Re: why does php support 'only' out-of-date/obsolete versions of automake/autoconf?

On 06/10/06, OpenMacNews <openmacnews@gmail.com> wrote:

hi ilia, PHP works just fine with newer version of autoconf and automake. For example I am using autoconf 2.60 and automake 1.9.6 and not experiencing any build issues. One of the reasons we recommend autoconf 2.13 is because it has a non-broken implementation of config test caching and unlike autoconf 2.60 does not require re-running of every configuration test on PHP rebuild. yes, i know it "works" fine :-) in fact, i personally build/use php 52cvs with:

        autoconf (GNU Autoconf) 2.60
        automake (GNU automake) 1.9.6

on my osx 10.4.8 box. the problem is that *other* php-related projects' code breaks with recent versions of automake. of course, i 1st tried to talk to the project's developer about the issue. the response was, roughly, that -- since php "only supports automake 1.4" that they'll only support v1.4. which is all fine & good -- except when the developer of the 'other' project is also ON the php-development team as well. in response to questions abt this @ #php, one dev's response -- probably very accurate -- is that this is the case because "autoconf issues are boring to work on". one great big catch-22 :-(

I use Cygwin and autoconf is only upto 2.59. When using it to build the PHP documentation, there are minor errors and warnings in the automake process and autoupdate is recommend to be run. Along with a few other minor edits, I submitted a cleanup patch for these, it was implemented and then reverted as it breaks 2.13. This is only the doc build. I don't know about the executable build process. -- ----- Richard Quadling Zend Certified Engineer : http://zend.com/zce.php?c=ZEND002498&amp;r=213474731 "Standing on the shoulders of some very clever giants!"