docs: color-tests issues with parallel make

* doc/automake.texi (Simple Tests): Document that automatic
recognition of a capable terminal attached to stdout can fail
with some make implementation when running in parallel mode,
thus causing colored test output not to be automatically
activated when it should.

diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index 1118e60..bed0418 100644 (file)
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,12 @@
+2011-01-24  Stefano Lattarini  <stefano.lattarini@gmail.com>
+
+       docs: color-tests issues with parallel make
+       * doc/automake.texi (Simple Tests): Document that automatic
+       recognition of a capable terminal attached to stdout can fail
+       with some make implementation when running in parallel mode,
+       thus causing colored test output not to be automatically
+       activated when it should.
+
 2011-01-23  Ralf Wildenhues  <Ralf.Wildenhues@gmx.de>
 
        tests: avoid instspc.test failures due to make's whitespace trimming

diff --git a/doc/automake.texi b/doc/automake.texi
index 3d6a7b0..f5066d4 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/automake.texi
+++ b/doc/automake.texi
@@ -8589,6 +8589,12 @@ colored output by setting the @command{make} variable
 @samp{AM_COLOR_TESTS=no}, or force colored output even without a connecting
 terminal with @samp{AM_COLOR_TESTS=always}.
 
+Note that the semantics of some @command{make} implementations when used
+in parallel mode (@pxref{Parallel make,,, autoconf, The Autoconf Manual})
+can cause the automatic detection of a connection to a capable terminal
+to fail.  In that case, you can still resort to the use of
+@samp{AM_COLOR_TESTS=always}.
+
 @vindex TESTS
 @vindex TESTS_ENVIRONMENT
 The variable @code{TESTS_ENVIRONMENT} can be used to set environment