* doc/make.text: [SV 54360] Weaken "obsolete" language in the manual.

There's no need to frighten users away from capabilities which are
perfectly reasonable and definitely not going away, by calling them
obsolete or discouraged in the manual.

diff --git a/doc/make.texi b/doc/make.texi
index 09cdfa0d97cd75458ce50243991f00bdfde46275..947b38949fe130404dcdc689a33915be34a06fa2 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/make.texi
+++ b/doc/make.texi
@@ -4281,8 +4281,7 @@ remove a file.
 When you run @code{make} with the @samp{-i} or @samp{--ignore-errors}
 flag, errors are ignored in all recipes of all rules.  A rule in the
 makefile for the special target @code{.IGNORE} has the same effect, if
-there are no prerequisites.  These ways of ignoring errors are obsolete
-because @samp{-} is more flexible.
+there are no prerequisites.  This is less flexible but sometimes useful.
 
 When errors are to be ignored, because of either a @samp{-} or the
 @samp{-i} flag, @code{make} treats an error return just like success,
@@ -5115,8 +5114,12 @@ this way!)
 A dollar sign followed by a character other than a dollar sign,
 open-parenthesis or open-brace treats that single character as the
 variable name.  Thus, you could reference the variable @code{x} with
-@samp{$x}.  However, this practice is strongly discouraged, except in
-the case of the automatic variables (@pxref{Automatic Variables}).
+@samp{$x}.  However, this practice can lead to confusion (e.g.,
+@samp{$foo} refers to the variable @code{f} followed by the string
+@code{oo}) so we recommend using parentheses or braces around all
+variables, even single-letter variables, unless omitting them gives
+significant readability improvements.  One place where readability is
+often improved is automatic variables (@pxref{Automatic Variables}).
 
 @node Flavors, Advanced, Reference, Using Variables
 @section The Two Flavors of Variables
@@ -9972,15 +9975,15 @@ lib: foo.o bar.o lose.o win.o
 @end example
 
 Of the variables listed above, four have values that are single file
-names, and three have values that are lists of file names.  These seven
-have variants that get just the file's directory name or just the file
-name within the directory.  The variant variables' names are formed by
-appending @samp{D} or @samp{F}, respectively.  These variants are
-semi-obsolete in GNU @code{make} since the functions @code{dir} and
-@code{notdir} can be used to get a similar effect (@pxref{File Name
-Functions, , Functions for File Names}).  Note, however, that the
-@samp{D} variants all omit the trailing slash which always appears in
-the output of the @code{dir} function.  Here is a table of the variants:
+names, and three have values that are lists of file names.  These
+seven have variants that get just the file's directory name or just
+the file name within the directory.  The variant variables' names are
+formed by appending @samp{D} or @samp{F}, respectively.  The functions
+@code{dir} and @code{notdir} can be used to obtain a similar effect
+(@pxref{File Name Functions, , Functions for File Names}).  Note,
+however, that the @samp{D} variants all omit the trailing slash which
+always appears in the output of the @code{dir} function.  Here is a
+table of the variants:
 
 @table @samp
 @vindex $(@@D)
@@ -10297,12 +10300,13 @@ general and clearer.  They are supported in GNU @code{make} for
 compatibility with old makefiles.  They come in two kinds:
 @dfn{double-suffix} and @dfn{single-suffix}.@refill
 
-A double-suffix rule is defined by a pair of suffixes: the target suffix
-and the source suffix.  It matches any file whose name ends with the
-target suffix.  The corresponding implicit prerequisite is made by
-replacing the target suffix with the source suffix in the file name.  A
-two-suffix rule whose target and source suffixes are @samp{.o} and
-@samp{.c} is equivalent to the pattern rule @samp{%.o : %.c}.
+A double-suffix rule is defined by a pair of suffixes: the target
+suffix and the source suffix.  It matches any file whose name ends
+with the target suffix.  The corresponding implicit prerequisite is
+made by replacing the target suffix with the source suffix in the file
+name.  A two-suffix rule @samp{.c.o} (whose target and source suffixes
+are @samp{.o} and @samp{.c}) is equivalent to the pattern rule
+@samp{%.o : %.c}.
 
 A single-suffix rule is defined by a single suffix, which is the source
 suffix.  It matches any file name, and the corresponding implicit
@@ -11883,7 +11887,7 @@ In System V and 4.3 BSD @code{make}, files found by @code{VPATH}
 search (@pxref{Directory Search, ,Searching Directories for
 Prerequisites}) have their names changed inside recipes.  We feel it
 is much cleaner to always use automatic variables and thus make this
-feature obsolete.@refill
+feature unnecessary.@refill
 
 @item
 In some Unix @code{make}s, the automatic variable @code{$*} appearing in