Re: mkinstalldirs --version

[Alexandre Duret-Lutz]

>>> "Bruno" == Bruno Haible <address@hidden> writes:

[...]

 >> Bruno, do you think setting
 >> mkinstalldirs = $(install_sh) -d
 >> would cause any issue?

 Bruno> The only immediate issue that I can see is that invoking
 Bruno> $(mkinstalldirs) would become slower: 1. sh has to parse
 Bruno> 4 times more shell code,

:)

 Bruno> 2. it doesn't have the "mkdir -p" optimization that
 Bruno> mkinstalldirs has.

Then, how about a configure test to set `mkinstalldirs = mkdir -p'
when it works?  (This, of course, is independent of whether the
replacement is mkinstalldirs or install-sh.)

 Bruno> But there are other reasons to keep mkinstalldirs:
 Bruno> - Small single-purpose programs are more maintainable than
 Bruno> swiss army knife programs - the "Do One Thing but do it Right"
 Bruno> philosophy.

Generally, I'd agree.  But in this case, install-sh needs to
create leading directories when installing files, so install-sh
already uses the mkinstalldirs loop and this can hardly be
changed.  So keeping two scripts means maintaining two copies of
the feature.  By looking at the "this part is taken from Noah
Friedman's mkinstalldirs" loop of install-sh, you can see how
these two scripts have diverged.

 Bruno> - mkinstalldirs is a replacement for the POSIX "mkdir -p".
 Bruno> Whereas there is no POSIX "install" command.
 Bruno> - install-sh carries this unfortunate copyright which requires
 Bruno> mentioning the MIT in the documentation.

This license was fixed in Automake 1.7.5.
-- 
Alexandre Duret-Lutz