Re: [Automake-NG] [PATCH 05/15] [ng] tests: Automake should let us append to undefined variables (someday)

[Akim Demaille]

Le 25 mai 2012 à 15:47, Stefano Lattarini a écrit :

> On 05/25/2012 03:26 PM, Akim Demaille wrote:
>> The point was to prevent users from messing around with Automake
>> variables.
> One more good reason for Automake to stick to the 'AM_' namespace
> consistently ;-)

Agreed.  Yet Automake uses PROGRAMS, SCRIPTS, SOURCES etc.  Many
of them are tempting.

>> Then I am most probably doing silly things
>> by appending to it (where I expected to just += the initial value).
>> 
>> Whereas, had I initialized it, Automake would have complained from
>> my using a variable it owns.
>> 
> OK, got your point now; albeit to me it seems too much of a fringe
> case to worry about, especially considered that the possibility to
> append with '+=' to "undefined" variables has already been requested
> in the past: <http://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=7671>

Well, that fact that more static checks can annoy is not
new.  Yet I would not go back to K&R C.

In the present case, what is rather a pity is that Automake
did not initialize CLEANFILES.  And some others.  That do not
start with AM_.

> More importantly, this discussion is mostly moot now, because we still
> have not modified the Automake behaviour in this respect.  A thing that
> could be useful, though, would be to enhance the commit message to
> include your misgivings (and my reply to them) for future reference.
> If you are inclined to do so, just post the new proposed commit message
> here, so that I can amend my patch to include it.

You're the captain of the ship.  I just meant to tell you why
we made her this way, but now she's yours :)