Re: [RFC] upgrade for helpers config.test scripts

On 29/04/2013 7:56 p.m., Kinkie wrote:
>> To resolve this I propose changing the config.test files into small M4
>> scriptlets which can be included directly into configure at bootstrap time.
> Devil's in the details.. m4 has no namespaces and scriptlets can leave
> messes behind. Do you have any specific idea on how to do it? Unless
> the inclusion is done with very unsofisticated tools.
>
>> Pros:
>> * we gain a huge amount of information from existing configure.ac tests
>> * we gain ability to run autoconf checks in the test scriptlets
>> * we can push test results back to the main configure.ac cache from the
>> scriptlets for faster overall process
>>
>> Cons:
>> * we lose the ability to drop-in third party helpers and build as if they
>> were part of the Squid sources.
>> However I am not aware of any downstream distro packagers actually making
>> use of this ability so it should not be a big loss.
>>
>> Opinions?
> The current situation is crappy. Externally-supplied helpers should be
> fully external, and shouldn't expect to be built as part of squid or
> even in the squid sources.
> So I fully +1 on the objective, and I'd like us to elaborate a bit
> more on how to reach it.
>

The attached patch converts the basic auth helpers to the new system,
but only converts some of the helpers. So shows an example of how we can
retain the old ability even after the change (if we want to). Doing a
manual list like this is not too onerous, and we may be able to
auto-generate the if statement list if necessary.

Amos