Re: [PATCH] {master} missing: do not touch timestamps; only warn for out-of-date files

[Stefano Lattarini]

Hi Dave.

On 06/21/2012 12:33 AM, Dave Hart wrote:
>
> I had no idea missing would monkey with timestamps like that.  I'm
> wholeheartedly in favor of removing that capability in the name of
> predictably correct results.
>
Glad you agree :-)

> While I agree fix-timestamps.sh might be a clearer name, using the
> name bootstrap for the clone-from-VCS before-first-configure step.
> NTP tarballs carry a "bootstrap" script, though it is not needed nor
> recommended when building from a tarball without changing sources.
> Naming it fix-timestamps.sh would be misleading, as it also invokes
> {$AUTORECONF-autoreconf} -v -i.  I suspect that nomenclature of
> bootstrap being the step after clone and before autotools or make.
>
This is actually a good point. So I suggest removing, in the commit
message, the "aside" about Gawk 'bootstrap.sh' being a poorly chosen
name, and to squash this in the documentation changes:

  diff --git a/doc/automake.texi b/doc/automake.texi
  index 84a8cd6..a6e8b25 100644
  --- a/doc/automake.texi
  +++ b/doc/automake.texi
  @@ -11575,10 +11575,11 @@ older version of the required tool they happen to 
have installed.

   Maintainers interested in keeping their package buildable from a CVS
   checkout even for those users that lack maintainer-specific tools might
  -want to provide an helper script to to fix the timestamps after a
  +want to provide an helper script (or to enhance their existing bootstrap
  +script) to fix the timestamps after a
   @command{cvs update} or a @command{git checkout}, to prevent spurious
   rebuilds.  In case of a project committing the Autotools-generated
  -files, as well as the generated @file{.info} files, such scripts might
  +files, as well as the generated @file{.info} files, such script might
   look something like this:

   @smallexample

WDYT?

Oh, and ...

> The other naming I've seen for such scripts is even less appealing,
> autoconf.sh.
>
... yikes.

Thanks,
  Stefano