Macro Name Policy (was: prefix / Re: Masterplan)

[Peter Simons]

Guido Draheim writes:

 >> There is no need to have another prefix following the "AX", as in
 >> AX_<author-initials>_HAVE_OPENGL

 > remember we might need to change "names" of macros quite heavily
 > even when for the same target topic. Therefore, we need a scheme to
 > allow for a "family" of macros that target the same problem area.

My text was probably a bit poorly written. I didn't mean that you
would not be allowed to use a second prefix, I really meant that you
don't necessarily _need_ it. Of course, using a second prefix will be
a good idea in many cases, and the submitter should be free to do so
if he wants. I have updated the text to make that more clearly; thanks
for the hint.


 > Most registries like freshmeat and sourceforge and savannah allow
 > tri-char project names. So there might be a project names "ama"
 > which exports a macro named "AMA_CHECK_....".

Well ... There might as well be a project called "AX". :-)

I don't have a problem with "AX", and I have used the prefix in the
current policy text. I just feel that "Autoconf Extensions" is a bit
pretentious a name; "Autoconf Macro Archive" (AMA) seems to hit the
nail on the head. But this is _really_ not a key issue for me.

Peter


P. S.: I just posted the latest results on the main page of the
archive, <http://www.gnu.org/software/ac-archive/>.

P. P. S: I added the requirement of using all upper-case macro names,
for the sake of consistency with Autoconf itself.