Re: generating pc file

[David A. Wheeler]

Russ Allbery:
> I suppose I should have been clearer.  I believe the method using sed is
> correct, and generating the file at Autoconf time is not as correct
> (although it's workable).

I agree that generating .pc files at "configure" time is the wrong time; it 
should be done at "make" time.

Regarding "AX_CREATE_PKGCONFIG_INFO", he says:
> That macro has gotten better (it at least doesn't put the user's CPPFLAGS
> and LDFLAGS into the *.pc file like it used to), but I still would not
> recommend people use it...

I use the "sed" approach, but it's painful to create and maintain.  Every time 
you need another variable substitution, you gotta modify it.  Since it's not 
trivial, many people won't do it.  I currently recommend that people use 
AX_CREATE_PKGCONFIG_INFO, because they're far more likely to actually do it, 
and it maintains.

This is a need for *every* library.  Shouldn't a trivial capability to generate 
replacements, at "make" time, be built into autoconf or automake?!?  It might 
be something that needs coordination between them.  Until there is, it seems 
that AX_CREATE_PKGCONFIG_INFO is the best available approach, since it's the 
closest-available to correct that's easy to do.

--- David A. Wheeler