[Reportbug-maint] Bug#579891: reportbug: configuration script fails to store realname with double-quotes correctly

[Paul TBBle Hampson]

Package: reportbug
Version: 4.12.1
Severity: wishlist

I rane the configuration script (reportbug --configure) and when prompted
for my realname, entered:
Paul "TBBle" Hampson

This was stored in the config file as

realname "Paul "TBBle" Hampson"

Which meant that the bugreport went out as

"Paul <Paul.Hampson at Pobox.com>"

I tried putting \ in front of the embedded double-quotes in the configuration
file, but that then tried to send as

"Paul \ <Paul.Hampson at Pobox.com>"

Third time was the charm, converting the delimiting double-quotes into
single-quotes worked.

It'd be nice if the code that wrote out the config file flipped its quote
marks for the string if it detected double quotes and no single quotes
in the setting being written. If both are present, my best quess is to
use whichever of triple-single or triple-double quotes the string doesn't
contain or end with.

It's yucky, and mainly uninteresting, I realise. I'm not aware of any
useful stringification function built into Python, sadly.

This is wishlist because I suspect I'm the only person on the Internet who does
this, and it was fixable in the configuration file. And because I should have
noticed the error at program startup, rather than after I sent the bug. >_<

I now know about it, so don't consider it in any way a blocker for me
personally.

-- Package-specific info:
** Environment settings:
DEBEMAIL="paulh at microforte.com"
INTERFACE="text"

** /home/tbble/.reportbugrc:
reportbug_version "4.12.1"
mode standard
ui text
realname 'Paul "TBBle" Hampson'
email "Paul.Hampson at Pobox.com"
smtphost "smtp.gmail.com:587"
smtpuser "MyGmailUsername at gmail.com"
smtptls

-- System Information:
Debian Release: squeeze/sid
  APT prefers unstable
  APT policy: (990, 'unstable'), (1, 'experimental')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)

Kernel: Linux 2.6.32-3-amd64 (SMP w/2 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=en_AU.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_AU.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash

Versions of packages reportbug depends on:
ii  apt                           0.7.25.3   Advanced front-end for dpkg
ii  python                        2.5.4-9    An interactive high-level object-o
ii  python-reportbug              4.12.1     Python modules for interacting wit

reportbug recommends no packages.

Versions of packages reportbug suggests:
ii  debconf-utils        1.5.32              debconf utilities
ii  debsums              2.0.48              tool for verification of installed
pn  dlocate              <none>              (no description available)
pn  emacs22-bin-common | <none>              (no description available)
ii  file                 5.04-2              Determines file type using "magic"
ii  gnupg                1.4.10-3            GNU privacy guard - a free PGP rep
ii  python-gtk2          2.17.0-2            Python bindings for the GTK+ widge
pn  python-gtkspell      <none>              (no description available)
pn  python-urwid         <none>              (no description available)
pn  python-vte           <none>              (no description available)
ii  ssmtp [mail-transpor 2.64-4              extremely simple MTA to get mail o
ii  xdg-utils            1.0.2+cvs20100307-1 desktop integration utilities from

-- no debconf information