Re: [Groff] autoconf and autoreconf

[Ingo Schwarze]

Hi Bernd,

Bernd Warken wrote on Sat, Apr 13, 2013 at 05:55:43PM +0200:
> Werner Lemberg wrote:
>> Bernd Warken wrote:

>>> I ran `autoconf'.  There was a subdirectory `autom4te.cache/'
>>> created.  First I just deleted it.

>> This directory and its contents is *always* intermediate!  It just
>> speeds up the execution of the autoconf tools.  Actually, the
>> `configure' script itself shouldn't be stored in the repository but
>> generated during a `make tarball' call...
>> 
>> Please remove it again.

> I cannot get it away.

Once you added a directory to a CVS *repository*, you cannot delete
it ever again.

Well, if somebody has a shell account on the CVS server, s/he can
delete the directory from the repository using rm(1) -rf and fix up
the parent CVS metadata by hand, the implication being that
intermediate repository states that *did* contain the directory
cannot be checked out any longer as they were at the time.
Better know what you are doing...

> I tried it about 10-times.  But each update
> of groff CVS on my computer adds each time another subdirectory
> `autom4te.cache/'.

Read the cvs(1) manual.  That's what the -P option is for.
It prunes empty directories from the checkout area.
You may also wish to consider the -d option.

Yours,
  Ingo