Re: [patch] New test+use texinfo @click - @HAVE_MAKEINFO_CLICK@ [Re: doc build failure (Re: [patch 04/12] entryval#3: Virtual tail call frames)]

[Pedro Alves <pedro@codesourcery.com>]

On Monday 10 October 2011 16:30:49, Jan Kratochvil wrote:
> On Mon, 10 Oct 2011 17:15:38 +0200, Pedro Alves wrote:
> > Leaving a piece of the manual out like that is not okay.
> 
> I was thinking about it but I do not find this part as too significant there,
> it is just another illustration.

A bad precedent.  Let's not do it please.  People e.g., 
building gdb's on old systems in order to make sure the binaries
are binary compatible with a wide range of OS versions will get 
silently bitten with parts of the manual missing.  If it's not
significant, drop it.  If it is, make it available everywhere.

> > If this feature is too new for the currently required makeinfo
> > version (which is it, btw?), we have two real choices:
> > 
> >  1. bump the minimum required makeinfo version so we can use it
> 
> Unfortunately sourceware tree does not build without makeinfo at all.  This is
> a pretty painful dependency on various hosts I build GDB on, I tried once to
> make the dependency optional but I do not find it so easy as I thought it is.

Since it's not, we could say that such old versions are unsupported,
and error out loudly instead.  (that is, bump the minimum required
makeinfo version, if makeinfo is in use).

> >  2. don't use the new feature
> > 
> > We could also have an @else that spells that bit out without
> > using @click/@arrow, but I don't think the benefits of a
> > clicksequence (or @arrow) justify the extra maintenance
> > burden.  IMO.
> 
> IMO it makes better quality of the output for user.  If the feature has been
> implemented and it is useful in such case it should be used.  There is no
> excuse not doing so.

The "doesn't justify the extra maintenance burden" is always a valid
excuse.  But if you and Eli think it justifies it, go for it.

> I can provide alternative less nifty graphical representation keeping the text
> even with older texinfos.

-- 
Pedro Alves