bug#8718: error when using nested conditionals

[Bruno Haible]

Hello Ralf,

> > =================================== foo.m4 
> > ====================================
> > AC_DEFUN([gl_FOO],
> > [
> >   if test 7 = 7; then
> >     use_variant_a=true
> >   else
> >     use_variant_a=false
> >   fi
> >   AM_CONDITIONAL([USE_VARIANT_A], [$use_variant_a])
> 
> Instead of this line, you could use
>   AC_CONFIG_COMMANDS_PRE([AM_CONDITIONAL([...])])

I cannot force the gnulib users to write autoconf macros which deviate that
much from the idioms promoted by the Automake manual. But I can override
AM_CONDITIONAL like this:

================================= configure.ac =================================
AC_INIT([dummy], [0])
AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([foreign])
AC_PROG_CC
AC_PROG_RANLIB

m4_define([gl_CONDITIONAL_COUNTER], [0])
AC_DEFUN([gl_CONDITIONAL_LATER],
[
  m4_define([gl_CONDITIONAL_COUNTER], m4_incr(gl_CONDITIONAL_COUNTER))
  m4_divert_text([INIT_PREPARE], 
[[gl_CONDITIONAL_]gl_CONDITIONAL_COUNTER=false])
  if [$2]; then [gl_CONDITIONAL_]gl_CONDITIONAL_COUNTER=true; else 
[gl_CONDITIONAL_]gl_CONDITIONAL_COUNTER=false; fi
  AC_CONFIG_COMMANDS_PRE([AM_CONDITIONAL([$1], 
[[$gl_CONDITIONAL_]]]gl_CONDITIONAL_COUNTER[)])
])
m4_pushdef([AM_CONDITIONAL], m4_defn([gl_CONDITIONAL_LATER]))

if test 4 = 5; then
  use_foo=true
  gl_FOO
else
  use_foo=false
fi
AM_CONDITIONAL([USE_FOO], [$use_foo])

m4_popdef([AM_CONDITIONAL])

AC_CONFIG_FILES([Makefile])
AC_OUTPUT
================================================================================

This solves my problem. Thanks for the idea to use AC_CONFIG_COMMANDS_PRE.
I will add this workaround to gnulib.

> You otherwise like being safe rather than sorry too, and there is
> no compelling argument to weaken automake's consistency detection here.

This workaround also will have the effect of weakening Automake's
consistency detection, by defining an arbitrary value (false) for each
of the occurring conditionals. But that's inevitable as long as this
consistency detection is too strict.

There's no point in being _that_ safe that you check unused expressions
for validity. C compilers don't do it either: When I compile a C program
  #if 0
  #if syntax error ((((,$$?!
  #endif
  #endif
the second line yields no error and no warning, because the condition in
that line is ignored. It is a pity if Autoconf + Automake cannot do the
same. Oh well. But at least we've got a workaround now. Thanks.

Bruno
-- 
In memoriam Imre Nagy <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imre_Nagy>