Subject: automake-1.12 (incorrectly?) complains about missing AM_PROG_AR

From: Mike Frysinger <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 01:25:57 -0400

consider this simple code base:
$ cat configure.ac
AC_PREREQ([2.63])
AC_INIT([foo], [0])
AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([1.11 -Wall foreign])
AC_PROG_CC
LT_INIT
AC_OUTPUT(Makefile)

$ cat Makefile.am
lib_LTLIBRARIES = libfoo.la
libfoo_la_SOURCES = foo.c

$ touch foo.c

with automake-1.11.5, everything works great:
$ autoreconf -f -i
libtoolize: Consider adding `AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR([m4])' to configure.ac and
libtoolize: rerunning libtoolize, to keep the correct libtool macros in-tree.
libtoolize: Consider adding `-I m4' to ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS in Makefile.am.

however, upgrade to automake-1.12, and it starts spitting this:
libtoolize: Consider adding `AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR([m4])' to configure.ac and
libtoolize: rerunning libtoolize, to keep the correct libtool macros in-tree.
libtoolize: Consider adding `-I m4' to ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS in Makefile.am.
/usr/share/automake-1.12/am/ltlibrary.am: warning: 'libfoo.la': linking libtool libraries using a non-POSIX
/usr/share/automake-1.12/am/ltlibrary.am: archiver requires 'AM_PROG_AR' in 'configure.ac'
Makefile.am:1:   while processing Libtool library 'libfoo.la'

what gives ?
-mike