Re: [PATCHES] Better error messages if obsolete macros are used

[Stefano Lattarini]

On 12/31/2012 02:17 PM, Paolo Bonzini wrote:
> Il 31/12/2012 11:32, Stefano Lattarini ha scritto:
>> It is indeed possible that the real reason that pushed me to remove
>> AM_CONFIG_HEADER was the fact that I got caught in a "cleanup frenzy"
>> when I was removing other (real) cruft.  You are starting to partly
>> convince me of that.
> 
> These patches are at least a little better, so I'll just let your
> subconscious finish the task of convincing you.  (Also because almost
> nobody is using autoupdate anymore I believe, so a first step using
> AU_DEFUN would not provide much benefit).
>
But adding a non-fatal warning in the 'obsolete' category (which is active
by default since Automake 1.12.4) would have probably helped.  It seems
that has been the case for deprecation of things like $(INCLUDES) and
AM_PROG_MKDIR_P (both deprecated with runtime warnings since at least
1.12.x, and to be removed only in 1.14); and I think and hope it will
also help with the planned "decommission" of ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS (documented
as deprecated in 1.13, and which will start raising non-fatal runtime
warnings in Automake 1.14).

>> That said, I still believe that old cruft, even if completely harmless
>> as in this case, should be removed eventually (and that macro has been
>> cruft for almost 10 yars now).  The real issue with the removal is that
>> it is has been too abrupt, with no transition from doc deprecation to
>> runtime warnings to error message to complete removal (despite the fact
>> we had all the time to implement this transition, and not doing so has
>> been 100% my fault).  These patches tries to remedy this situation.
> 
> Yeah, I agree entirely here.
> 
> Paolo

Thanks,
  Stefano