support for --localedir

[Bruno Haible]

Hi,

For years people have asked for an easy way to adjust the installation location
of GNU format message catalogs to their particular conventions. Up to now
my answer was "go modify the Makefiles before building the package".
But now in gettext-0.13, support for internationalized shell scripts is
added. This requires defining @localedir@ as an AC_SUBSTed variable, not
only as a Makefile variable (because the directory has to be hardwired
into the shell script, which is most comfortably done through a configure.ac
line like  AC_CONFIG_FILES([hello:hello.sh.in], [chmod a+x hello])  ).
My answer could now be "go modify the config.status before building the
package". And we'll thus see dozens of packages adding this to configure.ac:
     AC_SUBST([localedir], ['${datadir}/locale'])
You see, it's starting to get inconvenient.

I therefore propose to add a --localedir option that works like --mandir,
--infodir, and so on.


2003-11-06  Bruno Haible  <address@hidden>

        * lib/autoconf/general.m4: Add new configure option --localedir.
        * doc/autoconf.texi (Installation Directory Variables): Document
        localedir.

*** autoconf-2.58/lib/autoconf/general.m4.bak   2003-10-27 12:10:56.000000000 
+0100
--- autoconf-2.58/lib/autoconf/general.m4       2003-11-06 01:33:32.000000000 
+0100
***************
*** 540,545 ****
--- 540,546 ----
  AC_SUBST([oldincludedir],  ['/usr/include'])dnl
  AC_SUBST([infodir],        ['${prefix}/info'])dnl
  AC_SUBST([mandir],         ['${prefix}/man'])dnl
+ AC_SUBST([localedir],      ['${datadir}/locale'])dnl
  
  ac_prev=
  for ac_option
***************
*** 652,664 ****
    | --libexe=* | --libex=* | --libe=*)
      libexecdir=$ac_optarg ;;
  
    -localstatedir | --localstatedir | --localstatedi | --localstated \
!   | --localstate | --localstat | --localsta | --localst \
!   | --locals | --local | --loca | --loc | --lo)
      ac_prev=localstatedir ;;
    -localstatedir=* | --localstatedir=* | --localstatedi=* | --localstated=* \
!   | --localstate=* | --localstat=* | --localsta=* | --localst=* \
!   | --locals=* | --local=* | --loca=* | --loc=* | --lo=*)
      localstatedir=$ac_optarg ;;
  
    -mandir | --mandir | --mandi | --mand | --man | --ma | --m)
--- 653,668 ----
    | --libexe=* | --libex=* | --libe=*)
      libexecdir=$ac_optarg ;;
  
+   -localedir | --localedir | --localedi | --localed | --locale)
+     ac_prev=localedir ;;
+   -localedir=* | --localedir=* | --localedi=* | --localed=* | --locale=*)
+     localedir=$ac_optarg ;;
+ 
    -localstatedir | --localstatedir | --localstatedi | --localstated \
!   | --localstate | --localstat | --localsta | --localst | --locals)
      ac_prev=localstatedir ;;
    -localstatedir=* | --localstatedir=* | --localstatedi=* | --localstated=* \
!   | --localstate=* | --localstat=* | --localsta=* | --localst=* | --locals=*)
      localstatedir=$ac_optarg ;;
  
    -mandir | --mandir | --mandi | --mand | --man | --ma | --m)
***************
*** 851,857 ****
  
  # Be sure to have absolute paths.
  for ac_var in bindir sbindir libexecdir datadir sysconfdir sharedstatedir \
!             localstatedir libdir includedir oldincludedir infodir mandir
  do
    eval ac_val=$`echo $ac_var`
    case $ac_val in
--- 855,862 ----
  
  # Be sure to have absolute paths.
  for ac_var in bindir sbindir libexecdir datadir sysconfdir sharedstatedir \
!             localstatedir libdir includedir oldincludedir infodir mandir \
!             localedir
  do
    eval ac_val=$`echo $ac_var`
    case $ac_val in
***************
*** 951,956 ****
--- 956,962 ----
    --oldincludedir=DIR    C header files for non-gcc [/usr/include]
    --infodir=DIR          info documentation [PREFIX/info]
    --mandir=DIR           man documentation [PREFIX/man]
+   --localedir=DIR        locale-dependent data [DATADIR/locale]
  _ACEOF
  
    cat <<\_ACEOF]
*** autoconf-2.58/doc/autoconf.texi.bak 2003-11-04 09:33:44.000000000 +0100
--- autoconf-2.58/doc/autoconf.texi     2003-11-06 01:31:30.000000000 +0100
***************
*** 2277,2282 ****
--- 2277,2289 ----
  The directory for installing executables that other programs run.
  @end defvar
  
+ @defvar localedir
+ @ovindex localedir
+ The directory for installing locale-dependent but architecture-independent
+ data, such as message catalogs.  This directory usually has a subdirectory
+ per locale.
+ @end defvar
+ 
  @defvar localstatedir
  @ovindex localstatedir
  The directory for installing modifiable single-machine data.