Hmmm... the new --with-layout stuff breaks major APACI goals

["Ralf S. Engelschall" <rs...@engelschall.com>]

Hmmmm... the new --with-layout option, we recently forced us to always specify
on the command line, makes me _VERY_ unhappy now that's existing for a few
days. I had to compile Apache on a lot of platforms the last days and really
_every_ time I stumbled over the fact that a --with-layout _OPTION_ is now
_MANDATORY_. This is really against every expectation, especially for people
who are familiar with "configure" style scripts. 

So, although it's fine that we now have a generic layout selection mechanism
and even that we now want to have the Apache Classic layout the default, I
more and more hate the fact our recent APACI changes broke my whole initial
intent for APACI: Make it a GNU Autoconf-style Interface with which people can
_immediately_ start because they know how to work with such things. 

But as of 1.3.4-dev APACI is no longer in this shape. It again mutated to
another bulky and unfriendly interface and this way is mostly useless IMHO.
Because people can't start _immediately_ because they first have to understand
what egg the Apache Group created this time. Hmmmmm....

Although I'm not a fan of the Apache classic paths I've now to come to the
following conclusion:

1. The Apache Classic path fans in the group forced us APACI fans to not use a
   different path layout as the default. Ok, acceptable.

2. Because we fear confusion again, we made no path layout
   the default. That seemed to be (even to me last time) the best way to go.
   But it finally isn't IMHO. Although it now avoids the "Ops, APACI uses a
   different layout now?" situation, it horribly breaks the initial and major
   intentions of APACI. So, this should be considered bad.

Solution? Only one possible as far as I see: Make --with-layout=Apache the
_default_ and _ACCEPT_ that the "Ops, APACI uses a different layout now?"
situation can occur. But it's better IMHO to have this situation that the
totally horrible "Grrr... a configure script which _requires_ me to specify a
totally non-standard _option_. The Apache Group seems to got totally crazy
now!" situation which occured for me and which will occur for others, too.

Opinions?
                                       Ralf S. Engelschall
                                       rse@engelschall.com
                                       www.engelschall.com

BTW, now that we have config.layout we should use it better: We should add
     LSB, FreeBSD, SVR4-/opt or whatever else _common_ layouts to this file,
     too.