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(diff.info.gz) Patching Time Stamps

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 Updating Time Stamps on Patched Files
 =====================================
 
    When `patch' updates a file, it normally sets the file's
 last-modified time stamp to the current time of day.  If you are using
 `patch' to track a software distribution, this can cause `make' to
 incorrectly conclude that a patched file is out of date.  For example,
 if `syntax.c' depends on `syntax.y', and `patch' updates `syntax.c' and
 then `syntax.y', then `syntax.c' will normally appear to be out of date
 with respect to `syntax.y' even though its contents are actually up to
 date.
 
    The `-Z' or `--set-utc' option causes `patch' to set a patched
 file's modification and access times to the time stamps given in
 context diff headers.  If the context diff headers do not specify a
 time zone, they are assumed to use Coordinated Universal Time (UTC,
 often known as GMT).
 
    The `-T' or `--set-time' option acts like `-Z' or `--set-utc',
 except that it assumes that the context diff headers' time stamps use
 local time instead of UTC.  This option is not recommended, because
 patches using local time cannot easily be used by people in other time
 zones, and because local time stamps are ambiguous when local clocks
 move backwards during daylight-saving time adjustments.  If the context
 diff headers specify a time zone, this option is equivalent to `-Z' or
 `--set-utc'.
 
    `patch' normally refrains from setting a file's time stamps if the
 file's original last-modified time stamp does not match the time given
 in the diff header, of if the file's contents do not exactly match the
 patch.  However, if the `-f' or `--force' option is given, the file's
 time stamps are set regardless.
 
    Due to the limitations of the current `diff' format, `patch' cannot
 update the times of files whose contents have not changed.  Also, if
 you set file time stamps to values other than the current time of day,
 you should also remove (e.g., with `make clean') all files that depend
 on the patched files, so that later invocations of `make' do not get
 confused by the patched files' times.
 
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