Re: automake and dist data

[Ralf Wildenhues]

Hello,

please don't top-post on this list; thanks.

* address@hidden wrote on Tue, Feb 10, 2009 at 07:06:01PM CET:
> 
> I'm developping a middle-scale library that uses autoconf and
> automake. This library comes along with some demo and test programs.
> Those demo and test programs now require some input files in order to
> run. Those input files also have to be distributed with the package. I
> actually tried to put those input data files into the header directory
> and I also wondered if I could put them into the share subdirectory.

You should definitely not put files other than header files into
$(includedir), if that's what you mean.  See here for the meaning of the
directory variables:
<http://www.gnu.org/software/autoconf/manual/html_node/Installation-Directory-Variables.html>

> The test programs will have to read those data, but I actually can't
> know where those input data are stored (it is top_srcdir/include) but
> it is somewhat impossible from what I know to give that directory to
> C/C++ file functions.  Of course, I can code that in the hard way. But
> that will work as long as the project is not installed. But once
> installed (on any uknown machine), I really can't know where to find
> those input files. If they are installed in the include subdirectory,
> then I can have a look at /usr/include, or it might be
> /usr/local/include, or whatever directory a final user would have put
> to configure. It is the same thing if I put those data in the share
> subdirectory.

This FAQ entry contains some information about this issue:
<http://www.gnu.org/software/autoconf/manual/html_node/Defining-Directories.html>

Hope that helps.

Cheers,
Ralf