27 lines
1.3 KiB
Plaintext
27 lines
1.3 KiB
Plaintext
This is the 'contrib' directory of the GNU Automake distribution.
|
|
|
|
Here you'll find additions to the Automake base distribution, in form of
|
|
makefile fragments, m4 macros, scripts, documentation, et cetera. Such
|
|
addition that might be useful for a significant percentage of its general
|
|
audience, but (for one reason or another) are not deemed appropriate for
|
|
inclusion into the Automake core.
|
|
|
|
There are several reasons for which a feature can be kept in contrib:
|
|
|
|
1. The long-term usefulness of the feature is debatable and uncertain;
|
|
on-field and real-word testing are necessary to prove or disprove
|
|
its usefulness, before the feature can be committed into the Automake
|
|
core (as doing so too early would later force us to continue the
|
|
support for backward-compatibility, even if the features proves
|
|
flawed or fails to attract widespread use).
|
|
|
|
2. The APIs or overall design of the feature are still unstable, and
|
|
need on-field testing to iron warts and usability bugs, or uncover
|
|
potential flaws.
|
|
|
|
3. The feature was an historical one, mostly obsoleted but still used
|
|
"here and there" in the wild; so we want to to deprecate it and
|
|
remove it from the Automake core, but cannot remove it altogether,
|
|
for the sake of those still-existing usage. So it gets moved in
|
|
contrib.
|