Re: info-dir translator

[Richard M. Stallman]

    But install-info would still have to be run when installing on any
    non-Hurd system, right?

Yes.

      So a Makefile (or equivalent) that avoids
    install-info just on the Hurd actually has to do *more* work to detect
    whether to run install-info.

You're mixing up two different things.  The `install' target would be
what runs install-info.  Unpacking a package for the Hurd won't run
the `install' target, or anything in the Makefile.  No package installation
system runs the source package makefile.

We could create a special encapsulated environment in which you can
run `make install' and it will build the Hurd package for you.  The
idea is that when `make install' tries to install in system-wide
directories or files, in this environment that will really just put
something in the binary package being constructed.

    It's good that the Hurd makes this extra power available, but I'm not
    sure using it in this way is a good idea.  Introducing
    incompatibilities in the facilities everyone already uses makes more
    work for everyone.

It's not acceptable to stick with a GNU/Linux-style package manager.
We MUST take advantage of the power of the Hurd to do something better.
If it means some incompatibility, we have to live with that.