Re: 39-at-cleanup-files.patch

[Akim Demaille]

| On Mon, 20 Nov 2000, DEMAILLE Akim wrote:
| > Index: ChangeLog
| > from  Akim Demaille  <address@hidden>
| >     * tests/atgeneral.m4 (AT_CLEAN_FILE_IFELSE, AT_CLEANUP_FILE)
| >     (AT_CLEANUP_FILES): New macros.
| 
| I'm afraid this patch contradicts to 40-at-data-files.patch.

In what way?  It is true I sometimes changed my mind while building
the patches, and the fact that I wanted to make many small patches
instead of a big one may have introduced some tmp contradictions.

| >     * tests/atspecific.m4 (AT_CHECK_AUTOCONF, AT_CHECK_AUTOHEADER)
| >     (AT_CHECK_CONFIGURE): New macros.
| 
| I thought to do it using shell variables, maybe with "eval" if necessary.
| It would be more flexible. But I don't object against your patch - we can
| change it later.

I see no advantage in shell variables.  They obfuscate the final code.
There is nothing they can give us but troubles: the temptation of
changing the variables at some point of the test suite would be high,
but then, if you skip the test that changes the variables (for
instance because you are running a debug script), you change the
semantics of the following tests.