICONV prerequisitePatrick Steinhardt, Feb 17, 2026
  17. 3/4 t5550: add ICONV prereq to tests that use "$HTTPD_URL/error"Patrick Steinhardt, Feb 17, 2026
  18. 4/4 t6006: don't use iconv(1) without ICONV prereqPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 17, 2026
  19. Christian CouderFeb 17, 2026
  20. Patrick SteinhardtFeb 17, 2026
  21. 0/5 Fix tests with missing iconv(1) executablePatrick Steinhardt, Feb 18, 2026
  22. 1/5 t: don't set ICONV prereq when iconv(1) is missingPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 18, 2026
  23. 2/5 t40xx: don't use iconv(1) without ICONV prereqPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 18, 2026
  24. 3/5 t4205: improve handling of ICONV prerequisitePatrick Steinhardt, Feb 18, 2026
  25. 4/5 t5550: add ICONV prereq to tests that use "$HTTPD_URL/error"Patrick Steinhardt, Feb 18, 2026
  26. 5/5 t6006: don't use iconv(1) without ICONV prereqPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 18, 2026
  27. Christian CouderFeb 18, 2026
  28. Patrick SteinhardtFeb 18, 2026
  29. Junio C HamanoFeb 18, 2026
  30. Eric SunshineFeb 19, 2026
  31. Patrick SteinhardtFeb 20, 2026
  32. 0/5 Fix tests with missing iconv(1) executablePatrick Steinhardt, Feb 20, 2026
  33. 1/5 t: don't set ICONV prereq when iconv(1) is missingPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 20, 2026
  34. 2/5 t40xx: don't use iconv(1) without ICONV prereqPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 20, 2026
  35. 3/5 t4205: improve handling of ICONV prerequisitePatrick Steinhardt, Feb 20, 2026
  36. 4/5 t5550: add ICONV prereq to tests that use "$HTTPD_URL/error"Patrick Steinhardt, Feb 20, 2026
  37. 5/5 t6006: don't use iconv(1) without ICONV prereqPatrick Steinhardt, Feb 20, 2026
  38. Junio C HamanoFeb 20, 2026

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