Re: [PATCH] compat: add a getpass() compatibility function

Erik Faye-Lund [off-list ref] writes:

Do we really need two implementations? Wouldn't it be better to factor
out the mingw-version to a separate source file, and then improve it?

Thanks for reminding.

Windows doesn't have /dev/tty, but the logic in this version handles
that by using stdin/stderr instead. The signal-stuff has a comment
that indicates it might not even be correct. tcgetattr/tcsetattr isn't
supported on Windows, but it's not needed if we use getch (as the
version in compat/mingw.c does). POSIX/curses getch respects the
echo-setting, while Windows getch never echo.

I forgot to check how generic/reusable mingw version would look. As you
said, it does feel a lot more attractive approach if it is trivial to add
the "noecho" bit to it, tweak the tty-ness and deal with signals.

I however suspect the result would end up on the borderline to be called
"trivial", rough guestimate being 3-4 times as large as the 14-line mingw
version. But it certainly feels that it is worth a try.