Re: trans-coord/gnun/prep/gnun ChangeLog GNUmakefile

[Kaloian Doganov]

Yavor Doganov <address@hidden> writes:

    By not using findstring, you are "marrying" the variable to a single
    set of values, which conflict whith each other.

Yes, but this is exactly how the variable and it's possible values are
expected to be used.  This "marriage", as you call it, to a closed set
of values, clearly matches the semantic of the variable in question
(VALIDATE) which is a simple boolean flag.

You're suggesting all boolean variables to be treated as arrays.  Yes,
this is more powerful in some sense, but it is not needed.  It is
clutter in our program.

    See '(make)Testing Flags'.

The MAKEFLAGS variable in this example is intended to hold multiple
flags, not a single one.  The MAKEFLAGS varialbe is intended to be used
as an array of multiple boolean flags (represented as string).  So using
`findstring' makes perfect sense in the example, but not in our
Makefile.

    How can something so simple and so widely used could classify as
    "clutter"?

I confess I am not experienced in writing Makefiles.  Could you point me
to some examples of this common usage pattern?