Re: The autoconf macros business.

[Miguel de Icaza <miguel nuclecu unam mx>]

> works nicely, gnome-config does:
> 
> gnome-config gthread --libs
> Unknown library `gthread'

This would be easy to fix:

     1. Change gnome-config.in script.
     2. Install a gthreadConf.sh file in $prefix/lib

>      (passing "gmodule" instead of "gthread" is even worse as that isn't even
> featured by gtk-config).
> we need to fix this in a consistent way somehow.

I agree.  How can we query which options are recognized by glib-config
and gtk-config? 

I have a second concern, --version gives the version of the
gnome-config *script*, not the version of the library.  For example,
currently there is no way to figure out Bonobo's version from
gnome-config.  

Should I just add a VERSION setting to the modules and output this on
gnome-config invocation?

> $ gnome-config --cflags --libs     # default: "" ???
> 
> gnome-config should imho _at least_ default to "gnome" (if not "gnomeui"),
> in case no libs are given explicitely.

I am not sure about this :-).  Lets take a poll and do what the masses
choose:-)

> also, to simplify (and correct) the above autoconf test, a
> --check-version mj.mn.mc to those scripts would be nice, which would
> work basically like the GTK_CHECK_VERSION(major,minor,micro) macro -
> though that maybe overkill once we have proper AM_PATH_* macros all over
> the place.

This would be awesome!  

I have another idea: gnome-config features an "optimizer" for options
in the command line.  So if you include various times the same
libraries, it eliminates duplicates.

gnome-config --optimize -lgnomeui -lgnomeui -lgnomeui -lgnome

Would return:

"-lgnomeui -lgnome"

Miguel