autoconf/aclocal.m4/gtk-config issues - RF information

[Jules Bean <jmlb2@hermes.cam.ac.uk>]

Hi all,

I've seen the edges of a few flamewars associated with autoconf/configure
style scripts, and I'm wondering if anyone can point me to (or provide me
with) arguments covering the following points:

Given a 3rd-party library A, which includes header files, and a 3rd-party
program B, which uses headers from A, what is the canonical way for B to
discover the location of A?


Some programs seem to use macro files which they install in
/usr/share/aclocal.  Some programs supply 'config' programs
({gtk,gimp,imlib}-config) which report header and link flags.  Some
programs rely on a standard location (either /usr[/local]/include or
/usr[/local]/include/<packagename>).

And I think I've seen people being disparaging of each of these methods..

Many debian programs provide /usr/share/aclocal files... but I've seen
people be fairly rude about the autoconf/automake/aclocal package too...

Any pointers to appropriate FMs appreciated..

Jules

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|  Jelibean aka  | jules@jellybean.co.uk         |  6 Evelyn Rd	       |
|  Jules aka     | jules@debian.org              |  Richmond, Surrey   |
|  Julian Bean   | jmlb2@hermes.cam.ac.uk        |  TW9 2TF *UK*       |
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