In many Makefile.am's I see constructions like the following:

AM_CPPFLAGS =3D -DSRCDIR=3D"\"$(shell (cd $(top_srcdir)/kdoctools && pwd)=
)\""

all other considerations [1,2,3] aside, it seems like $abs_top_srcdir whi=
ch=20
autoconf sets is just the thing to use here. My autoconf:

bash-2.05$ autoconf --version
autoconf (GNU Autoconf) 2.53

has it, documented as

 - Variable: abs_top_srcdir
     Absolute path of `top_srcdir'.

Is there any particular reason besides [4] that this isn't used instead o=
f the=20
$(shell) construction? Could we change this around?

[ade]


[1] It's ugly.
[2] Why aren't backticks `(cd $(top_srcdir)/kdoctools && pwd)` sufficient=
?
[3] It doesn't work with bmake.
[4] Unfortunately, it doesn't work that easily. It doesn't get substitute=
d=20
automatically, as far as i can tell, and adding an AC_SUBST(abs_top_srcdi=
r)=20
gives me blanks instead of what I expect. I can _see_ code in configure=20
assigning a value to the variables, and when I print them later they're e=
mpty=20
again.


--=20
A little axiom goes a long way.