Re: [Automake-NG] [PATCH 6/7] [ng] dist: new API to specify formats of distribution tarballs

[Bob Friesenhahn]

On Sun, 12 Aug 2012, Stefano Lattarini wrote:

> The API to specify the formats of distribution tarballs has been changed
> completely, in a BACKWARD-INCOMPATIBLE way.
>
> Instead of using the various 'dist-*' automake options, the developer is
> now expected to specify the default formats of its distribution tarballs
> with the special variable AM_DIST_FORMATS; for example, where once would
> have been:
>
>    AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([dist-bzip2 dist-zip])
>
> now it must be:
>
>    AM_DIST_FORMATS = gzip bzip2 zip
>
> and similarly, where once would have been:
>
>    AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS = no-dist-gzip dist-bzip2 dist-xz
>
> now is it simply:
>
>    AM_DIST_FORMATS = bzip2 xz

This all sounds like goodness to me.  Moving to Automake-NG will 
clearly be a "port" for any significant project.  Hopefully you are 
recording porting-notes so that people know what to look for and 
change.

The old way of dealing with tarballs was broken because it was 
inflexible and therefore not as "free" as it should be.  It caused 
tension among free software developers (e.g. the 'lzip' discussion). 
Automake can not anticipate all of the possible output formats that a 
package may want to create.  For example, my project also wants to be 
able to produce 'srpm' format as well as a '7z' format.

Bob
--
Bob Friesenhahn
address@hidden, http://www.simplesystems.org/users/bfriesen/
GraphicsMagick Maintainer,    http://www.GraphicsMagick.org/