Re: prefix / Re: Masterplan

[Peter Simons]

Guido Draheim writes:

 > I was about to promote the usage of "AX_" to be reserved
 > for the ac-archive [...]

Having a reserved prefix for the macro archive is definitely a good
idea. The software can easily enforce the consistent use of that
prefix, this would not have to be done manually.

The only reason why I think it would be beneficial to use "AC" is
because _if_ the macros go to Autoconf eventually, there would be no
need to rename them. Thus, existing scripts would not break. But I
guess the arguments against using "AC" outweigh that.

How about the following policy text:

    In order to enforce consistent macro names in this archive, all
    macros submitted to the archive must begin with the prefix "AX".
    For example:

        AX_ENABLE_DYNAMIC_LINKING
        AX_HAVE_OPENGL

    There is no need to have another prefix following the "AX", as in

        AX_<author-initials>_HAVE_OPENGL

    because we enforce the uniqueness of macro names in the archive.
    Any other naming scheme will not be accepted in order to minimize
    the possibility of name clashes.

    By the way, the "AX" is an abbreviation for "Autoconf Extension".

Just for the sake of having an alternative, I would suggest
considering the prefix "AMA" for "Autoconf Macro Archive" as well.

Peter