Subject: aclocal hackery between X11BASE and LOCALBASE
To: None <tech-pkg@netbsd.org>
From: Dan Winship <danw@helixcode.com>
List: tech-pkg
Date: 08/04/2000 16:45:54
Some packages that install aclocal m4 files into
${X11BASE}/share/aclocal also symlink them into LOCALBASE (examples:
x11/gtk, graphics/imlib, and x11/gnome-libs). Other packages don't
(examples: devel/libglade, graphics/gdk-pixbuf).

This means that the ones that are only in X11BASE are unusable, since
either:

	a) you just run "aclocal", and it doesn't look in X11BASE and
	   so doesn't find them
or
	b) you run "aclocal -I ${X11BASE}/share/aclocal", and it
	   complains about some of the files being duplicated and
	   exits.


Some possible fixes:

	1) Never make symlinks. (People will then need to use "aclocal
	   -I ${X11BASE}/share/aclocal" in some cases.)

	1b) Never make symlinks, but patch aclocal to look in both
	    LOCALBASE and X11BASE by default.

	2) Always make symlinks (in which case it should probably be
           done automagically by the package system rather than ad hoc
           by individual packages)

	3) Patch aclocal to not complain about duplicates when they
	   come from identical files, and send the patch upstream to
	   try to make the world a better place for everyone else too.
	   (People on the gnome lists are always getting bitten by
	   this problem.)

I vote for doing both 3 and 1b, and I'll do the necessary hacking. OK?

-- Dan