Autoconf 2.59 build fails on Bash 2.00.(1)-release

[Alain Guibert]

Hello,

On old Linux Debian Bo (kernel 2.0.40, gcc 2.7.2.1, libc 5.4.33,
Perl 5.6.1, Bash 2.00.0(1)-release, /bin/sh symlink to bash) while
building Autoconf 2.59, make fails:

| make[3]: Leaving directory `/tmp/autoconf-2.59/lib'
| ../../tests/autom4te                          \
|       --language=m4sugar                      \
|       --freeze                        \
|       --output=m4sugar.m4f
| ../../tests/autom4te: line 18: missing closing `)' for arithmetic expression
| ../../tests/autom4te: line 18: syntax error near unexpected token `|'
| ../../tests/autom4te: line 18: `if ((MAIL=60; unset MAIL) || exit) >/dev/null 
2>&1; then'
| make[2]: *** [m4sugar.m4f] Error 2
| make[2]: Leaving directory `/tmp/autoconf-2.59/lib/m4sugar'
| make[1]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
| make[1]: Leaving directory `/tmp/autoconf-2.59/lib'
| make: *** [all-recursive] Error 1


If I edit line 18 of autoconf-2.59/tests/autom4te to insert a space
between "((", make succeeds. But "make check" fails 166 tests,
apparently for the same reason: A misinterpreted "((" in other
scripts. With all those scripts corrected, most tests succeed. Still 1
test fails, number 51.


Alain.