# Makefile.am for installing configuration data etcdir=/etc/lx2005 etc_DATA = serlog.conf
This is seriously broken. What if my /etc directory is read-only, for example. This breaks any hope of getting a VPATH build.
When I run 'make distcheck' it fails as it cannot install the files to '/etc/lx2005'.
Indeed, because distcheck makes sure the build uses VPATH.
I would very much like the location of the configuration files to be independent of $(prefix) as the locations my project searches are independent of where it was installed.
This is a Bad Thing IMO. You should alter your program to look in multiple places for it's configuration. If you are certain that the configuration file should live here despite the wishes of the installer your program should by default it will check for '/etc/lx2005' and failing back to '$(prefix)/lx2005' - though this is still broken.
How can I get 'make distcheck' to work with this configuration?
You cannot.
Alternatively, I'm open for other ideas of implementation.
Why is it so important for configuration files to live at /etc?
