Hello, I'll throw a couple of suggestions for Autotools out there:
1) Interfacing with the Test Anything Protocol (TAP) (or maybe another test protocol?). Automake-generated Makefiles could be consumers of the protocol for third-party testsuites. Automake-generated simple testsuites (TESTS) and Autoconf-generated Autotest testsuites could be producers. This project would entail both investigating the possible advantages of either step, prototyping an implementation, and getting it ready to merge into the code. Each step on its own would already be useful on its own, and small enough to be completed within the given time frame. 2) Automake can (optionally) exploit more features of GNU make, with an eventual goal of reimplementing some of the functionality in GNU make, both for efficiency and for more ease of use. When a project using Automake requires GNU make anyway, it would be nice if Automake could play along better with GNU make-specific notation in the Automake special variables (like foo_SOURCES etc). I have some preliminary patches to get this started, which could act as a good starting point for further developments. There are certainly more projects I could think of ... Thanks, Ralf
