[bug #55461] user ./configure --docdir ignored

[G. Branden Robinson]

Update of bug #55461 (project groff):

                 Summary: User --docdir configuration ignored => user
./configure --docdir ignored

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Follow-up Comment #1:

[comment #0 original submission:]
> In the 1.22.4 release of groff, a --docdir option passed to `configure' is
ignored.
> 
> This seems to be because the 'docdir' variable is set in Makefile.am:165,
which effectively overrides the substitution done by the configure script
(either of the default value as well as from the user).
> 
> Is there a particular reason for the desire to override the default value by
adding a version number, rather than leaving that to distribution packagers or
users?

As far as I know it is because of a GNU directive issued 21 years ago.[1]

Since groff was requested to support the simultaneous installation of multiple
versions, and the then-maintainer of groff, Werner Lemberg, supported the
idea[2], it was done.

It does seem odd that there isn't more infrastructure in GNU Autotools to
support this, though.  Maybe there is, and groff isn't using it correctly?

> If so, this may need to go to Autoconf, which doesn't seem to provide a good
way to override the default substitutions for these core variables.  It would
seem justified in this case, given that the GNU Standards for 'docdir' say
that it may include a version number.
> 
> Until the Autoconf support is fixed, I would suggest removing the override
of 'docdir'.

I'm hesitant to do that, primarily because hacking around deficiencies in the
GNU Autotools seems like a good way to accrue technical debt to me (in other
words, cruft that will be so poorly understood that it won't ever get taken
out even when it's no longer useful, and just make the project harder to
manage).  The Debian packages successfully de-version the doc directory;
perhaps 
you could have a look at what they do?

Also, I apologize for it taking 3 years to follow up on this report.

[1] https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/groff/2000-10/msg00105.html
[2] https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/groff/2000-10/msg00116.html

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