This takes place on automake's "maint" branch: commit 9c4ad6973eedb074a9381e14a6c1eeeb285c2465
It looks like when patch application fails, patch renames the target to the backup name, FILE.~1~, but doesn't move it back, appearing to remove the target: $ wc t/gettext-macros* 105 567 3802 t/gettext-macros.sh ... $ patch -p1 < k patching file t/gettext-macros.sh Hunk #1 FAILED at 80. 1 out of 1 hunk FAILED -- saving rejects to file t/gettext-macros.sh.rej [Exit 1] Notice how now, the patched file is missing and the backup file has the same size: $ wc t/gettext-macros* 11 42 370 t/gettext-macros.sh.rej 105 567 3802 t/gettext-macros.sh.~1~ ... Here is the contents of the file, "k": -------------------- >From 73cc55ac3a3102ec02df88823ebb0ff650b25de7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Jim Meyering <meyer...@redhat.com> Date: Wed, 12 Sep 2012 17:31:24 +0200 Subject: [PATCH] fix typos in mk-dirp.m4: s/AM_MKDIR_P/AM_PROG_MKDIR_P/ * t/gettext-macros.sh: Fix typo in name of macro emitted into mk-dirp.m4: s/AM_MKDIR_P/AM_PROG_MKDIR_P/, and as Stefano Lattarini noted, also fix this typo: s/AC_MKDIR_P/AC_PROG_MKDIR_P/. --- t/gettext-macros.sh | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/t/gettext-macros.sh b/t/gettext-macros.sh index 1d94dad..cbc5565 100755 --- a/t/gettext-macros.sh +++ b/t/gettext-macros.sh @@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ echo "export ACLOCAL_PATH" >> get.sh # Even recent versions of gettext used the now-obsolete 'AM_PROG_MKDIR_P' # m4 macro. So we need the following to avoid spurious errors. -echo 'AC_DEFUN([AM_MKDIR_P], [AC_MKDIR_P([$@])])' >> m4/mk-dirp.m4 +echo 'AC_DEFUN([AM_PROG_MKDIR_P], [AC_PROG_MKDIR_P([$@])])' >> m4/mk-dirp.m4 . ./get.sh -- 1.7.12.363.g53284de --------------------