Re: GNU Autoconf test version 2.59d available

[William S Fulton]

This version of autoconf breaks our configure.in script. This is what we
have...

configure.in:

AC_ARG_WITH(swiglibdir,[  --with-swiglibdir=DIR   Put SWIG
system-independent libraries into DIR.],
  [swig_lib="$withval"], [swig_lib="${datadir}/swig/${PACKAGE_VERSION}"])
AC_SUBST(swig_lib)
AC_DEFINE_DIR(SWIG_LIB, swig_lib, [Directory for SWIG system-independent
libraries])


Makefile.in:

prefix      = @prefix@
exec_prefix = @exec_prefix@
srcdir      = @srcdir@

SWIG_LIB    = @swig_lib@


The generated Makefile is:

prefix      = /home/william/temp/swiginstall
exec_prefix = ${prefix}
srcdir      = .

SWIG_LIB    = ${datarootdir}/swig/1.3.30

With a warning:

configure: creating ./config.status
config.status: creating Makefile
config.status: WARNING: Makefile contains a reference to the variable
`datarootdir'
which seems to be undefined.  Please make sure it is defined.
...

So ${datarootdir} is missing and breaks the Makefile. I've added this
into Makefile.in to solve the problem:
datarootdir = @datarootdir@

However, current and older releases of SWIG won't configure with the new
autoconf. Is that really intended?

William

Ralf Wildenhues wrote:
> GNU Autoconf test version 2.59d is now available.
> 
> This is a beta release, intended to be largely identical to 2.60,
> to be released very soon, if no unexpected issues turn up.  So test it
> now, use it with your code, and report any remaining issues, please!  
> 
> The important changes since 2.59c are listed below, but two changes
> introduced earlier, in version 2.59c, require special attention:
> 
> * Some directory variables have been added, and others adjusted to
>   changes in the GNU Coding Standards.  If your package expands
>   '$datadir', '$infodir', or '$mandir' anywhere, you need to check your
>   package, and possibly adjust it accordingly.  The URL to the older
>   NEWS entries below, and the FAQ node 'Defining Directories' in the
>   manual have more information.
> 
> * AC_PROG_CC and AC_PROG_CXX no longer arrange for an 'exit'
>   function declaration.  If you use this in your macros, you need to
>   ensure that such a declaration is in place for C99 and C++ checks,
>   or change the tests to 'return' from 'main' instead.
> 
> 
> Here are the compressed sources:
>   ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/autoconf/autoconf-2.59d.tar.gz   (1.4MB)
> 
> Here are the GPG detached signatures:
>   ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/autoconf/autoconf-2.59d.tar.gz.asc
> 
> Here are the MD5 and SHA1 signatures:
> 
> 3c0eb03b60bad6823bd36b632b65ab94  autoconf-2.59d.tar.gz
> 30efc24b8abe2f0a010b95363c17313ea24ecf26  autoconf-2.59d.tar.gz
> 
> NEWS
> 
> * Major changes in Autoconf 2.59d
> 
> ** GNU make now recommended for VPATH builds
>   INSTALL now suggests VPATH builds (e.g., "sh ../srcdir/configure")
>   only if you use GNU make.  In practice, other 'make' implementations
>   have too many subtle incompatibilities in their support for VPATH.
>   These incompatibilities do not hurt bare Autoconf, but do affect
>   Automake-generated makefiles.  Recommending GNU make keeps the
>   installation instructions simpler.
> 
> ** Even more safety checks for the new Directory variables:
>   Warn about suspicious `${datarootdir}' found in config files output.
> 
> ** AC_TRY_COMMAND, AC_TRY_EVAL, ac_config_guess, ac_config_sub, ac_configure
>   These never-documented macros and variables have been marked with
>   comments saying that they may be removed in a future release,
>   because their use can lead to unintended code being executed.
>   If you need functionality that only these macros or variables
>   currently supply, please write address@hidden
> 
> ** AC_SUBST, AC_DEFINE
>   Literal arguments to these are passed to m4_pattern_allow now.
> 
> ** AC_PROG_CC_STDC
>   Passing 'ac_cv_prog_cc_stdc=no' to 'configure' now sets ac_cv_prog_cc_c99
>   and ac_cv_prog_cc_c89 to 'no' as well, for backward compatibility with
>   obsolete K&R tests in the Automake test suite.
> 
> ** AC_PROG_CXX_C_O
>   New macro.
> 
> ** AC_PROG_MKDIR_P
>   New macro.
> 
> ** AS_MKDIR_P
>   Now more robust with special characters in file names, or when
>   multiple processes create the same directory at the same time.
> 
> ** Obsolescent macros
>   The documentation now says that the following macros are obsolescent:
>   they test for problems that are so old that they are no longer of
>   practical importance on current systems.
> 
>     AC_C_BACKSLASH_A       AC_FUNC_MEMCMP            AC_HEADER_DIRENT
>     AC_C_CONST             AC_FUNC_SELECT_ARGTYPES   AC_HEADER_STAT
>     AC_C_PROTOTYPES        AC_FUNC_SETPGRP           AC_HEADER_STDC
>     AC_C_STRINGIZE         AC_FUNC_SETVBUF_REVERSED  AC_HEADER_SYS_WAIT
>     AC_C_VOLATILE          AC_FUNC_STAT              AC_HEADER_TIME
>     AC_FUNC_CLOSEDIR_VOID  AC_FUNC_STRFTIME          AC_ISC_POSIX
>     AC_FUNC_GETPGRP        AC_FUNC_UTIME_NULL        AC_PROG_GCC_TRADITIONAL
>     AC_FUNC_LSTAT          AC_FUNC_VPRINTF           AC_STRUCT_TM
> 
>   New programs need not use these macros.  We have no current plans to
>   remove them.
> 
> ** autoreconf
>   For compatibility with future Libtool 2.0, autoreconf will invoke
>   libtoolize with the option `--ltdl' now, if LT_CONFIG_LTDL_DIR is
>   used.
> 
> Here is a link to the ChangeLog entries since 2.59c:
> http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/autoconf/autoconf/ChangeLog.diff?r1=1.2833&r2=1.2939&diff_format=u
> 
> Here is a link to the ChangeLog entries since 2.59:
> http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/autoconf/autoconf/ChangeLog.diff?r1=1.2305&r2=1.2939&diff_format=u
> 
> Here is a link to the NEWS entries since 2.59:
> http://savannah.gnu.org/cgi-bin/viewcvs/autoconf/autoconf/NEWS.diff?r1=1.322&r2=1.379&diff_format=u
> 
> Please report bugs to address@hidden
> 
> 
>