Subject: bug#67516: closed (Re: bug#67516: Acknowledgement ([PATCH] aclocal: handle both # and dnl for serial number lines))

From: [email-masked] (GNU bug Tracking System)
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2023 21:14:02 +0000

Your bug report

#67516: [PATCH] aclocal: handle both # and dnl for serial number lines

which was filed against the automake-patches package, has been closed.

The explanation is attached below, along with your original report.
If you require more details, please reply to [email-masked].

-- 
67516: https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=67516
GNU Bug Tracking System
Contact [email-masked] with problems

Subject: Re: bug#67516: Acknowledgement ([PATCH] aclocal: handle both # and dnl for serial number lines)
From: Karl Berry <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2023 14:13:40 -0700
List-Id: <debbugs-submit.debbugs.gnu.org>

Subject: Re: [PATCH] aclocal: handle both # and dnl for serial number lines
From: Karl Berry <[email-masked]>
To: [email-masked]
Cc: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 28 Nov 2023 14:06:47 -0700
List-Id: <debbugs-submit.debbugs.gnu.org>

Hi Ross - you sent a change to automake-patches back in February 2017.
Sorry for the absurdly delayed reply.

    https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/automake-patches/2017-02/msg00001.html

    Instead of only accepting comment lines that start with # for serial
    lines, also accept dnl.
    ...
    -my $serial_line_rx = '^#\s*serial\s+(\S*)';
    +my $serial_line_rx = '^(?:#|dnl)\s*serial\s+(\S*)';

While there's no technical problem with the patch, I'm not sure
supporting dnl is desirable. It seems better for the serial line to
always end up in whatever file is generated, for the sake of debugging
and documentation, instead of being eliminated at m4-time. If there was
a specific case where it was better to eliminate it, please describe ...

Also, because it's been so many years and I don't think it's ever come
up as a request, clearly things go on in any case :).

(Thanks to Bogdan for unearthing this from the archives.) --best, karl.