Re: autoreconf and m4_pattern_allow

[Noah Misch]

On Wed, Feb 08, 2006 at 11:47:37PM -0600, Robert Lowe wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Until today I had never tried autoreconf.  I have always used a simple
> shell script like:

<snipped>

> The script runs just fine, but autoreconf complained about my use of
> AC_CREATE_STDINT_H, insisting that I use m4_pattern_allow, which I
> did, and the problem vanished.  But, would anyone explain what
> happened and why?  Does it perhaps have anything to do with the fact
> that this macro is the only one I am using named AC_*, rather than say
> ACX_*?

The `autoconf' program presents this warning; I suspect the cause is a
difference in the way your bootstrap script and autoreconf call `aclocal'.

After `autoconf' generates your configure script, it greps the script for
strings that look like typical macro names.  If `configure' contains the literal
name of a macro, that is often a sign of either excessive m4 quoting or missing
macro definitions.

I'll guess that in this case, AC_CREATE_STDINT_H is a macro defined by a file in
your `m4' directory.  When you invoke `autoreconf', it does not pass `-I m4' to
`aclocal', so `autoconf' never has the definition of that macro.  Using
m4_pattern_allow clears the warning, but it does not yield a fully functional
configure script.  The fix, if you use Automake, is to put `ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS = -I
m4' in Makefile.am.  If you do not use Automake, there is no good solution at
this time.  `autoreconf' should support that case better.  In the mean time,
you may wish to retain your custom script.