Re: [xml] queer usage of install-sh

[Roumen Petrov <bugtrack roumenpetrov info>]

Daniel Veillard wrote:
> On Thu, Oct 22, 2009 at 12:10:29AM +0300, Roumen Petrov wrote:
[SNIP]
> > Also .gitignore list following "automake" files :
> > - ./config.guess
> > - ./config.sub
> > - ./depcomp
> > but don't include following "automake" files :
> > - install-sh
> > - missing
> > - mkinstalldirs
> > It seems to me inconsistent.
>
>   Hum, right. I guess it's back from CVS, and old times where
> we knew the config.* would change on a regular basis.
>
> > Matthias,
> > You could replace files:
> > - install-sh
> > - missing
> > - mkinstalldirs
> > with files from automake package (usually located in  
> > /usr/share/automake*/ ) either manually or as run command
> > "automake --force-missing --add-missing --copy --foreign"
>
>   Yup that refreshes them, I commited the 3 updates. Now the question
> is :
>   - should those files provided by auto* be in git ?
>     + in a sense they are part of what makes a release
>     + but they are somehow generated as coming from auto*
>   - if we pick yes then maybe the 3 others should be added too
>   - if we pick no then we should just remove them from git and
>     list them in gitignore
>
> I don't know yet what's really the best approach, the status quo was
> fine until now but after a decade or so it managed to bite us :-)
>
> Daniel

The project provide bootstrap script - autogen.sh.

If README describe how to build from repository may be you could remove 
files from git.

The automake option --foreign won't install license file COPYING. Option 
--copy is clear, so you may update update autogen.sh.

Also GNU autotools install files with correct executable permissions.
I know projects that incorrectly keep without those files in repository 
without executable permission and as result build from checkout source fail.

As Makefile.in are not in repository and users as to run automake to 
generate them may be is better to remove those files.


I didn't found reported by Matthias issue as for all project build from 
source I run own bootstrap scripts. The scripts remove following files 
from source tree: compile, depcomp, install-sh, install.sh, ltconfig, 
ltmain.sh, mdate-sh , missing, mkinstalldirs and ylwrap. Next script run 
GNU autotools commands and finally for some non-automake based project 
install my automake files mostly mkinstalldirs.
Of course above scenario don't work well for all project based on GNU 
autotools build system.


Roumen