Re: CMake build anyone?

[Miles Bader <miles@gnu.org>]

Tom Tromey <tromey@redhat.com> writes:
> Miles> That's probably for the better anyway, as there's currently no obvious
> Miles> winner among the "new gen build systems," and all have their problems.
> Miles> Maybe in a few years, there will be more of a consensus (perhaps someone
> Miles> will do what Linus did with git -- get sick of the whole sordid mess,
> Miles> and finally do it right).
>
> Why should Emacs require the GNU version control tool but not require
> the GNU build system?  An irritating question, but one that I think
> ought to be answered.

I don't think Emacs should "require" either (especially when they're GNU
packages in name only) -- using GNU tools is definitely a nice thing
(for the reasons RMS often states), but it's just one factor to
consider, and should never be a rigid requirement (whereas, for
instance, using free software _is_, and should be, a rigid requirement).

That said, I actually like automake a lot (it's what I use for my
personally created software), and think something like quagmire shows
promise (if anybody worked on it... :/ ).  So I'd definitely consider
them as candidates for a possible build-system change for Emacs
(although I don't know how well they'd suit Emacs' hairy build process).

-Miles

-- 
Arrest, v. Formally to detain one accused of unusualness.