Re: gettext 0.11.2: Using autoconf 2.53 and automake 1.6.1

[Paul Eggert]

> From: "Maciej W. Rozycki" <address@hidden>
> Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 14:53:26 +0200 (MET DST)
> 
>  Do you intend to switch to newer versions of autoconf and automake
> anytime soon?  If so, I have suitable patches available.

Can you please publish these patches?  I'd be interested to see them,
and what issues are involved.  (This is from the point of view of an
autoconf maintainer and user, so I'll CC: this message to
bug-autoconf.)  Thanks.


> From: Bruno Haible <address@hidden>
> Date: Mon, 13 May 2002 18:56:23 +0200 (CEST)

> >  Forever???
> 
> Until everyone agrees that autoconf-2.13 is not anymore worth being
> supported.

We'll never get "everyone" to agree.  There will always be someone who
doesn't want to switch, or hasn't gotten around to switching.  But at
some point it will be time to switch, even if there are a few
laggards.  That time is fast approaching.

> This probably means, until most of the internationalized GNU packages
> have published a release on ftp.gnu.org

I don't see why that's necessary.  The issue isn't whether a new
gettext will work with an unmodified ftp.gnu.org package, because one
must modify the files distributed with a package in order to have it
use the new gettext.  The gettext audience is developers, not end
users, so the real issue is whether a new gettext will work with the
current development version of the package.  (Anyone who wants to make
trivial changes to an older version can simply use an older gettext.)

Also, a third of the packages that you mention use versions of
Autoconf that predate 2.13.  It's clearly OK to not support these
_really_ ancient packages.  Similarly, it could well be reasonable to
not support the other packages that are merely ancient.

>   GNU cpio
>   GNU enscript
>   GNU fileutils
>   GNU findutils
>   GNU gcal
>   GNU hello
>   GNU m4
>   GNU make
>   GNU sh-utils
>   GNU sharutils
>   GNU tar
>   GNU textutils

Of all these packages, only one uses Autoconf 2.13 in the latest
published release.  That package is gcal 3.01, which hasn't had any
public activity since June 2000.

The following packages use Autoconf versions after 2.13:

  fileutils 4.1.8 uses Autoconf 2.53.
  findutils 4.1.7 uses Autoconf 2.49f.
  The current CVS m4 uses requires Autoconf 2.52e or later.
  make 3.79.2a1 uses Autoconf 2.53.
  sh-utils 2.0.12 uses Autoconf 2.53a.
  tar 1.13.25 uses Autoconf 2.52.
  textutils 2.0.21 uses Autoconf 2.52h.

The following packages use Autoconf versions that predate 2.13.

  cpio 2.4.2.91 uses Autoconf 2.7.
  enscript 1.6.2 uses Autoconf 2.12.
  hello 1.3.18 uses Autoconf 2.12.
  sharutils 4.2c uses Autoconf 2.12.

If you like, I can submit and publish patches to these last four, as
well as for gcal 3.01, to make sure that they work with Autoconf 2.53.
That wouldn't be hard, and if it removes the final obstacle to
upgrading gettext then I'm willing to do it.