Re: [PATCH] update automake version to 1.11.6

Joel Brobecker
2015-03-23T12:46:08Z

> > i don't have a problem with requiring people to use the same exact
> version.
> > i do think that requiring them to build/install by hand is
> > unreasonable. it's pretty rare (by design) for projects to do this
> > sort of thing (commit the generated autotools), so it's pretty rare
> > for this to be an issue, so it's pretty rare for people to be
> > required to manage this. it's a throw back to pre-distro days when
> > people were used to building/install software themselves, and it's
> > unnecessary friction for new people to get into the development
> > process today. death by a thousand cuts and all that.
>
> It's only a barrier for people who need to change the configure.ac or
> Makefile.am files, which is not most developers.

Agreed.

Also, I don't think that building autoconf and automake once every
few years, and then using that to generate the files is really that
much of a barrier. In the meantime, it allows us to avoid the noise
you get when slightly different versions generate slightly different
code. I personally do verify the changes in the configure files,
for instance, and ask myself whether each hunk I see makes sense
to me or not. Seeing unrelated changes because others used a different
version makes that process a little harder (and, most of the time,
I'll just start over, and push a patch that first regenerates the
file).

--
Joel