Re: Blogging about deprecated macros

[Stefano Lattarini]

[Moving to the Automake list, that is the correct place for this dicussion]

Reference:
<http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/autoconf/2013-01/msg00004.html>

On 01/07/2013 04:04 AM, Marko Lindqvist wrote:
> FYI
> 
> Recent automake-1.13 release has been keeping me busy as I try to fix
> the majority (it feels) of FOSS projects upon which it fails, due to
> AM_CONFIG_HEADER having been removed.
> 
> So in the hope that projects would be better prepared for future
> autotool releases, a quick note about autoupdate:
> http://cazfi.livejournal.com/195108.html
> 
> 
In addition to what I said in my previous reply

  <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/autoconf/2013-01/msg00007.html>

please note that the NEWS file in the 'maint' branch of the Automake
git repository contains a list of planned behavioural changes and/or
future backward incompatibilities:

  <http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/automake.git/tree/NEWS?h=maint>

This NEWS entries are reported in any announcement of a new Automake
version, to make them easier to spot for "advanced" users.  Example:

  <http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/automake/2013-01/msg00000.html>

Also, to make it more difficult to incur into another unannounced backward
incompatibility like the AM_CONFIG_HEADER one, I've added a PLANS directory
in the Automake source tree, where non-trivial changes (whether backward
incompatible or not) can be motived, discussed, and planned:

  <http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/automake.git/tree/PLANS/README?h=maint>

This is also meant to integrate discussions in the Bug Tracker, which
can sometimes span several months and become tangled, and make the
general direction not trivial to follow and the main points more
difficult to condense and remember.

Regards,
  Stefano