Re: bug with `make dist' and `AC_CONFIG_LINKS'

[Ralf Wildenhues]

Hello Thomas,

Thanks for the report.

* Thomas Schwinge wrote on Wed, Nov 29, 2006 at 03:11:43PM CET:
> 
> It seems to me that all files from directories that are referenced within
> an `AC_CONFIG_LINKS' rule in the `configure.ac' file will automatically
> selected to be included in the tarball the `make dist' creates, even
> those that live in the build-directory!

In portable projects, AC_CONFIG_LINKS cannot be used with directories as
source, as it may try to hard-link them:
http://www.gnu.org/software/autoconf/manual/html_node/Configuration-Links.html

However, if you know `ln -s' works, then, according to this comment in
automake.in:handle_configure:
      # Some people do AC_CONFIG_LINKS($computed).  We only handle
      # the DEST:SRC form.

you should be able to use the following workaround (untested):
   machlink=machine:${systype}/${systype}
   AC_CONFIG_LINKS([$machlink])

plus putting the needed files in EXTRA_DIST of course.  The manual
contains some rationale about AC_CONFIG_FILES that seems to apply
likewise to AC_CONFIG_LINKS (see at the end of the section):
http://sources.redhat.com/automake/automake.html#Requirements

> I hope this analysis if correct.  Does it suffice or do you need a real
> test case?

I'm not sure how automake should handle the case of linking a directory.
Apart from the portability issue above, there is also the same set of
issues that `EXTRA_DIST = directory' has, see
http://sources.redhat.com/automake/automake.html#Dist
but you already knew that.  ;-)

Cheers,
Ralf