Re: FYI: Yacc outputs

[Akim Demaille]

>>>>> "Ralf" == Ralf Corsepius <address@hidden> writes:

Ralf> *.output files are informative output files, comparable to
Ralf> listings or files originating from using some "obscure verbosity
Ralf> mode" options (Here: -v|--verbose) and not the actual/usable
Ralf> product of invoking bison/yacc.
>> I disagree.  They _are_ part of the output, and it is because of

>> Automake that people can't use the right options of Yacc/Bison to
>> rename the output files.  Currently, the result is that you have
>> y.output wandering around, and it is even worse if you happen to
>> have several .y.

Ralf> How about using CLEANFILES?

I do not mean to remove them!  Nor do I want to _override_ them.

>> Which turns out to be exactly my case.
Ralf> Then let me ask differently:

Ralf> * What do _you_ use y.output for?

Debugging the grammar.

Ralf> Except for debugging and documentation purposes, I have never
Ralf> seen any actual use of them and therefore fail to see why
Ralf> *.output should be subject to any automake-activity.

I agree, but I fail to see the relationship.  It pleases _me_, as a
user, to have these .output files.  Because of Automake, I am obliged
to have bison think it is Yacc, which causes all of my files to be
named y.output.  Of course Automake then renames the .c and .h files,
but because it doesn't rename the .output, 1. it is the wrong prefix,
2. it is the same for all the files.


Actually the question is really the other way round: why does it bug
you?

Ralf> It is not of any kind of source-code. I still fail to see why
Ralf> *.output is any different from other arbitrary temporary files,
Ralf> e.g. like those being produces by using ld -Map or gcc
Ralf> --save-temps. You would not try to handle *.map rsp. *.i, *.s
Ralf> files generated by CC, wouldn't you?

They are standard, i.e., defined by POSIX.

I can see your point, and I must say that if for some reason automake
compiled *all* my C files as unique-name.o, and then renamed it, then,
yes, I would submit a patch so that the .i files be renamed too if
present.