Re: [GNU Autoconf 2.69] OSX autotools: `aclocal.m4' not being output by `autom4te'

[Jeff Sheen]

N.B. despite FAT's age, and subsequent flaws, it is still the de facto standard 
for portable drives. 

This is because FAT is the only file system fully supported by all modern 
operating systems.

I run a multi-OS development environment, with a spread of tools across OSX and 
Windows. I wanted to migrate away from using FAT on my shared data partition, 
but found no other viable options. The process of testing alternative file 
systems was extensive, and meticulous. I spent weeks trying out NTFS and HFS 
partitions, with different combinations of drivers in both operating systems.

Ultimately, it is partisan nonsense that the only file system that can be 
agreed on is FAT, but that is the reality.

Jeff.

> On 27 Jun 2014, at 02:39, Bob Friesenhahn <address@hidden> wrote:
> 
>> On Thu, 26 Jun 2014, Jeff Sheen wrote:
>> 
>> Is it expected behaviour that GNU Autotools are incompatible with some file 
>> systems natively supported by the OS?
> 
> FAT32 provides only one second file timestamp resolution.  That can cause 
> significant problems for modern computers which often perform several steps 
> in one second.  A test to see if a file has changed may fail to obtain the 
> correct results.
> 
> Bob
> -- 
> Bob Friesenhahn
> address@hidden, http://www.simplesystems.org/users/bfriesen/
> GraphicsMagick Maintainer,    http://www.GraphicsMagick.org/