[Fedora-packaging] Are brackets around macros required?

[Christopher Aillon]

On 08/18/2011 12:57 PM, Göran Uddeborg wrote:
> Tom Callaway:
>> %namev%version
>>
>> Is the macro %namev? %name? %na?
>
> Michael Schwendt:
>> RPM may accept it, but it cannot always parse it correctly either:
>>
>>    echo "a=b">  %nameconfig.cfg
>>
>> won't do the right thing even with %name being defined by default.
>
> Are you joking?  Or am I missing something?  Of course, it means
> %namev and %nameconfig respectively.

The point is that many specs need something like %{name}v%{version} or 
%{name}config but NOT %{namev}%{version} or %{nameconfig}.  Without 
brackets, they would be parsed as the latter which would not be the 
intended result (don't forget many packagers are not programmers by nature).

I would support explicitly making usage of brackets on macros a SHOULD 
item for packaging guidelines/reviews.