[PATCH 0/10] Explicit warning levels must always take precedence over those implied by the strictness

[stefano . lattarini]

Hello automakers.

This patch series originated from PR/547 a.k.a. bug#7669:
 
<http://sources.redhat.com/cgi-bin/gnatsweb.pl?cmd=view%20audit-trail&database=automake&pr=547>
 <http://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=7669>

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The aim of this patch series is to ensure that explicit
enabling/disabling of automake warning categories through
the `-W...' options always takes precedence over the
implicit warning level implied by an Automake strictness
(foreign, gnu, gnits), regardless of the order in which
such strictness and warning flags appears.

For example, even if the `foreign' strictness disables the
warnings in the `portability' category, all the following
usages:
 - form command line:  automake -Wportability --foreign
 - in configure.ac:    AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([-Wportability foreign])
 - in Makefile.am:     AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS = -Wportability foreign
should end up enabling the `portability' warnings.

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IMPORTANT NOTE: The above doesn't mean that `-W...' options
should always win over warning levels implied by strictness.

For example, if configure.ac contains:
  AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([-Wportability])
and Makefile.am contains:
  AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS = foreign
then portability warnings will end up being disabled in Makefile.am.
This is deliberate, and seems the saner policy ATM.

-*-*-*-

NOTE: Just to be absolutely clear: this patch series do not change
nor try to change the current "weird" option precedence scheme of
automake:
  AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS > AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE > command line
Before trying to do so, we should understand whether there are/were good
reasons behind this precedence scheme, and if yes, what these reasons
are, and whether they are still relevant today.  But that's for another
thread anyway.

-*-*-*-

Patches will follow shortly.

Regards,
   Stefano