Package: autoconf Version: 2.60a-4 Severity: wishlist
*.m4f files are automatically generated from Autoconf's .m4 files. For instance, /usr/share/autoconf/autoconf/autoconf.m4f is (re-)generated by executing: (cd /usr/share/autoconf/autoconf/ ; autom4te --language=autoconf --freeze --output=autoconf.m4f) Therefore, this file is a good candidate to be placed into e.g. /var/lib/autoconf/autoconf/, as for the FHS. And a soft link should be made: ln -s /var/lib/autoconf/autoconf/autoconf.m4f /usr/share/autoconf/autoconf/autoconf.m4f Idem for .../autotest/autotest.m4f, .../m4sugar/m4sh.m4f, and ..../m4sugar/m4sugar.m4f. The motivation is to let Debian packages add m4 files directly into Autoconf's directories, and rebuild the autotest.m4f file at postinst. Adding M4 macros directly into Autoconf is mandatory when some macros make aclocal crash. For instance, language-support macros must have parenthesis in their names, which makes aclocal choke. For instance, see macro AC_LANG_PROGRAM(C) in c.m4, or AC_LANG_PROGRAM(Erlang) in erlang.m4. Such macros *must* be added directly into Autoconf, since they cannot be parsed by aclocal due to bugs in aclocal. In addition, I suggest to make addition+inclusion of M4 files easier, by adding the following line at the end of /usr/share/autoconf/autoconf/autoconf.m4: m4_include([/var/lib/autoconf/autoconf/autoconf-includes.m4]) And to let packages add&remove m4_include([...]) lines for the files they install, in that new /var/lib/autoconf/autoconf/autoconf-includes.m4 file. New files installed by packages should be installed in /usr/share/autoconf/autoconf/, so those m4_include lines should have the form: m4_include([/usr/share/autoconf/autoconf/....m4]) And idem for all /var/lib/autoconf/*/ directories. This proposal would let packages install Autoconf support for new test languages, without having to be directly included in the autoconf package, and without having to modify the .m4f files in /usr/ at postinst. -- System Information: Debian Release: testing/unstable APT prefers unstable APT policy: (990, 'unstable'), (500, 'testing') Architecture: i386 (i686) Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash Kernel: Linux 2.6.18-1-686 Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=ja_JP.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8) Versions of packages autoconf depends on: ii debianutils 2.17.3 Miscellaneous utilities specific t ii m4 1.4.7-1 a macro processing language ii perl 5.8.8-6.1 Larry Wall's Practical Extraction Versions of packages autoconf recommends: ii automake1.9 [automaken] 1.9.6+nogfdl-2 A tool for generating GNU Standard -- no debconf information -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
