> return 1 to the caller to indicate we did make an update. This (both in awk an... | Hacker News

Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

teo_zero on Sept 11, 2023 | parent | context | favorite | on: The Awk book’s 60-line version of Make

> return 1 to the caller to indicate we did make an update.

This (both in awk and python code) seems useless, as the return value from update() is not used anyhere. Am I missing something obvious?

benhoyt on Sept 11, 2023 [–]

Yeah, it's used in the top-level update() call in the BEGIN block:

  if (update(ARGV[1]) == 0)
      print ARGV[1] " is up to date"

teo_zero on Sept 11, 2023 | [–]

Right, I missed that one, probably considered it a cosmetic feature!

Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4
Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact