Re: Do not create conditional installation directories

[Ralf Corsepius]

Ralf Wildenhues wrote:
> * Akim Demaille wrote on Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 06:31:50PM CET:
>   
> > > > > "RW" == Ralf Wildenhues <address@hidden> writes:
> > > > >           
> >  > But the question remains: how do you think we should address the bug
> >  > that bothers Akim, other than by this patch and a big warning in NEWS?
> >
> > My focus was more about an empty $(foodir), not an empty $(foo_DATA).
> >     
>
> Can you describe situations where an empty $(foodir) happens?
>   
The classic use case are packages which use a directory but not put any 
files into it.

Some examples:

a) plugin installation directories:
pkgplugindir=$(libdir)/package/plugins

b) directories to be filled at run time
mysyslogdir=$(localstatedir)/......

c) directories supposed to be filled with manually written files
myconfigdir=$(sysconfdir)/package

> Is this a bug?  Is this a regression?
>
>   
Your change kills the approach above, which had been a very elegant way 
to create directories.

This is a serious regression, because it
a) silently doesn't create these directories anymore => it break packages
b) it forces developers to using install-..-hooks etc.

Ralf