can not config.status --r

[Stephen J. Turnbull]

Malcolm Purvis writes:

 > Neither do I!  It is possible to patch configure itself, but describing the
 > location is rather complex, which is why I recommend using the earlier
 > version.

Damn, and I was just about to propose that you be made "Keeper of the
Officious configure".  ;-)

The idea is that

1.  Somebody would be responsible for the "official" configure script.
2.  This would require maintaining a collection of "stable" versions
    of autoconf: currently 2.59.
3.  When configure.{in,ac} is changed, the configure czar generates
    the script with a stable autoconf, and commits it.  After a couple
    of weeks with no howls of pain, tag it "recommended-21.5", which
    would be a "moving tag".

This way, people who have a personal (institutional, in the case of
distros) policy of generating configure themselves, and presumably
know how to deal with autotool hell, can do that, while the usual
individual user can just "configure-and-go".  Finally the moving tag
gives CVS users a backup in case of local screwage or an inadvertant
commit at XEmacs.

This is surely overkill for 21.4 (unless we ever move its configure to
autoconf 2.5), but maybe not for 21.5.  What do you think (without
necessarily volunteering for the job!)?

 > Stephen> I would really love to get out of autotool hell.
 > 
 > I think that we're stuck with it for the medium term,

Oh, I know. :-(