Bug#827197: gnuplot: please make the build reproducible (timestamps, username, environment)

[Alexis Bienvenüe]

Source: gnuplot
Version: 5.0.3+dfsg3-5
Severity: wishlist
Tags: upstream
User: reproducible-builds at lists.alioth.debian.org
Usertags: timestamps username environment
X-Debbugs-Cc: reproducible-builds at lists.alioth.debian.org
Control: block -1 by 827187

Dear Maintainer,

While working on the "reproducible builds" effort [1], we have noticed
that gnuplot has following reproducibility issues :

* gnuplot embeds timestamps in its ps output. When the SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH
environment variable [2] is set, it can be used to make the output
reproducible. See 13_honour_SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH.patch

* gnuplot embeds the username in its ps output. I think the unix
username is not usefull in this output, and can be stripped. See
14_strip_username_from_output.patch - maybe it is possible to strip it
only if SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH is set if this username is considered to be
relevant here.

* The SHELL used when building gnuplot is recorded in the Makefiles
included in gnuplot-doc. I think /bin/sh can always be used instead. See
changes with override_dh_auto_configure

Once these patches are applied, and once https://bugs.debian.org/827187
is fixed, gnuplot can be built reproducibly in our current experimental
framework.

Regards,
Alexis Bienvenüe.

[1] https://wiki.debian.org/ReproducibleBuilds
[2] https://reproducible-builds.org/specs/source-date-epoch/


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