Here's my proposal for stage one: This patch is intended to define explicitly what the different compiler and linker commands and flags are, what they are supposed to mean, and how they are to be used.
Does this set of variables look sufficient for everyone, and are the definitions clear? If so, the next step is to put the appropriate values in the hints files and re-work Configure and the Makefiles to use them consistently. -- Andy Dougherty [EMAIL PROTECTED]