Lacking further input, I've pushed the following documentation-only change to close this one. A further change, for https://bugs.gnu.org/8289 (which has much more discussion), should make it possible to omit and change running make dvi. --thanks, karl.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------- docs: make dist implies make dvi. This change handles https://bugs.gnu.org/7994. * doc/automake.texi (Preparing Distributions): make distcheck runs make dvi. (Auxiliary Programs) <texinfo.tex>: mention that make dist runs make dvi, and therefore a TeX system is required when Texinfo sources are present. Add @cmindex entries for all auxiliary programs while we're here. diff --git a/doc/automake.texi b/doc/automake.texi index 1b35883..adc44f5 100644 --- a/doc/automake.texi +++ b/doc/automake.texi @@ -1232,8 +1232,8 @@ work: @item It attempts a full compilation of the package (@pxref{Basic Installation}), unpacking the newly constructed tarball, running -@code{make}, @code{make check}, @code{make install}, as well as -@code{make installcheck}, and even @code{make dist}, +@code{make}, @code{make dvi}, @code{make check}, @code{make install}, +as well as @code{make installcheck}, and even @code{make dist}, @item it tests VPATH builds with read-only source tree (@pxref{VPATH Builds}), @item @@ -2258,10 +2258,12 @@ source in case you need more recent versions. @table @code @item ar-lib +@cmindex ar-lib This is a wrapper primarily for the Microsoft lib archiver, to make it more POSIX-like. @item compile +@cmindex compile This is a wrapper for compilers that do not accept options @option{-c} and @option{-o} at the same time. It is only used when absolutely required. Such compilers are rare, with the Microsoft C/C++ Compiler @@ -2272,6 +2274,8 @@ translation where needed: @option{-I}, @option{-L}, @option{-l}, @item config.guess @itemx config.sub +@cmindex config.guess +@cmindex config.sub These two programs compute the canonical triplets for the given build, host, or target architecture. These programs are updated regularly to support new architectures and fix probes broken by changes in new @@ -2282,26 +2286,31 @@ you are encouraged to fetch the latest versions of these files from release. @item depcomp +@cmindex depcomp This program understands how to run a compiler so that it will generate not only the desired output but also dependency information that is then used by the automatic dependency tracking feature (@pxref{Dependencies}). @item install-sh +@cmindex install-sh This is a replacement for the @command{install} program that works on platforms where @command{install} is unavailable or unusable. @item mdate-sh +@cmindex mdate-sh This script is used to generate a @file{version.texi} file. It examines a file and prints some date information about it. @item missing +@cmindex missing @r{program} This wraps a number of programs that are typically only required by maintainers. If the program in question doesn't exist, or seems too old, @command{missing} will print an informative warning before failing out, to provide the user with more context and information. @item mkinstalldirs +@cmindex mkinstalldirs This script used to be a wrapper around @samp{mkdir -p}, which is not portable. Now we prefer to use @samp{install-sh -d} when @command{configure} finds that @samp{mkdir -p} does not work, this makes one less script to @@ -2312,19 +2321,26 @@ distributed when @command{automake} finds it in a package. But it is no longer installed automatically, and it should be safe to remove it. @item py-compile +@cmindex py-compile This is used to byte-compile Python scripts. @item test-driver +@cmindex test-driver This implements the default test driver offered by the parallel testsuite harness. @item texinfo.tex -Not a program, this file is required for @samp{make dvi}, @samp{make -ps} and @samp{make pdf} to work when Texinfo sources are in the -package. The latest version can be downloaded from -@url{https://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/}. +@cmindex texinfo.tex +When Texinfo sources are in the package, this file is required for +@samp{make dvi}, @samp{make ps} and @samp{make pdf}. The latest +version can be downloaded from +@url{https://www.gnu.org/software/texinfo/}. A working @TeX{} +distribution, or at least a @file{tex} program, is also required. +Furthermore, @samp{make dist} invokes @samp{make dvi}, so these become +requirements for making a distribution with Texinfo sources. @item ylwrap +@cmindex ylwrap This program wraps @command{lex} and @command{yacc} to rename their output files. It also ensures that, for instance, multiple @command{yacc} instances can be invoked in a single directory in compile finished at Thu May 7 18:25:45 2020
