"tail" is different under Solaris

[guest]

Every new shell-hack bears the risk of failing under solaris:

perl gen_flags.xsl.pl "ghc ghci" "/usr/local/lib/ghc-6.8.0.20071025" > flags.xsl
rm -f flags.xml
head -n 1 ../users_guide/flags.xml >> flags.xml
echo "<!DOCTYPE sect1 [<!ENTITY ndash  \"-\"> \
                       <!ENTITY ldquo  \"\`\"> \
                       <!ENTITY rdquo  \"'\">]>" >> flags.xml
tail -n +2 ../users_guide/flags.xml >> flags.xml
usage: tail [+/-[n][lbc][f]] [file]
       tail [+/-[n][l][r|f]] [file]
gmake[2]: *** [flags.xml] Error 2
gmake[2]: *** Deleting file `flags.xml'
Failed making all in man: 1
gmake[1]: *** [all] Error 1
gmake: *** [stage1] Error 1

[guest]

simply:.

tail +2 ../users_guide/flags.xml >> flags.xml

in docs/man/Makefile works under Solaris, Linux and MacOS for me (Christian). "tail +2" yields all lines but the first one.

(Also "head -1" works everywhere, but no need to change that)

[igloo]

Ho humm.

$ echo | tail +2
tail: Warning: "+number" syntax is deprecated, please use "-n +number"
$ tail --version
tail (GNU coreutils) 5.97
Copyright (C) 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software.  You may redistribute copies of it under the terms of
the GNU General Public License <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

Written by Paul Rubin, David MacKenzie, Ian Lance Taylor, and Jim Meyering.
$

POSIX/SUS specifies it with -n:  http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/009695399/utilities/tail.html

I'll change it to $(SED) 1d. Hopefully that'll work everywhere.

[igloo]

Fixed in 6.8; needs merging to the HEAD.

Tue Oct 30 17:12:18 PDT 2007  Ian Lynagh <igloo@earth.li>
  * Replace "tail -n +2" with "sed 1d", as Solaris doesn't understand the former

    M ./docs/man/Makefile -1 +2

[igloo]

Merged