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diff --git a/TODO b/TODO
index d49553962bbd1043bc21a887257e4cca82cd2f29..800cc47cc7804f8cde7046bb013e65b296079133 100644 (file)
--- a/TODO
+++ b/TODO
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 It would be good to check some parts of GNU standards:
-       install-sh must exist
-       mkinstalldirs must exist
+       install-sh must exist somewhere (maybe need way to find top srcdir?)
+       mkinstalldirs must exist somewhere
 
 Maybe it should be possible to disable all GNU-specific things with
---no-gnu? --ignore-standards?
+--no-gnu? --ignore-standards?  But what?  And why?
 
 Think about modifications so automake can work with a standalone
 library, eg readline.  For instance we need a way to install a
@@ -11,7 +11,11 @@ library, and a way to install header files.  It would also be nice to
 figure out some good way to deal with shared libs.
 
 Allow ".h" files to appear in blah_SOURCES; just write them out of
-existence.
+existence.  [ This is nixed for now because of the auto-dependency
+tracking stuff ]
+
+separate install-data and install-exec.  "install" doesn't need to be
+"::" rule any more
 
 should have "all:: info" in texinfos.am?
 
@@ -36,6 +40,8 @@ clean.am: clean: if all the macros are empty, the rule expands to:
 which should be fixed
 
 Consider automating stamp-vti stuff.  What does GNITS say about this?
+What about this case: multiple .texi files (and thus multiple
+version.texi's), and a filesystem with short names?  What to do?
 
 Consider rewriting recursive rules to use static value of SUBDIRS:
        SUBDIRS = x y z
@@ -139,3 +145,8 @@ Automatic dependency generation:
 
 Maybe it would be nice to support dependency computation with tools
 other than gcc.
+
+Maybe make --use-deps the default, and have --included-deps suppress
+it?
+
+Rename --included-deps to --insert-deps?

diff --git a/automake.texi b/automake.texi
index 2532a6e5f57db5519c5c469117b9654054451f28..9d2e74f424e976abb829a3eddc530baf68a2494c 100644 (file)
--- a/automake.texi
+++ b/automake.texi
@@ -121,6 +121,7 @@ AutoMake's convenience.
 * Install::                     What gets installed
 * Distribution::                What gets distributed
 * Tags::                        TAGS files
+* Dependencies::                Automatic dependency tracking
 * Extending::                   If the defaults aren't enough
 @end menu
 
@@ -432,6 +433,32 @@ which contain taggable source that @code{etags} does not understand.
 Texinfo documentation)
 
 
+@node Dependencies
+@section Automatic dependency tracking
+
+As a developer it is often onerous to continually update the
+@file{Makefile.in} whenever the include-file dependencies change in a
+project.  @code{automake} supplies a way to automatically track
+dependency changes, and distribute the dependencies in the generated
+@file{Makefile.in}.
+
+Currently this support requires the use of @code{GNU make} and
+@code{gcc}.  It might become possible in the future to supply a
+different dependency generating program, if there is enough demand.
+
+In order to use this mode, when developing your package, always run
+@code{automake} with the @samp{--use-deps} option.  This will cause
+dependency generating code to be inserted into your @file{Makefile.in}.
+
+When you decide to make a distribution, the @samp{dist} target will
+re-run @code{automake} with the @samp{--include-deps} option.  This
+causes the previously generated dependencies to be inserted into the
+generated @file{Makefile.in}, and thus into the distribution.
+
+The interface here might change as well.  In particular, dependency
+generation might become the default.
+
+
 @node Extending
 @section When AutoMake Isn't Enough
 
@@ -483,13 +510,6 @@ notices that a @code{Makefile.in} is out of date.
 Here are some things that might happen in the future:
 
 @itemize @bullet
-@item
-It might be nice to have @code{automake} automatically compute
-dependencies, and record that information in the shipped
-@file{Makefile.in}.  I don't have a good mechanism for doing this yet,
-but I'm moving towards a solution requiring @code{GNU make} and
-@code{gcc}, using the @samp{-MMD} option.
-
 @item
 Better error checking would be good.
 @end itemize
@@ -501,5 +521,5 @@ Better error checking would be good.
 
 NOTES:
 
-* Need section on operation of automake: it read Makefile.am and COPIES
+* Need section on operation of automake: it reads Makefile.am and COPIES
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