Gobble empty strings passed as arguments to python scripts.

Gobble empty strings passed as arguments to python scripts.

This is needed on windows in combination with the fix to issue 1455. Either we go this way, or we revert the fix to issue 1455.

Should also be considered a candidate for the 2.16 stable branch.

[janek, 2012-11-05 10:58:37]

I think it would be helpful to not-so-advanced English speakers if a word more
ordinary than "gobble" was used.

Janek

[dak, 2012-11-05 11:13:44]

On 2012/11/05 10:58:37, janek wrote:
> I think it would be helpful to not-so-advanced English speakers if a word more
> ordinary than "gobble" was used.

I am not sure of that.  "gobble" is actually pretty established in programmer
jargon:

From The Jargon File (version 4.4.7, 29 Dec 2003) [jargon]:

  gobble
   vt.
  
      1. To consume, usu.: used with ?up?. ?The output spy gobbles characters
out
      of a {tty} output buffer.?
  
      2. To obtain, usu.: used with ?down?. ?I guess I'll gobble down a copy of
      the documentation tomorrow.? See also {snarf}.
  

From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (26 July 2010) [foldoc]:

  gobble
  
     <jargon>
  
     1. To consume, usually used with "up".  "The output spy
     gobbles characters out of a {tty} output buffer."
  
     2. To obtain, usually used with "down".  "I guess I'll gobble
     down a copy of the documentation tomorrow."
  
     See also {snarf}.
  
     [{Jargon File}]
  
     (2010-01-19)

It has a rather well-established meaning.  The referenced "snarf" is even less
common in normal English usage, but is quite common for programmers (the
difference of snarfing to gobbling is that snarfed components are typically used
elsewhere while gobbled material is usually discarded).

So since the main audience of commit messages is supposed to be programmers, I
don't really think that the message will be improved by reverting to
non-standard terms better rooted in the Queen's English.