Is it from a programmers point of view always wise to
use the latest (stable) version of automake/autoconf ?

I ask because the user of the complete software package
does not require the tools (but only the configure script),
so the problem is only related to the programmer of the
software.

This leads to the question: Should one enforce some version
rules by AC_PREREQ / AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS or not ?

What are the recommendations , how is it handled by others ?

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gelbeiche <borstel@fliegenpilz.de> writes:

> Is it from a programmers point of view always wise to
> use the latest (stable) version of automake/autoconf ?

Unless you rely on some behavior that only exists in older versions,
yes.  If you do require an old version, you should consider updating
your scripts to work with the most recent version.

> I ask because the user of the complete software package
> does not require the tools (but only the configure script),
> so the problem is only related to the programmer of the
> software.
>
> This leads to the question: Should one enforce some version
> rules by AC_PREREQ / AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS or not ?

It is good to require the minimum version that works.  This could be
older than the version you are using for development.

> What are the recommendations , how is it handled by others ?

Every way imaginable and then some.

--
Måns Rullgård
mru@inprovide.com

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Måns Rullgård <mru@inprovide.com> writes:

> gelbeiche <borstel@fliegenpilz.de> writes:
> 
>
> Unless you rely on some behavior that only exists in older versions,
> yes.  If you do require an old version, you should consider updating
> your scripts to work with the most recent version.
> 
>
> It is good to require the minimum version that works.  This could be
> older than the version you are using for development.
>

Thanks for your explanations !

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