Re: tangle option to not write a file with same contents?

[Greg Minshall <minshall@umich.edu>]

Max,

> > i wonder if it would be reasonable to add an option such that, when
> > tangling, `org-babel-tangle` would not write a file with the
> > already-existing contents of the target file?
> 
> Are you going to celebrate a decade of the feature request?
> I agree with you, make is wide spread and fast tool that is really
> convenient in simple cases.

hah -- i should have waited a few weeks!

> Some hash-based build systems are mentioned in that thread. Since that
> time more more similar tools have appeared, e.g. buck,
> reimplementations of DJB's redo https://cr.yp.to/redo.html

i think different people will settle on different build tools.

> It seems `compare-buffer-substrings` has more logic than just byte to
> byte comparison. Is it to handle alternatives for unicode character
> alternatives? For tangled buffer it should be size that is checked
> first...

you are right, it definitely makes sense to look first at size.  (which
is what, e.g., rsync(1) does.)  also, probably i needn't have mentioned
`compare-buffer-substrings` -- i was really just trying to suggest
"simple" (which maybe i anti-did?).

cheers, Greg