Re: Site Macro Directory

[Paul Eggert]

> From: "Mark D. Roth" <address@hidden>
> Date: Thu, 16 May 2002 19:19:56 -0500
> 
>   * autoconf will have an AC_INCLUDE macro that causes it to read a
>     specific file from the site macro directory.

Autoconf used to have AC_INCLUDE, but it got removed in 2.49a.
Apparently, it got replaced with autoreconf --install, I guess under
the theory that everybody who wanted this sort of thing would be using
aclocal.

Sorry, I didn't know about autoreconf --install until just now, or I'd
have mentioned it earlier.  And I don't know exactly what it does; you
may have to look at the source to figure it out.

Perhaps Akim can chime in and explain the motivation here; I'm a bit
out of my depth.

>   * If a macro exists in both the site macro directory and the `m4'
>     subdirectory, the version in the site macro directory will be
>     copied over the version in the `m4' subdirectory.

I would say that only --install should copy; the default should be to
use a search path, without copying.

>   * If the same macro is defined in both aclocal.m4 and in the site
>     macro directory (or the `m4' subdirectory), the version in
>     aclocal.m4 takes precedence.

But the aclocal command typically produces aclocal.m4 from the m4
subdirectory.  (acinclude.m4 is obsolete.)