Re: gnulib-tool.sh: Match sorting of gnulib-tool.py in output.

[Bruno Haible]

Hi Collin,

> diff -ru testdir2/Makefile.am testdir2-glpy85706/Makefile.am
> --- testdir2/Makefile.am      2024-04-27 13:53:51.443692945 -0700
> +++ testdir2-glpy85706/Makefile.am    2024-04-27 13:53:33.063660555 -0700
> @@ -2,6 +2,6 @@
>  
>  AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS = 1.14 foreign
>  
> -SUBDIRS = sys_types stdio ALL
> +SUBDIRS = stdio sys_types ALL

Indeed, this part of the failure is a question of sorting.

> The behavior of gnulib-tool.py is to sort the modules and
> gnulib-tool.sh uses them as passed.
> 
> I feel like the best solution here is just to sort the modules in
> gnulib-tool.sh.

I disagree. The route that we have been following over the last two months
— and that you can verify through 'gitk gnulib-tool.sh' — is that we change
gnulib-tool.sh only when it is clearly a bug fix or an improvement.

Adding sorting is neither a bug fix nor an improvement. It is arbitrary.

Also, the SUBDIRS variable in a Makefile.am determines the order in which
the subdirectories are traversed during a build. If a subdirectory has some
chances to fail the build or the tests, it should be mentioned last, so
that the other (more reliable) subdirectories can at least be built and
tested. Thus, sorting SUBDIRS in alphabetical order is generally unwelcome.

It is gnulib-tool.py which needs to adapt.

Bruno