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Re: Making PATH precious?
From: |
Ralf Corsepius |
Subject: |
Re: Making PATH precious? |
Date: |
11 Sep 2002 11:47:34 +0200 |
Am Mit, 2002-09-11 um 11.08 schrieb Akim Demaille:
>
> | Akim Demaille <address@hidden> wrote:
> | > What about making PATH a precious variable? This way, we will be able
> | > to notice when two runs are performed with different PATH. It would
> | > also make
> | >
> | > PATH=foo ./configure
> | >
> | > similar to
> | >
> | > ./configure PATH=foo
> | >
> | > i.e., ./config.status --recheck will _preserve_ the value of PATH.
> | >
> | >
> | > Now the bad effect is:
> | >
> | > 1. PATH will automagically appear in Automake's Makefile.in because
> | > autoconf AC_SUBST the precious vars and all the AC_SUBST vars are
> | > automagically put in Makefile.in.
> | >
> | > 2. PATH will appear on the command line each time ./config.status
> | > --recheck is relaunched. For instance:
Worse:
It will duplicated each time config.status --recheck is invoked.
Even worser:
It will be duplicated each time a config-subdir configure is invoked
> | Hi Akim!
> |
> | Also, that would keep me from rebuilding with a different PATH,
> | even when I *know* that's what I want to do, Right?
>
> Well, yes :( The point is more to relieve the maintainers from lost
> users, than to make _directly_ the maintainers' lives easier.
>
> | I'm not sure it's worthwhile.
> | PATH evolves. Inevitably, people will change it,
> | and then weeks later, come back to a working directory
> | and find that autoconf fails.
>
> s/autoconf/configure/
>
> | Giving a warning might be a good compromise.
>
> Hm... Yes, you are right. Thanks!
Hm, no. You both are ignoring 2 facts:
1. PATH can be very long (A PATH consisting of several 100s of
characters is not seldom)
2. Autoconf currently is not able to prune duplicate "AC_ARG_VARS" from
ac_configure_args
=> Given the fact that some shells come with very resticted command line
lengths, it's only a matter of time until configure will meet these
limitations.
=> IMHO, given the currently limited implementation of handling
"precious vars" in autoconf/configure, making PATH "precious" is
prohibitive.
Ralf