Re: [PATCH] Support AC_CONFIG_LIBOBJ_DIR (fixes PR/401)

[Alexandre Duret-Lutz]

Hi Gary,

Thanks for all the work.  I'm only commenting on the Autoconf
part, here.  I'll complete the Automake part after this is one
is in.

>>> "Gary" == Gary V Vaughan <address@hidden> writes:

[...]

 >> * Autoconf needs to be adjusted to reflect the fact that
 >> Automake scans a new macro. See the comment above the %traced
 >> variable you modified in scan_autoconf_trace.

 Gary> AC_CONFIG_LIBOBJ_DIR is already there in autoconf-2.59 and HEAD.

Bummer.  And I did that... 

 >> * Better write ${LIBOBJDIR} instead of $(LIBOBJDIR) in @LIBOBJS@
 >> (for the same reason we use ${prefix}, etc.)

 Gary> I disagree, LIBOBJDIR is a make macro not a shell
 Gary> variable, so it is more akin to $(srcdir) than ${prefix}.
 Gary> If I'm missing something, feel free to change it before
 Gary> committing.

The point is that AFAICT all AC_SUBSTed Autoconf variables use
${...} so they can be used in shell scripts as well as in
Makefiles.  From the point of view of Autoconf, LIBOBJDIR is a
just an AC_SUBST variable.  Automake will indeed use it to
define a make variable, but that should be none of Autoconf's
business.  An Autoconf user might as well decide to use it in a
shell or Perl script (say, to create one's own make-free build
system!).

[...]
 Gary> +  # 2. Prepend LIBOBJDIR.  When used with automake>1.9.5 LIBOBJDIR
[...]
 Gary> +When used with Automake 1.9.6 or newer, a suitable value for

Let's make it automake >= 1.10.  1.9.x are only simple bug
fixes, and 1.10 will come shortly after Autoconf 2.60 anyway.
-- 
Alexandre Duret-Lutz