Re: RFC: ./configure or ./config.status --clean

[Akim Demaille]

>>>>> "Ralf" == Ralf Corsepius <address@hidden> writes:

Ralf> Am Don, 2002-04-04 um 18.44 schrieb Akim Demaille:
>> Let me wrap the question in the other direction: what is better
>> with providing a list of files to remove?  How does your solution
>> work when there is no longer the top Makefile, for whatever reason,
>> but there remains other files?
>> 
>> Using ./configure --clean, you never face this problem.
Ralf> Hmm, IMHO you are missing an essential point against
Ralf> configure/config.status --clean:

Ralf> Centralization vs. decentralization -- While it's pretty easy to
Ralf> produce non-functional config.status or configure scripts during
Ralf> development with autoconf/automake, decentralized Makefiles
Ralf> remain functionally enough for a "make distclean".

I'm sorry, but I think your point does not apply here.  If you want
`decentralization' to such an extent that the creator is no longer
responsible for the destruction, then I can have configure create one
rm-foo.sh file for each AC_CONFIG_FILES(foo).  Now, that's what I call
decentralization.

Ralf> On the other hand, a file list is not enough if wanting to clean
Ralf> directories (eg. autom4te.cache). Not even automake currently
Ralf> can handle that, because it presumes _files_.

Again, autom4te.cache is completely out of the considered picture.