Re: New autoconf macro

David Kastrup wrote:
> > 3) AC_FULL_EXPAND is performed on arguments to --with-texmf-dir, for
> >    the purpose of doing only test -d ${withval}, I am unsure of the
> >    reason for this? I mean, shell variables would be expanded as
> >    needed there.
> 
> No.  If we have  --with-texmf-dir='${prefix}/something' then the $ was
> preserved in the variables until make time.  At least that was the
> idea.  But when we have DESTDIR, we won't need to preserve the
> ${prefix} for as long as that if I am not mistaken.

Yes. But the expansion is only needed for the test (test -d ${withval}).
make handles this, no problem. That is, we only need that expansion if
we are going to use the variable _inside_ configure.

Anyway, the need to use --with-texmf-dir='${prefix}/something' as
opposed to an absolute path has drastically diminished. Gone, I would
say. Perhaps we can avoid expansion there?

And in the PACKAGEDIR stuff there is code to exchange the content of
$prefix (say '/usr') for the string '${prefix}' in the returned
directory string. Perhaps we can remove that too?

> > It is also used in EMACS_TEST_LISPDIR, but there I think we can just
> > amend the lisp code, or trust shell expansion.  Neither of these do
> > shell escaping, there are double quotes in effect.
> 
> If we have "$somevar", and somevar='${someother}', then we only get
> one level of expansion.

Correct. Would expansion from within lisp handle several levels?

Related question, many-level expansion is handled by the while:;do
case construct, but what does the sed do? Ah, it removes dangerous
quote characters. For the purpose of avoiding syntax errors, perhaps?
It doesn't seem to exchange them for something useful, so I presume
this is just to avoid errors.

> If you want to work on the stuff, feel free to do so.  I am currently
> still entangled with UTF-8 and other business.  I have just noticed to
> my severe indignation that my system has LC_CTYPE set to C under X,
> which is intolerable.  I suspect fluxbox (which I recently switched
> to), but have yet to find the culprit.  It already mangled the
> telephone book of my mobile with a bad conversion.
> 
> So I'll be still busy at least today with other junk.

I'll see what happens. Perhaps tonight.
/JÅ


-- 
"We just typed make"
   Stephen Lambrigh, Director of Server Product Marketing at Informix
   about porting their Database to Linux