Re: [bug-gnulib] AM_MKINSTALLDIRS obsolete?

[Bruno Haible]

Derek Price wrote:
> Is the AM_MKINSTALLDIRS macro defined by m4/nls.m4 obsolete

You don't need to invoke AM_MKINSTALLDIRS explicitly. This macro is also
undocumented. It will be AC_REQUIREd by AM_GNU_GETTEXT when appropriate.

> now that Automake 1.9.5 defines
>
> ~    mkinstalldirs=$(ac_aux_dir)/install-sh -d
>
> ?  It seems to me that hardcoding it to define MKINSTALLDIRS to the
> mkinstalldirs script is certainly out of date.

That was a change introduced in automake 1.8. Since

   automake 1.8 requires autoconf >= 2.58,
   automake 1.7 requires autoconf >= 2.54,
   automake 1.6 requires autoconf >= 2.52,

but the GNU gettext macros require only autoconf >= 2.50, all changes
that assume an automake version >= 1.6 would break for people using
an autoconf version from 2.50 to 2.57. You might consider autoconf 2.57
as being "out of date". Other packages still use it. Why should gettext
break them if it can be avoided?

> Not sure why the nls.m4 version would have been doing something
> diffrerent anyhow.  I think $(mkinstalldirs) has been the var defined
> by Automake for awhile and I think it is usually included for the
> `make install' target, which should be just about always.

Yes, @mkinstalldirs@ is the variable defined by automake, and
@MKINSTALLDIRS@ in the variable defined by the gettext m4 macros.
There is no conflict.

> Also, as near as I can tell, despite causing $(MKINSTALLDIRS) to be
> defined in my Makefiles, $(MKINSTALLDIRS) is never referenced in any
> targets.

@MKINSTALLDIRS@ is used by po/Makefile.in.in.

Bruno