Re: `automake -a -c -f` wrongly updates the INSTALL file

[Mike Frysinger]

On Tuesday 08 January 2008, Ralf Wildenhues wrote:
> Hello Mike,
>
> * Mike Frysinger wrote on Wed, Jan 02, 2008 at 10:44:12PM CET:
> > On Thursday 28 September 2006, Mike Frysinger wrote:
> > > i normally use automake-1.9.6 but i just tried out 1.9b and it appears
> > > to have the same problem
> >
> > automake-1.10 exhibits the problem as well ... finally spent some time
> > digging at it for fun
> >
> > > $ svn st INSTALL
> > > $ automake-1.9b -a -c
> > > $ svn st INSTALL
> > > $ automake-1.9b -a -f
> > > $ svn st INSTALL
>
> That doesn't happen for me.  After `-a -f', the file is replaced with
> the symlink pointing to the installed INSTALL file.
>
> With --foreign, however, that doesn't happen.  Neither with -a -f, nor
> with -a -c -f.
>
> > > $ automake-1.9b -a -c -f
> > > $ svn st INSTALL
> > > M      INSTALL
> > > $ svn diff INSTALL
> > > ...
> > > -HOMEPAGE:    http://freestdf.sourceforge.net/liblzw.php
> > > -AUTHOR:      Mike Frysinger <address@hidden>
> > > +Installation Instructions
> > > +*************************
> > > ...
>
> While I understand that you don't want this change to happen, I'm not
> sure what would be the desirable or intended semantics.  After all, `-a
> -f' replaces all files except COPYING.  If we change semantics, at least
> the new ones should be documented, I think.

let me expand on the situation a bit more.  ive been converting my projects 
from running each autotool individually to using autoreconf.  this means i 
would generally run the command:
autoreconf -f -i
this in turn implies:
automake -a -c -f

the documentation for autoreconf says that --force is used to force a remake 
of all files ... and the documentation seems to imply this is a good thing as 
it makes sure that files will be pulled in from the latest autotools.  do i 
want to force updating of "auxiliary tools" ?  certainly.  do i want to 
replace files that as a package maintainer are supposed to be customized 
per-package ?  not at all ...

hope this helps bring a bigger perspective to the issue rather than narrowing 
on automake "-a -c -f" behavior ...
-mike

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