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To: Martin Buchholz <mrb@Eng.Sun.COM>
Cc: XEmacs Developers <xemacs-beta@xemacs.org>
Subject: Re: XEmacs 20.2b1 config problems.
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From: Hrvoje Niksic <hniksic@srce.hr>
Date: 24 Apr 1997 10:02:30 +0200
In-Reply-To: Martin Buchholz's message of Thu, 24 Apr 1997 00:58:17 -0700
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Martin Buchholz <mrb@Eng.Sun.COM> writes:

> We don't have an aclocal.m4 yet, and I'm not sure that creating a new
> file is worth it - those macros can be placed just as well into
> configure.in.

No, no, no...  Please, do create an aclocal.m4.  This is a unique
opportunity to make configure.in almost readable!  Here is a sample
macro I created in aclocal.m4 for Wget:

AC_DEFUN(hn_STRUCT_UTIMBUF,
[AC_MSG_CHECKING(for struct utimbuf)
if test x"$ac_cv_header_utime_h" = xyes; then
  AC_EGREP_CPP([struct[ 	]+utimbuf],
    [#include <utime.h>],
    [AC_DEFINE(HAVE_STRUCT_UTIMBUF)
      AC_MSG_RESULT(yes)],
    AC_MSG_RESULT(no))
else
  AC_MSG_RESULT(no)
fi])

The macro checks for struct utimbuf.  I think it's quite simple, and
puts less load to configure.in.

Of course, it will look totally unreadable to autoconf-uninitiated,
but I think it's definite improvement over simply putting the above
blurb to configure.in

> What I am sure of is that configure-time detection of most features is
> the way to go.  The inflexibility of CPP makes the current system of
> s&m files a real mess.  It will be less of a mess when my changes are
> integrated.  It still won't be pretty.

You are right when you doubt the configure-time detection of feature.
Autoconf seems best-suited for system stuff, like the said struct
utimbuf.  But, we don't seem to have much choice in the matter.

-- 
Hrvoje Niksic <hniksic@srce.hr> | Student at FER Zagreb, Croatia
--------------------------------+--------------------------------
main(){printf(&unix["\021%six\012\0"],(unix)["have"]+"fun"-0x60);}

