Re: Autoconf 2.52 is released

[Akim Demaille]

>>>>> "Martin" == Martin Baulig <address@hidden> writes:

Please, don't write to individuals.

Martin> Akim Demaille <address@hidden> writes:

>> We are very happy to announce yet another release of Autoconf,

Martin> Hi,

Martin> I have a little problem with this new autoconf. A few weeks
Martin> ago I updated some packages in GNOME 2 which I maintain to use
Martin> autoconf 2.52. Everything works just fine there except that I
Martin> needed to make changes which won't work with autoconf 2.1x
Martin> anymore.

But in extreme situations where people play tricks with Autoconf's
internals, I'm not aware of things that cannot be written for 2.13 and
2.52.  Nonetheless, I think fighting for 2.13 compatibility is a bad
thing, and mostly of waste of time.

Martin> The big problem is that autoconf 2.52 and 2.1x are not
Martin> compatible.

Martin> As maintainer of some of the GNOME 2 libraries and one of the
Martin> GNOME 2 release coordinators, I really want to use the new
Martin> autoconf for GNOME 2 - but people are unwilling to update
Martin> GNOME 1.x and some of the other maintainers even refuse to
Martin> accept any patches to their modules if they don't work with
Martin> the old autoconf anymore.

I can understand they fear the amount of work, but that's the right
road.  2.13 is dead, and 2.52 is the only standard today.

Martin> We're now about two weeks before the API freeze for GNOME 2
Martin> and for me it's clear that if we switch to autoconf 2.5x for
Martin> GNOME 2, then we need to do it now and not shortly before the
Martin> release.

Martin> So, is it correct that this autoconf 2.52 which you released
Martin> is the officially recommended version of it and that it's also
Martin> good for production systems so that most distributions will
Martin> also switch to it soon ?

Yes.  There are a few bug reports that have arrived, but nothing
serious.  It's way better than 2.13.

Martin> Can I also assume that 2.1x is a dead end which is no longer
Martin> supported so that staying with it would mean to use old and
Martin> deprecated version which is no longer maintained ?

Correct.

Also, feel free to ask for assistance on your upgrade.  We are also
trying to make frequent releases those days (because actually from
2.13 to 2.50 there was already a lot of things ready to be used, but
not finalized, so currently we merely have to finalize then ship).

Therefore, you can count on us to help you have a better 2.53 if ever
you don't encounter a problem with 2.52.