Re: Autoreconfing guide
On Fri, 18 Jul 2014, Wookey wrote:
> +++ Russ Allbery [2014-07-15 23:55 -0700]:
> > Yavor Doganov <yavor@gnu.org> writes:
> >
> > > I also wonder why debian/autoreconf is needed given that autoreconf
> > > is recursive.
> >
> > I don't think autoreconf can always figure out what to do when the files
> > are buried in some random subdirectory without anything at the top level.
>
> Correct. It's generally when the source is in a subdir and there is
> nothing autotooly at all at the top level. Or when the package
> effectively contains two separate autoconf source trees in it.
Indeed. In most cases, there will be a shell script somewhere (one of the
usual names is "autogen.sh") that will call autoreconf with the appropriate
options.
> level. I don't know if it's possible to explain this layout to
> autotools, or if it's just something we should be telling upstream to
> stop doing? (I've been dealing with it by backing-up
Well, as long as there is an "autogen.sh"-style script somewhere in the
build tree that does this...
We ought to document locating and using these autogen scripts as a preferred
substitute to running autoreconf directly (this assumes upstream does use
the autogen script :-p). There is no way to automate adding this to the
package, you have to customize debian/rules in a case-by-case basis, though.
--
"One disk to rule them all, One disk to find them. One disk to bring
them all and in the darkness grind them. In the Land of Redmond
where the shadows lie." -- The Silicon Valley Tarot
Henrique Holschuh
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