Let me repeat - it is not a bug - it is two different ways of describing an array.
For reasons I don’t know - upstream Arch decided to use the () format for arrays in mkinitcpio.conf.
Both definitions will work with bash.
It is likely the array definition () allows for better manipulation than the quote version “”.
For the topic at hand - both definitions are correct - as they reach the correct end result.
- 4 + 4 = 8
- 2 x 4 = 8
Who cares which method is used as long as the result is correct.
As @papajoke already point out - bash does not change in revolutionary ways … so don’t blow this out of proportion.
As for which hooks should go into the HOOKS=() that depends on the system - and the admin of said system.