dead code in build.sh?

[Trevor Woerner]

Hi everyone,

For each module/component (m/c) that is processed, the modular build
script (build.sh) looks for an "autogen.sh" script in the m/c's root
directory. If it can't find that file and the user has specified the
"--clone" option, the m/c is cloned and the autogen.sh script is
assumed to exist after cloning. Otherwise checkfortars() is called and
the configuration is assumed to occur via a "configure" script.

I have tried a couple ways to get the checkfortars() function to
trigger but can't seem to find the path that goes through that branch
of the script. A cursory glace at the function seems to indicate that
for a number of m/c combinations either a bz2 or gz tarball is
expected which needs to be unpacked before the build can proceed.

The build wiki page on the fd.o site talks about building from
tarballs but suggests using the "build-from-tarballs.sh" script
instead of the "build.sh" script. Is the checkfortars() function code
that is being used in some way, or is it a left-over from something
else?

Best regards,
    Trevor

PS: I wasn't sure if it was preferred to ask such a question with or
without an associated patch.