[RFA:] SUN make VPATH breakage at libsupc++ header installation

[Hans-Peter Nilsson]

> From: Tom Tromey <tromey@redhat.com>
> Date: 01 Jun 2001 08:22:11 -0600

> >>>>> ">" == Hans-Peter Nilsson <hans-peter.nilsson@axis.com> writes:
> >> automake people (CC:ed) might want to consider changing the default
> >> installheader expansion along these lines
> 
> Automake has always adopted the rule that VPATH builds are supported
> only with GNU make.

Why doesn't the automake documentation say so explicitly?
Grepping for VPATH, I can only find this passage from INSTALL
(about srcdir != objdir): "To do this, you must use a version of
`make' that supports the `VPATH' variable, such as GNU `make'".
Well, to the untrained eye, SUN make supports VPATH...  Perhaps
you might want to consider documenting that you don't support
SUN make no matter what, and perhaps remove what hacks there
are.

>  Vendor makes, including Sun, don't handle VPATH
> well enough to use them.  I think if you look you'll discover that
> supporting Sun make's VPATH would require adding little hacks all over
> automake.

Again: there *are* little hacks.  For instance, lib/am/check.am,
check-TESTS.  Besides, I though automake was *supposed* to
handle such little hacks...

> I'm sure there are old discussions about this in the automake list
> archives.  I don't remember all the specifics any more.

It would help avoid irritating discussions if something had been
added to the documentation.

> >> + 	  p=`basename $$p0`; \
> 
> You're prohibited from using basename in a Makefile rule by the GNU
> Coding Standards.  See (Standards)Utilities in Makefiles.

Argh, bummer.  So I have make it use "sed" or whatever is used
elsewhere and do another two or three bootstraps.  Fun.

brgds, H-P