I think it would be a mistake to change where check-local runs, in any way. In Peter's message, it is running after any $(check_DATA). It does not seem that is still the case after your patch, Mike? (As usual, I didn't actually try it. Sorry.)
Although it would be nice if there were perfect consistency from the beginning about the names and timing of -hook and -local, I strongly believe that trying to retrofit consistency is not worth creating incompatibilities. Not at all. To address the original request for something that runs before check-am, I would instead suggesting creating a new check-pre instead of changing check-local. However, since the original case can be addressed otherwise, and there are no other bug reports that require this (are there?), my actual suggestion is to do nothing. Except possibly to sharpen the rather annoyingly vague statement in the manual about timing that was already quoted: With the `-local' targets, there is no particular guarantee of execution order; typically, they are run early, but with parallel make, there is no way to be sure of that. which gives the user essentially zero information. Maybe it has to be that way, but if, apart from check-local, the OP's description of Automake's output as being X: X-local is correct, then we could at least say that "X-local" runs before "X", except for "check-local". That does not change with parallel makes. I admit the whole behavior of -local and -hook is rather unclear in my mind. As for changing the names of -local and -hook: I agree -pre and -post would have been better, but given the long history, I do not think it would be good to change the names, or support alternative/preferred names, just for the sake of names. That just seems like creating unnecessary confusion. --best, karl.
