[Reproducible-builds] Bug#788536: icont embeds some entropy in produced files -- please provide a reproducible mode

[Daniel Kahn Gillmor]

Package: icon
Version: 9.4.3-4.2
X-Debbugs-Cc: reproducible-builds at lists.alioth.debian.org
User: reproducible-builds at lists.alioth.debian.org
Usertags: toolchain
Severity: wishlist
Control: affects -1 noweb 

I'm working on the reproducible-builds project [0]

the noweb package uses icont to create several executables in /usr/bin
and /usr/lib/noweb.

Those executables appear to have some variance depending on the build
environment.  The differences show up consistently between octets 0x130
and 0x230.  You can see them here:

  https://reproducible.debian.net/dbd/unstable/amd64/noweb_2.11b-9.debbindiff.html

I'm not sure what the variance comes from (timestamps? something else?),
but these file are generated with icont from files in src/icon/

You can see the build log here:

  https://reproducible.debian.net/rbuild/unstable/amd64/noweb_2.11b-9.rbuild.log

does icon have a deterministic mode that can be used for noweb?

    --dkg

[0] https://wiki.debian.org/ReproducibleBuilds