ls: allow stat-free use of --color

Even on a system with d_type support, the default use of --color
makes ls stat every file in order to be able to honor settings like
EXEC, STICKY, ORPHAN, SETUID, etc., because those settings require
information that is not provided by dirent.d_type.  However, if
for a potentially large performance gain, you are willing to disable
those settings, you can now make ls --color give type-related coloring
and perform no stat calls at all (other than the unavoidable call-per-
command-line argument).  Before this change, even with all of those
attributes disabled, ls --color would still stat every directory.
Now, we're down to the minimum of one stat call per command-line arg.
* src/ls.c (gobble_file): With --color, don't stat a
non-command-line-specified directory when no directory-coloring
attribute is enabled.
* tests/init.cfg (require_dirent_d_type_): New function.
* tests/d_type-check: New script, mostly from Pádraig Brady.
* tests/Makefile.am (EXTRA_DIST): Add it.
* tests/ls/stat-free-color: New test.
* tests/Makefile.am (TESTS): Add it.
* doc/coreutils.texi (General output formatting): Describe how
to use dircolors to make ls --color refrain from calling stat
on a d_type-enabled file system.
Prompted by a query from Josef Bacik.

1 files changed, 54 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/tests/ls/stat-free-color b/tests/ls/stat-free-color
new file mode 100755
index 000000000..d11c6f49c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/ls/stat-free-color
@@ -0,0 +1,54 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+# Show that --color need not use stat, as long as we have d_type support.
+
+# Copyright (C) 2011 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+
+# This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+. "${srcdir=.}/init.sh"; path_prepend_ ../src
+print_ver_ ls
+require_strace_ stat
+require_dirent_d_type_
+
+ln -s nowhere dangle || framework_failure_
+
+# Disable enough features via LS_COLORS so that ls --color
+# can do its job without calling stat (other than the obligatory
+# one-call-per-command-line argument).
+cat <<EOF > color-without-stat || framework_failure_
+RESET 0
+DIR 01;34
+LINK 01;36
+FIFO 40;33
+SOCK 01;35
+DOOR 01;35
+BLK 40;33;01
+CHR 40;33;01
+ORPHAN 00
+SETUID 00
+SETGID 00
+CAPABILITY 00
+STICKY_OTHER_WRITABLE 00
+OTHER_WRITABLE 00
+STICKY 00
+EXEC 00
+MULTIHARDLINK 00
+EOF
+eval $(dircolors -b color-without-stat)
+
+strace -o log -e stat,lstat ls --color=always . || fail=1
+n_lines=$(wc -l < log)
+test $n_lines = 1 || fail=1
+
+Exit $fail