[brlcad-devel] Proposal: A new method of generating the INSTALL file

[Tom B. <tom...@gm...>]

Cliff automated the configuration section of the "INSTALL" file, but
the source is still, confusingly to me, named the "INSTALL" file.

I propose the source be "INSTALL.in", with some cmake variables where
the existing specific BRL-CAD version numbers are, so the generated
"INSTALL" file in the distribution always looks current.

Cmake would process the file and substitute the current version. There
should be a method of denoting developer comments that would be
stripped out, maybe single-line like C++ ('//') or the classic hash
('#'):

// this is a comment
  // covering multiple lines

A short example of INSTALL.in

<quote>
// developers: note that variables between pairs of '@' symbols are substituted
// by the current values during cmake processing
This is the INSTALL file, blah blah, blah.

The current BRL-CAD version is @BRLCAD_VER@ released on @DATE@.
...
Generic Binary Distributions:
...
expanded tarball contents:

gunzip BRL-CAD_@BRLCAD_VER@_Linux_ia64.tar.gz
tar -xvf BRL-CAD_@BRLCAD_VER@_Linux_ia64.tar
sudo mkdir /usr/brlcad/rel-@BRLCAD_VER@
sudo mv BRL-CAD_@BRLCAD_VER@_Linux_ia64/* /usr/brlcad/rel-@BRLCAD_VER@/

// Note - Do not add or edit configuration option descriptions and alias
//   lists in this file - those entries are auto-generated from information in
//   the toplevel CMakeLists.txt file and src/other/CMakeLists.txt - any changes
//   should be made in those files.  The CMake configuration process will
//   automatically re-generate INSTALL with the new descriptions and alias
//   information.
</quote>

Best,

-Tom