Re: Different versions of autoconf cause problems here...

[Paul Eggert]

> From: Andreas Bauer <address@hidden>
> Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2002 18:13:57 +0200
> 
>  autoheader: missing template: ENABLE_NLS
> 
> I could add them to my local acconfig.h script, but that is deprecated
> with recent autoconf versions (yes, it's in the manual).  However, this
> would solve the problem -- temporarily.

That is probably your best short-term fix.

> I'm author of a free software program and I keep getting questions
> regarding the configuration, even though everything works fine on my
> own system, which is:
> 
>  autoconf 2.13
>  automake 1.5
> 
> I'd appreciate any hints from you.

If it were me, I would update to the latest Autoconf (2.53), Automake
(1.6.1), and Gettext (0.11.2).  That will fix your problem.  Of course
there will be some conversion hassle.

> I guess, either the users have to up- or downgrade their autotools,
> as it happens to people using autoconf 2.53 as well.  But I'm not
> sure really, and I'd like to have a solution that will make _all_
> users equally as happy.

You cannot make users all equally happy.  You will have to make some
of them unhappy.  In the long run, your best bet is to aggravate the
maintainers who insist on using obsolete and/orbroken tools.  In the
short run there will be some pain, unfortunately.

Note that the pain should not affect people who just run
"configure;make".  It should affect only people who edit the input to
the autotools, e.g. configure.in, Makefile.am.  This should be a much
smaller set of people, who should be willing to have up-to-date tools.