[tex-live] automake issues with $(AM_V_P)

Mirko Vogt tex at nanl.de
Fri Mar 13 23:37:28 CET 2015


I'm aware that's surely the wrong list to "discuss" that issue, however
I have the impression my previous mail on this matter was misunderstood,
so I'd like to clarify my point of view on this:

On 03/10/2015 10:09 PM, Karl Berry wrote:
> TL uses automake, and we go to great lengths to make it possible to
> download and compile our sources without rerunning automake at all.  I
> fail to see how some other systems' use of $(V) is relevant.  I don't
> complain when some other system uses conventions that I find abhorrent.

One example here is - as said - OpenWrt, which is a cross-compiling
toolchain written in make.
Here we use $(V) to define the verbosity and allow other values than
just '1' and '0'
If doing so (e.g. <make V=99>) and trying to cross-compile a package
(e.g. texlive) where Makefiles were generated by automake using
silent-rules, it crashes.
That has nothing to do with whether I find OpenWrt is using $(V)
properly or not. The issue is btw. workarounded within OpenWrt in a
general by now (although rather poorly than well)[1]

> They started using $V quite a few years ago.  And they chose a short
> name to make it convenient for people to change on a run-by-run basis.
> Which people do.  It was not just stupidity.
> 
> That said, I still wish they had chosen AMV or some such.

Please don't get me wrong here. I don't mind automake using that variable.
However the argument whether automake claimed $(V) before any other
project - and therewith is allowed to define what $(V) is allowed to be
set to and what not - I find rather nonsense. That doesn't justify why
they use $(V) in a variable name expansion and therewith fail for any
other value.
Also - although it is not using automake - the Linux kernel uses $(V),
too, and pretty well documents values other than '0' and '1'.
My conclusion here is that passing $(V) to make with other values than
0/1 is not uncommon.
That's the exact point I fail to understand and why I filed a bug report.

Have a nice weekend!

  mirko

[1]https://dev.openwrt.org/changeset/44684
[2]http://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=20077


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