Re: AC_INIT translates PACKAGE to lower case

[Ralf Corsepius]

Am Don, 2002-01-31 um 16.50 schrieb Tim Van Holder:
> On Thu, 2002-01-31 at 16:21, Ralf Corsepius wrote:
> > Given an autoconf-2.52 and automake-1.5 compatible configure.in:
> > ..
> > AC_INIT
> > ..
> > AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE(libXrc, 0.1)
> > ..
> > 
> > make dist produces libXrc-0.1.tar.gz, PACKAGE is set to libXrc.
> > 
> > With autoconf-cvs and automake-cvs, now using the new syntax:
> > ..
> > AC_INIT([libXrc],[0.1])
> > ..
> > AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE
> 
> You didn't translate correctly.
> The CVS version of the above is:
> 
> AC_INIT([libXrc], [0.1], [libXrc])
> AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE
> 
> By omitting the thrid arg to AC_INIT, you basically said 'I want the
> tarball to have a canonicalized name', resulting in a lowercased name.
Hmm, really?

The version of autoconf-cvs I am currently using (dated 2002-01-28
~13:00 CET) contains this in general.m4:
 AC_INIT([PACKAGE, VERSION, [BUG-REPORT])

> > > *If* you don't define the TARNAME, *then* it defaults to
> > > lower-case-and-dash of the PACKAGE_ *NAME*!
> > This is what I called unnecessarily inventing new standards, not
> > justified by any technical reason.
> 
> Well, what about
> AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE('GNU FooBar', [1.0])

If this kind of quoting shall mean to imply not to translate to
lowercase PACKAGE and PACKAGE_TARNAME, this would be OK for me.

I still fail to see why lowercasing should happen at all - It simple
gives no sense, IMO.

> Now it is possible it would be better if autoconf switched the 1st and
> 3rd arg of AC_INIT around (i.e. making the 'fancy package name' optional
> and defaulting to the tarball name).  But things aren't broken as they
> are now (provided you call the macro's correctly).
Now, one of us seems to be missing something.

> > > You want an additional parameter to AC_INIT,
> > > that's your point? 
> > Nope, just leave the decision about lower-casing PACKAGE and
> > PACKAGE_TARNAME to the user. Ie. do not implicitly lower-case anything.
> 
> It didn't lowercase anything, it _provided a default for a value you
> omitted_.
Where?

In my actual code, which has exposed this problem, I used this:

AC_INIT([libSoGtkRc],[0.7.2],
 [Ralf Corsepius <address@hidden)
[..]
AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE

> > To give an example: What I want to see, is this:
> > 
> > AC_INIT([libXrc],[0.1])
> > AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE
> 
> OK, as I noted above, such a thing would work if autoconf switched the
> 1st and third arg of AC_INIT around.  I frankly don';t care either way;
> I feel that applications should really use the 3-argument form anyway.
Thanks, I already fetl like talking Marsian.

Ralf