[article] trimming down autoconf's configure scripts by using pkg-config

[Miles Bader]

Enrico Weigelt <weigelt at metux.de> writes:
>> It certainly makes sense for autoconf to have good pkg-config support,
>> and using it where available.  Thus if in the future pkg-config is much
>> more widely used than it is now, many configure files will end up being
>> simply a list of queries to pkg-config.  At that point, maybe autoconf
>> itself could be simplied to reflect the reality.  But not sooner.
>
> In other words: in ten years lets talk about it again ?
>
> No, that's absolutely dissatisfying.

Many things in life are "dissatisfying," but have to be dealt with
nonetheless.

Anyway, the only point is that autoconf will change when is practical
for autoconf to change, not before (after all, why on earth would it
change _before_ it's practical to do so?!?).

If you don't want to wait 10 years, then start coding.  If you make
these wrappers, and can convince lots of people to install them, and
reach some critical mass, so that it actually becomes practical to
depend on them ... well great, maybe at that point it's possible to
improve autoconf.  Lovely!

-Miles
-- 
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