Hi, let me formulate a proposal. I try to be as specific as possible. AC_MSG_NEED(PACKAGE, TEXT) ------------------------------ Prints a message and saves it for later usage. Example: AC_MSG_NEED(foo, [grab the latest foo from foo.org]) prints: Suggestion: foo grab the latest foo from foo.org AC_MSG_COND_NEED(CONDITION, PACKAGE, TEXT) ------------------------------------------ Prints a message and saves it for later usage. Example: AC_MSG_COND_NEED(--with-graphs, libxy, [use the latest xy library from http://www.xylib.net/]) prints: Suggestion (for --with-graphs): libxy use the latest xy library from http://www.xylib.net/ AC_OUTPUT --------- If there were any call to AC_MSG_NEED or AC_MSG_COND_NEED, all the suggestions are printed, and then configure exits; it doesn't create config.status in this case. Example: Suggestions: foo grab the latest foo from foo.org bar grab the latest bar from http://www.barbar.com (for --with-graphs): libxy use the latest xy library from http://www.xylib.net/ Thats all. I think implementing this proposal is a good step forward. The most difficult part is the documentation, of course. I don't volunteer for it. Hugh, could you please write a patch to autoconf.texi, which would document these macros, and, most importantly, encouradge their usage? I could then add some macros and patch autoconf's own configure.ac. A few comments: Comment #1: ----------- I chose AC_MSG_NEED instead of a combination of AC_MSG_END and AS_SUGGEST_STRING. I think the macro should be as simple as possible, so that mor people use it. Comment #2: ----------- This proposal doesn't handle dependencies among the requirements. This is intentional; I think a maintainer should only specify the list of requirements. Only sysadmins and distribution builders are allowed to think about a "dependency tree". In most cases, we can check for all requirements independently. In the rare case when it is impossible to perform a check for "bar" if "foo" wasn't found, we can use this pattern: # check for foo and set have_foo if test $have_foo = no; then AC_MSG_NEED(foo, [grab foo from ...]) fi have_bar=no if test $have_foo = yes; then # check for bar # and set have_bar appropriately fi if test $have_bar = no; then AC_MSG_NEED(bar, [grab bar from ...]) fi Hugh, are you willing to work on this proposal, and make a patch to autoconf.texi? Stepan _______________________________________________ Autoconf mailing list Autoconf@xxxxxxx http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/autoconf
