Re: Need help with cleaning up a working GNU Autotools setup

[Peter T. Breuer]

In comp.os.linux.development.system Sune <sune_ahlgren@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Yes, that's exactly what I want.

Please QUOTE. I can't recall what you are talking about.


> If I only add what you suggest then

What did I suggest? Surely only use of VPATH.

> 'make clean', 'make install' etc won't automagically be provided by
> Automake.

Eh? Why not? I didn't specify the target, and if I did, you can surely
see that you can name any target in the call to make,

> I guess I would also loose the configuration set up by
> Autoconf(?).

I don't understand - when compiling outside the source directory, ne
mormally makes a build/ subdir, cds there, then runs ../configure
there in orser to make a Makefile.  Then one runs make against that
Makefile, with VPATH set to the surce directory.

So what is your comment about autoconf? You run autconf when you set up
the code for distribution, in order that customers receive it with a
./configure already built.

> I'm afraid that if I start to add parts outside the Autotools
> environment, I may end up in a maintenance nightmare.

I don't understand. Nobody is talking abut "adding parts".

> Do you, or someone you know, knows how this can be done? Surely
> Autotools can be used to set up a tailor-made make environment this
> way(?)

I don't know what environment you want! but I have described for you
how to compile outside the source tree, and I do not understand what
you are talking about autotools for. It is your own business how you
make the ./configure file that makes the Makefiles that you will use
for the make in the build dir. A look at a code of mine that builds
in places of its own choosing shows the makefile has:

  all:    build
          $(MAKE) -C $(BUILD) -f ../../src/Makefile $@

  build:  $(BUILD)/.done

  $(BUILD)/.done:
          ... set up build area ...

The setup will include in your case making a ./configure and running
it! It's none of my business how you go about that.




Peter