Re: gnulib-tool recommendations don't honour command line flags

[Werner LEMBERG]

>> I've invoked gnulib-tool as follows:
>>
>>   gnulib-tool --import \
>>               --m4-base=gnulib/m4 \
>>               --source-base=gnulib/src \
>>               --aux-dir=gnulib getopt-gnu
>>
>> and the recommendations emitted say this:
>>
>>   Don't forget to
>>     - add "lib/Makefile" to AC_CONFIG_FILES in ./configure.ac,
>>     - mention "lib" in SUBDIRS in Makefile.am,
>>     - mention "-I m4" in ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS in Makefile.am,
>>     - mention "m4/gnulib-cache.m4" in EXTRA_DIST in Makefile.am,
>>     - invoke gl_EARLY in ./configure.ac, right after AC_PROG_CC,
>>     - invoke gl_INIT in ./configure.ac.
>>
>> However, this should rather be
>>
>>   Don't forget to
>>     - add "gnulib/src/Makefile" to AC_CONFIG_FILES in ./configure.ac,
>>     - mention "gnulib/src" in SUBDIRS in Makefile.am,
>>     - mention "-I gnulib/m4" in ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS in Makefile.am,
>>     - mention "gnulib/m4/gnulib-cache.m4" in EXTRA_DIST in Makefile.am,
>>     - invoke gl_EARLY in ./configure.ac, right after AC_PROG_CC,
>>     - invoke gl_INIT in ./configure.ac.
>
> Indeed, this is surprising. Maybe you had a gnulib-cache.m4 file in
> the package's directory, that specified different settings?

Apparently yes.  I've just retried the above command with a clean git
clone (not containing any stuff related to gnulib), and now I get
this:

  Don't forget to
    - add "gnulib/src/Makefile" to AC_CONFIG_FILES in ./configure.ac,
    - mention "src" in SUBDIRS in gnulib/Makefile.am,
    - mention "-I gnulib/m4" in ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS in Makefile.am,
    - mention "gnulib/m4/gnulib-cache.m4" in EXTRA_DIST in Makefile.am,
    - invoke gl_EARLY in ./configure.ac, right after AC_PROG_CC,
    - invoke gl_INIT in ./configure.ac.

So it's just a single error (in the SUBDIRS line).

>> Actually, I suggest two additions so that we have
>>
>>     - add "gnulib/m4" to AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR in ./configure.ac
>
> There is no need to recommend this, because
>   - gnulib's parameters are cached in gnulib-cache.m4, a different
>     file than configure.ac,
>   - it does neither help nor hurt if the macro directories into
>     which 'aclocal' and 'libtoolize' add their macros is the same or
>     a different directory than the one you specified for gnulib.

Hmm.  For me, `autoreconf --force --install' fails later on if I don't
add `gnulib/m4' to AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR...

>>     - mention "-I gnulib/m4" in ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS in Makefile.am
>>       (use a single line for all include directives),
>
> Why "use a single line"?  Continuing the line with backslash-newline
> does not work?

No.  From autoconf's info file:

     If you want `autoreconf' to pass flags that are not listed here
  on to `aclocal', set `ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS' in your `Makefile.am'.  Due
  to a limitation in the Autoconf implementation these flags currently
  must be set on a single line in `Makefile.am', without any
  backslash-newlines.


    Werner