Re: Patch: gcc-3.0.4 workaround for AS_SPARC64_FLAG/autoconf-2.53

[Adam J. Richter]

>there's no good reason for autoconf to start poaching on symbols that
>don't begin with AC_.  File it as a bug in autoconf.

        Recent versions of autoconf appear to split a lot of the autconf
functionality between autoconf proper and "m4 sugar."  I think the
idea is that the m4sugar code could be useful for other things, so
that why I think they want a second prefix.  Personally, I think
that second prefix should be something less likely to collide with
existing variable (like M4S_, say), and that autoconf should just
generate warning about this since it does not know what variables
people have used up to this point.

        In general, I think a number of recent changes in autoconf
have broken backward compatability unnecessarily.

        Nevertheless, autoconf-2.53 is out there.  You will probably
have to field the same trouble report repeatedly if you do not work
around the problem.  The workaround is not only very simple; it's also
an improvement.  ASM_xxxxxxx is more mnemonic than AS_xxxxx and more
consistent with other flags related to assember issues in gcc.  So, I
would still recommend that you apply my patch.

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