Re: cache directory is not removed

[Bill Wendling]

Also sprach Akim Demaille:
} >>>>> "Steven" == Steven G Johnson <address@hidden> writes:
} 
} >> They don't have understood the point.  And then, why keep the .o
} >> too?  And the .deps?
} 
} Steven> Again, it's a matter of tradeoffs and optimizing for the
} Steven> common case. On the one hand, programs spewing files as a
} Steven> side-effect that the user didn't explicitly request is
} Steven> generally undesirable.  On the other hand, developers change
} Steven> source code files and recompile *very* often, so the extra
} Steven> speed (which can be orders of magnitude for .o!) is worth the
} Steven> filesystem litter.
} 
} By we just do agree here!  autom4te.cache appears when autoconf,
} autoheader or automake is run.  We are not talking about end-users here.

So, to summarize the complaints, we had a cache file (config.cache) which
was useful to a small number of people but deemed "harmful" to the
majority because of various compelling arguments given on this list.

We now have a similar situation with the autom4te.cache directory. It's
useful only to a small number of people and an annoyance (read: not
harmful, but a nuisance) to the larger number of people.

By Steven's own reasoning, it should be disabled by default and given a
flag so that those who need it will have it.

-- 
|| Bill Wendling                        address@hidden
|| Coding Simian