Re: Bug#340224: gettext: Uses obsolete mkinstalldirs (fwd)

[Bruno Haible]

Roger Leigh wrote:
> Package: gettext
> Version: 0.14.5-2
> Severity: normal
> 
> Automake has obsoleted the use of 'mkinstalldirs', but this is still
> installed by autopoint, and is still used by po/Makefile.in.in.
> 
> Automake defines a macro, AM_PROG_MKDIR_P, to create $(mkdir_p), to
> replace $(mkinstalldirs).  If AM_GNU_GETTEXT could use this (or its
> own copy internally), gettext would use the same mkinstalldirs
> implementation as the automake-generated Makefiles, which would
> allow the total removal of mkinstalldirs from projects using both
> automake and gettext, and make such projects self-consistent
> internally.

What is the actual misfeature (bug) that you are noticing?

The change that you ask for is planned, but not for the immediate future.

automake's $(mkdir_p) is working since automake-1.8.1 only, which was
released less than 2 years ago. The world has plenty of Linux installations
from 3 years ago, such as SuSE Linux 9.0, which ships with automake-1.7.6.
IMO it causes less trouble with the installed user base if gettext waits
one more while year assuming everyone has automake 1.8.1 or newer.

Bruno