since we removed the deprecated matches() now and thus not alot of warnings are currently seen, let's strive to fixup these:
- warn a little bit about unused results

- remove matches() from networking/. Untested.
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
   1705       0       0    1705     6a9 networking/libiproute/utils.o.orig
   1676       0       0    1676     68c networking/libiproute/utils.o
    766       0       0     766     2fe networking/libiproute/rtm_map.o.orig
    670       0       0     670     29e networking/libiproute/rtm_map.o
   4942       0       0    4942    134e networking/libiproute/iptunnel.o.orig
   4687       0       0    4687    124f networking/libiproute/iptunnel.o

slattach: code shrink (Bernhard Fischer <rep.dot.nop@gmail.com>)

remove extra ')'

slattach: new applet.

- move iprule and ipaddress from matches() to index_in_str_array
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
   2544       0       0    2544     9f0 networking/libiproute/iprule.o.oorig
   2356       0       0    2356     934 networking/libiproute/iprule.o
   6481       0       0    6481    1951 networking/libiproute/ipaddress.o.oorig
   6464       0       0    6464    1940 networking/libiproute/ipaddress.o

do not do utime() on links, it acts on link targets, and we don't want that.
rename link_name to link_target, less confusing this way.

- remove another user of the deprecated matches() func by moving it to use index_in_str_array. Untested.
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
    445       0       4     449     1c1 ip_parse_common_args.o.oorig
    391       0       4     395     18b ip_parse_common_args.o

- do not hardcode HOSTCFLAGS to gcc specific flags. Fixes errors when not using gcc as HOSTCC

- strndupa is a GNU extension. Using strdup to avoid several errors like:
  util-linux/mdev.c:(.text+0x29a): undefined reference to `strndupa'

echo: fix yet another buglet in non-fancy echo

ping: fix incorrect handling of -I (Iouri Kharon <bc-info@styx.cabel.net>)

find: -context support for SELinux (KaiGai Kohei <kaigai@kaigai.gr.jp>)
find: make it a bit smaller

function                                             old     new   delta
.rodata                                           129018  129050     +32
parse_params                                        1509    1346    -163
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 0/0 grow/shrink: 1/1 up/down: 32/-163)          Total: -131 bytes

pscan: size optimization (Tito <farmatito@tiscali.it>)

punt %.bflt target in favor of proper LDFLAGS=-Wl,-elf2flt handling

top,ps: 'stringify' tty only when needed. -60 bytes.

top: speedup if tty info is not requested

top,ps: reduce CPU usage in decimal conversion (optional)

   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 734651    3040   14416  752107   b79eb busybox_old
 734751    3040   14416  752207   b7a4f busybox_unstripped

ll_map: disable interface name caching code

function                                             old     new   delta
find_by_index                                          -      26     +26
static.icache                                          4       -      -4
ll_idx_n2a                                            71      59     -12
static.ncache                                         16       -     -16
ll_index_to_flags                                     40      24     -16
xll_name_to_index                                    206     104    -102
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 1/2 grow/shrink: 0/3 up/down: 26/-150)          Total: -124 bytes

   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 734703    3040   14440  752183   b7a37 busybox_old
 734599    3040   14416  752055   b79b7 busybox_unstripped

defconfig: update

make /etc/network parsing configurable. -200 bytes when off.

networking/interface.c: huke remaining big statics; use malloc for INET[6]_rresolve
return value. Went thru callers and adjusted them - code got smaller too.

function                                             old     new   delta
ip_port_str                                            -     126    +126
INET6_rresolve                                       165     182     +17
static.cache                                          20      24      +4
route_main                                          2092    2091      -1
INET_sprint                                           61      59      -2
INET_nn                                                4       -      -4
INET6_sprint                                          59      53      -6
udp_do_one                                           518     508     -10
tcp_do_one                                           433     423     -10
raw_do_one                                           494     484     -10
traceroute_main                                     4117    4105     -12
INET_rresolve                                        334     321     -13
bb_displayroutes                                     494     456     -38
snprint_ip_port                                      244       -    -244
static.buff                                          264      16    -248
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 1/2 grow/shrink: 2/10 up/down: 147/-598)        Total: -451 bytes

size busybox_old busybox_unstripped
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 751073    3048   14688  768809   bbb29 busybox_old
 750873    3048   14440  768361   bb969 busybox_unstripped

networking/interface.c: reduce bss usage

function                                             old     new   delta
.rodata                                           158918  158950     +32
display_interfaces                                   133     153     +20
UNSPEC_print                                          56      68     +12
pr_ether                                              59      65      +6
static.proc_read                                       4       1      -3
interface_opt_a                                        4       1      -3
in_ether                                             139     136      -3
ifconfig_main                                       1296    1293      -3
if_readlist_proc                                     686     680      -6
ife_print                                           1350    1338     -12
do_if_print                                           46       -     -46
static.buff                                          369     264    -105
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 0/1 grow/shrink: 4/7 up/down: 70/-181)          Total: -111 bytes

# size busybox_old busybox_unstripped
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 751073    3080   14800  768953   bbbb9 busybox_old
 751073    3048   14688  768809   bbb29 busybox_unstripped

libbb: random hunt for statics

function                                             old     new   delta
bb_askpass                                           306     321     +15
pw_encrypt                                            38      39      +1
static.passwd                                         64       4     -60
static.cipher                                        128       4    -124
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 0/0 grow/shrink: 2/2 up/down: 16/-184)          Total: -168 bytes

# size busybox_old busybox_unstripped
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 683705    2704   14240  700649   ab0e9 busybox_old
 683721    2704   14064  700489   ab049 busybox_unstripped

libpwdgrp/pwd_grp.c: allocate local storage on first call, not in bss. -1k bss

function                                             old     new   delta
get_S                                                  -      31     +31
bb_internal_getpwnam                                  38      44      +6
bb_internal_getgrnam                                  38      44      +6
bb_internal_getgrgid                                  38      44      +6
ptr_to_statics                                         -       4      +4
static.resultbuf                                      88       -     -88
static.buffer                                       1024       -   -1024
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 2/2 grow/shrink: 3/0 up/down: 53/-1112)        Total: -1059 bytes

ping: fix write-after-allocated-mem bug
ping: use monotonic_us instead of gettimeofday: smaller code and
      needs only 4 bytes in the packet
ping: display roundtrip times with 1/1000th of ms, not 1/10 ms precision.
wget: small optimization

function                                             old     new   delta
pingstats                                            243     259     +16
sendping6                                             98      93      -5
sendping4                                            183     178      -5
.rodata                                           129715  129707      -8
progressmeter                                        867     855     -12
unpack_tail                                          320     272     -48
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 0/0 grow/shrink: 1/5 up/down: 16/-78)            Total: -62 bytes

fix an obvious typo while trying to access the tv_usec member

wget: use monotonic_sec instead of gettimeofday
zcip: use monotonic_us instead of gettimeofday
udhcpcd: simpler, shorter random_xid()

function                                             old     new   delta
monotonic_sec                                          -      41     +41
find_pair                                            164     180     +16
run_list_real                                       2018    2028     +10
cmp_main                                             547     555      +8
collect_ctx                                          112     119      +7
singlemount                                         4544    4549      +5
time_main                                           1124    1128      +4
static.start_sec                                       -       4      +4
static.lastupdate_sec                                  -       4      +4
sock                                                   -       4      +4
read_package_field                                   253     257      +4
pick                                                  38      40      +2
get_next_line                                        145     147      +2
count_lines                                           59      61      +2
process_stdin                                        435     433      -2
xstrtoul_range_sfx                                   229     226      -3
static.initialized                                     4       1      -3
dhcprelay_main                                      1125    1122      -3
catcher                                              380     377      -3
arping_main                                         1969    1966      -3
s                                                      8       4      -4
cfg                                                    4       -      -4
static.lastupdate                                      8       -      -8
start                                                  8       -      -8
random_xid                                            95      33     -62
.rodata                                           129114  129050     -64
zcip_main                                           1731    1576    -155
progressmeter                                       1035     867    -168
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 4/3 grow/shrink: 10/11 up/down: 113/-490)       Total: -377 bytes

hwclock: size optimizations
libbb/time.c: new file, introducing monotonic_us()
pscan, traceroute, arping: use it instead of gettimeofday
ping, zcip: TODO

function                                             old     new   delta
monotonic_us                                           -      89     +89
find_pair                                            164     180     +16
.rodata                                           129747  129763     +16
refresh                                             1144    1152      +8
............
timeout                                                8       4      -4
static.start                                           8       4      -4
last                                                   8       4      -4
parse_conf                                          1303    1284     -19
time_main                                           1149    1124     -25
gettimeofday_us                                       39       -     -39
arping_main                                         2042    1969     -73
hwclock_main                                         594     501     -93
catcher                                              485     380    -105
traceroute_main                                     4300    4117    -183
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 2/1 grow/shrink: 8/11 up/down: 157/-562)        Total: -405 bytes

time: *const str = "xxx"  ==>  str[] = "xxx"

strings: strings a b was processing a twice, fix that

arping: -i should be -I

install: fix install a b /a/link/to/dir
install: fix -s (strip) option
nmeter: add TODO

forgot svn add...

remove obsolete comment

make FEATURE_HAVE_RPC auto-selectable by mount and inetd sub-features

pscan: new applet (portscanner). ~1350 bytes. By Tito <farmatito@tiscali.it>
wget: lift 256 chars limitation on terminal width

find: make -size match GNU find

find: add conditional support for -maxdepth and -regex
(needed for Linux 2.6.22-rc4 build)

-maxdepth:
# size busybox_old busybox_unstripped
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 675622    2792   15728  694142   a977e busybox_old
 675770    2792   15728  694290   a9812 busybox_unstripped

-regex:
# size busybox_old busybox_unstripped
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 675770    2792   15728  694290   a9812 busybox_old
 675894    2792   15728  694414   a988e busybox_unstripped

fdisk: fix minor issues with help text

- fix test -f ./exists
  Note that test -f ./exists -a "-u" = "-u" doesn't work and did not work even before r18282, so this is a breakage not caused by me..

- vda perfers not to use the banner

applets/Kbuild: straighten it a bit

Alex Landau writes: open firmware for reading, not writing

init: make sure fd 0,1,2 are not closed, + related optimizations.

init_main                                            929     920      -9
bb_daemonize_or_rexec                                145     127     -18

traceroute: stop using floating point needlessly; nuke useless assignment.

.rodata                                           129308  129312      +4
freehostinfo                                          35      29      -6
traceroute_main                                     4308    4300      -8

minix.h: add very simple test script

fsck_minix: forgotten bit of previous commit...

fsck_minix: stop using data/bss

  10847       8     271   11126    2b76 busybox.t2/util-linux/fsck_minix.o
  10140       0       0   10140    279c busybox.t3/util-linux/fsck_minix.o

*: BB_BANNER -> bb_banner (it is not a const or #define)!
correct_password: explain in detail why it is ok to use bb_banner
fsck_minix: make it print bb version, not it's own (outdated/irrelevant) one

Marginal size difference:
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 679119    2700   15632  697451   aa46b busybox_old
 679091    2700   15632  697423   aa44f busybox_unstripped

as suggested by Renaud Cerrato and Souf, switch over to recursive_action() for some nice shrinkage and so we work even when CONFIG_SYSFS_DEPRECATED is off

add support for firmware loading

hush: fix read builtin to not read ahead past eol and to not use
insane amounts of stack. Testsuite updated.

remove nearly-duplicate PATHs in several places

function                                             old     new   delta
bb_PATH_root_path                                      -      35     +35
varunset                                              60      58      -2
arith                                               2042    2033      -9
bb_default_root_login_path                            30       -     -30
.rodata                                           128794  128762     -32
which_main                                           152     117     -35
defpathvar                                            40       -     -40
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 1/2 grow/shrink: 0/4 up/down: 35/-148)          Total: -113 bytes

login: make /etc/nologin support configurable. -240 bytes if not selected.

fix "--help prints usage for wrong applet" bug

diff: shrink code (-85 bytes):
function                                             old     new   delta
fiddle_sum                                             8       -      -8
diffreg                                             2717    2690     -27
prepare                                              334     284     -50
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 0/1 grow/shrink: 0/2 up/down: 0/-85)             Total: -85 bytes

s/ATTRIBUTE_ALWAYS_INLINE/ALWAYS_INLINE/g

- fix testing primary expressions like '"-u" = "-u"'

A few more string duplicates found & eliminated

# size busybox_old busybox_unstripped
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 679693    2700   15632  698025   aa6a9 busybox_old
 679523    2700   15632  697855   aa5ff busybox_unstripped

catv: was abusing xopen, should not die on err, but warn only.

move several applets to more correct ex-project. No code changes.

uudecode: nuke duplicate base64_table[]. saves 65 bytes

top: on user suggestion make percentile calculations configurable. -56 bytes when off. +600 bytes when on
top: reorder columns, so that [P]PIDs are together and VSZ/%MEM are together. Makes more sense

- use bb_msg_full_version instead of a separate string. Saves a minor 3 bytes.

getopt_mk_fifo_nod: heed warning

top: improve global CPU percentage (smaller & faster code)

top: add config option and code for global CPU % display

moved biggest stack buffers to malloc space, or made their size configurable
(8k of shell line edit buffer is an overkill)

# make ARCH=i386 bloatcheck
function                                             old     new   delta
read_line_input                                     3933    3967     +34
ifaddrlist                                           348     345      -3
do_loadfont                                          208     191     -17
edit_file                                            840     819     -21
.rodata                                           129112  129080     -32
uncompress                                          1305    1268     -37
loadfont_main                                        566     495     -71
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 0/0 grow/shrink: 1/6 up/down: 34/-181)          Total: -147 bytes

add script which measures stack consumption.

Current top users:

0x08052f52 uncompress []:                               393312
0x080c8a58 input_tab []:                                82104
0x08092d5b ifaddrlist []:                               32828
0x08056163 loadfont_main []:                            32796
0x0806e508 colon []:                                    16532
0x08056095 do_loadfont []:                              16400
0x0806da70 place_cursor []:                             16388
0x080792e8 login_main []:                               9176

393 kb of stack??? OMG...

httpd: move data off bss.
httpd: do not realpath() for SCRIPT_FILENAME - it resolves symlinks
but it should not:

-                /* SCRIPT_FILENAME required by PHP in CGI mode */
-               if (!realpath(purl + 1, realpath_buff))
-                       goto error_execing_cgi;
-               setenv1("SCRIPT_FILENAME", realpath_buff);
+
+               /* SCRIPT_FILENAME required by PHP in CGI mode */
+               fullpath = concat_path_file(home_httpd, purl);
+               setenv1("SCRIPT_FILENAME", fullpath);

- also note where to checkout the 1_6_stable branch

mdev: microscopic enhancement, should change nothing

grep: selection done by FEATURE_GREP_EGREP_ALIAS was broken, fix.
 (Maxime Bizon <mbizon@freebox.fr>  (Freebox))

login: ask passwords even for wrong usernames.

# size busybox_old busybox_unstripped
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 680099    2704   15648  698451   aa853 busybox_old
 680110    2704   15648  698462   aa85e busybox_unstripped

make busybox --install work even if /proc/self/exe doesn't exist

# size busybox_old busybox_unstripped
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 680095    2704   15648  698447   aa84f busybox_old
 680099    2704   15648  698451   aa853 busybox_unstripped

rmp: add optional support for bz2 data. +50 bytes of code

- fix invocation without any argument

hush: add missing dependencies (Maxime Bizon <mbizon@freebox.fr> (Freebox))

test: fix thinko in previous commit

test: recognize /path/to/[ case too

- Add a FAQ entry on "how do i cross compile busybox"

- add a config-time range check for IPC_SYSLOG_BUFFER_SIZE
  The upper-bound doesn't look like it is working since it accepts LONG_MAX as input. I suspect that this is an lxdialog feature or something like that ;)

awk: experimentally modify "global" trick to make code smaller
by minimizing data offsets

function                                             old     new   delta
parse_expr                                           752     782     +30
syntax_error                                          23      26      +3
nvfree                                               151     154      +3
nvalloc                                              172     175      +3
fsrealloc                                            111     114      +3
chain_node                                            99     102      +3
chain_loop                                           121     124      +3
chain_group                                          628     631      +3
awk_main                                            1002    1005      +3
awk_exit                                              99     102      +3
parse_program                                        308     310      +2
split_f0                                             172     170      -2
awk_split                                            510     507      -3
getvar_s                                             108     102      -6
awk_sub                                              643     637      -6
awk_getline                                          706     700      -6
next_token                                           943     927     -16
handle_special                                       470     446     -24
next_input_file                                      252     213     -39
evaluate                                            6703    6633     -70
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 0/0 grow/shrink: 11/9 up/down: 59/-172)         Total: -113 bytes

# size */*/awk.o
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
  18247       0       0   18247    4747 busybox.t0/editors/awk.o
  18134       0       0   18134    46d6 busybox.t1/editors/awk.o

- update defconfig

- i need this disabled code for testing a patch. Please leave it in.

- fix wrong not operator which was essentially ignored. got introduced in r18282
  http://busybox.net/lists/busybox/2007-June/027652.html

awk: move all data to malloc space

function                                             old     new   delta
evaluate                                            6448    6728    +280
awk_getline                                          676     705     +29
parse_expr                                           726     752     +26
next_token                                           917     943     +26
next_input_file                                      237     252     +15
awk_split                                            498     510     +12
awk_sub                                              632     643     +11
split_f0                                             160     170     +10
getvar_s                                              98     108     +10
...
chain_loop                                           128     121      -7
nvalloc                                              179     171      -8
chain_node                                           107      99      -8
mainseq                                               12       -     -12
endseq                                                12       -     -12
chain_group                                          640     628     -12
beginseq                                              12       -     -12
awk_exit                                             112     100     -12
fsrealloc                                            127     110     -17
static.v                                              20       -     -20
static.rsm                                            24       -     -24
ttt                                                   28       -     -28
parse_program                                        339     311     -28
static.sreg                                           32       -     -32
intvar                                                76       -     -76
static.tspl                                           84       -     -84
rsplitter                                             84       -     -84
fsplitter                                             84       -     -84
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 0/39 grow/shrink: 16/11 up/down: 439/-685)      Total: -246 bytes

echo: fix non-fancy echo

ps: fix -Z (by Yuichi Nakamura <ynakam@hitachisoft.jp>)

remove bashisms from testsuite

nc: make connecting to IPv4 from IPv6-enabled hosts easier
(was requiring -s <local addr>)

- kiltedknight writes: Busybox incorrectly parses a line from the status file, claiming that a required package is not installed or tagged to be installed when it actually is.
  Closes #1221

- fix typo in error message. Closes #1308

uudecode: fix to base64 decode by Jorgen Cederlof <jcz@google.com>
improved help texts

# make bloatcheck
function                                             old     new   delta
.rodata                                           127000  127032     +32
packed_usage                                       22156   22151      -5
uudecode_main                                        360     348     -12
uuencode_main                                        490     468     -22
read_base64                                          283     254     -29
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 0/0 grow/shrink: 1/4 up/down: 32/-68)            Total: -36 bytes

snprintf(... "%s"...) => safe_strncpy

syslogd: move some vectors from data to text. Needs uclibc patch
to have any effect (patch is submitted to uclibc ml).

# size *[67]/*/syslog*.o
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
   3169     288       0    3457     d81 busybox.t6/sysklogd/syslogd.o
   3457       0       0    3457     d81 busybox.t7/sysklogd/syslogd.o

diff: stop using data/bss

function                                             old     new   delta
do_diff                                              385     436     +51
diff_main                                            850     895     +45
dump_unified_vec                                     437     457     +20
prepare                                              335     334      -1
anychange                                              1       -      -1
suff                                                   4       -      -4
status                                               135     131      -4
static.max_context                                     4       -      -4
start                                                 12       8      -4
pref                                                   4       -      -4
member                                                 4       -      -4
label2                                                 4       -      -4
label1                                                 4       -      -4
klist                                                  4       -      -4
ixold                                                  4       -      -4
ixnew                                                  4       -      -4
dl_count                                               4       -      -4
dl                                                     4       -      -4
context_vec_start                                      4       -      -4
context_vec_ptr                                        4       -      -4
context_vec_end                                        4       -      -4
context                                                4       -      -4
clistlen                                               4       -      -4
clist                                                  4       -      -4
clen                                                   4       -      -4
class                                                  4       -      -4
J                                                      4       -      -4
add_to_dirlist                                        71      64      -7
slen                                                   8       -      -8
sfile                                                  8       -      -8
len                                                    8       -      -8
file                                                   8       -      -8
get_dir                                              196     185     -11
newcand                                               97      85     -12
change                                               351     331     -20
stb2                                                  96       -     -96
stb1                                                  96       -     -96
diffreg                                             2835    2717    -118
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 0/27 grow/shrink: 3/8 up/down: 116/-482)        Total: -366 bytes

# size */*/diff.o
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
   7055       8     305    7368    1cc8 busybox.t2/coreutils/diff.o
   7002       0       0    7002    1b5a busybox.t3/coreutils/diff.o

ping: stop using data/bss

function                                             old     new   delta
ping_main                                            375     392     +17
unpack_tail                                          317     320      +3
ping4                                                525     528      +3
ping6                                                772     773      +1
sendping6                                             99      98      -1
sendping4                                            184     183      -1
myid                                                   2       -      -2
sendping_tail                                        154     151      -3
tsum                                                   4       -      -4
tmin                                                   4       -      -4
tmax                                                   4       -      -4
source_lsa                                             4       -      -4
pingsock                                               4       -      -4
pingcount                                              4       -      -4
ntransmitted                                           4       -      -4
nrepeats                                               4       -      -4
nreceived                                              4       -      -4
if_index                                               4       -      -4
hostname                                               8       4      -4
dotted                                                 4       -      -4
datalen                                                4       -      -4
pingaddr                                              28       -     -28
rcvd_tbl                                             128       -    -128
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(add/remove: 0/15 grow/shrink: 4/4 up/down: 24/-215)         Total: -191 bytes
   text    data     bss     dec     hex filename
 679835    2728   16736  699299   aaba3 busybox_old
 679851    2720   16536  699107   aaae3 busybox_unstripped

Audit bb_common_bufsiz usage, add script which looks for misuse.
tr: stop using globals needlessly.
code: -103 bytes

find_stray_communal_vars: script which finds communal variables
resize: remove globals var
mdev: remove globals var