Re: html texinfo install?

[Bruce Korb]

Karl Berry wrote:
> 
> We seem to be operating from different starting places.

Always true ;-), but I also understood your intent

> Having configure options such as --enable-doc-html is fine, if for some
> reason installers want to (re)generate the files.

Maybe I'm overloading the meaning of that (but I don't think so),
but that should also be interpreted to mean, "do what you can to
try to install HTML docs in the ``make install'' phase".  If all the
HTML files were up to date with respect to their predecessors,
then no external tools are needed and make install does its thing
without doing any construction work.  If --disable-doc-html were
specified, then make install would not install HTML files, *even
if they were distributed*.

> Once again, in my
> view they should all be disabled by default, else all the formats have
> to be included in the distribution, and IMHO that is too wasteful.

If a format is included in the distribution, it is enabled by default.
If a format is not included, then it is disabled by default.  If someone
enables a format that was not distributed, then they are claiming that
they have some development tools that are up to the task of regenerating
the non-distributed format.

> I can't imagine any method for autoconf to test for a "good enough"

Yeah.  Don't go there.

> Summarizing, I propose two new standard variables:
> texinfodata = $(datadir)/texinfo
> texinfohtml = $(texinfodata)/html
> 
> And three new standard targets:
> texinfohtml - make html from texinfo manuals
> install-texinfohtml - install such html to $(texinfohtml)
> uninstall-texinfohtml - remove such html from $(texinfohtml)
> 
> And that all and install are not changed.

1.  Please shorten to "html" (as is done for "ps")
2.  Please make available enable/disable macros for each output type:
    info, html, xml, ps, ...
3.  When a distribution is rolled, the default state of these would
    be the state specified when the product was built.  i.e., if 
    .info were disabled and .html enabled, then that would be the
    default enablement state at (re)configure time.
4.  This enablement stuff would eliminate the need for the special
    install rules.  That simplifies the interactions by the 
    builder/installer.  That is a good thing.

This is more work than you were bargaining for.  :-)  I'll write up
a texi.m4 file with the enablement config macros in it, if you're
willing to roll it up with the other texinfo changes ...