Re: libtool-master, autoconf-2.63 and CONFIG_SHELL as environment variable only

[Ralf Wildenhues]

<http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-libtool/2008-11/msg00060.html>

Hello Michael,

let's let bug-autoconf know about this, too.

* Michael Haubenwallner wrote on Fri, Nov 14, 2008 at 03:32:46PM CET:
> When trying to build libtool.master (2.2.7a) on AIX, bootstrapped with
> autoconf-2.63 on Gentoo Linux, I've seen this:
> 
>         ...
>         checking how to print strings... print -r
>         ...
>         configure: creating ./config.status
>         ./config.status: line 849: print: command not found
>         ./config.status: line 849: print: command not found
>         ...
> 
> This does not happen when I checked out v2.2.6 in the same working
> directory, also bootstrapping in the same Gentoo Linux environment with
> autoconf-2.63.
> 
> Need to say that according to gcc's platform specific site[1], I have
> exported CONFIG_SHELL=$BASH on AIX always (in ~/.profile).
> [1] http://gcc.gnu.org/install/specific.html#x-ibm-aix
> 
> And I always used to run "./configure" only,
> not "${CONFIG_SHELL} ./configure".

The GCC build instructions are for GCC (which uses Autoconf 2.59
internally).  That being said, I think they are wrong on this part, too.

You currently _have_ to use
  $CONFIG_SHELL ./configure

if you have CONFIG_SHELL in your environment.  Otherwise things like the
above happen.

> IMHO not switching the shell at all when CONFIG_SHELL is in environment
> is the worst case I can think of here.

While not the most user-friendly, that is the documented behavior; see
the INSTALL file.

> And I'm unsure if it would be easy to change all the (automated) build
> systems around to execute "${CONFIG_SHELL} ./configure".

All automated runs of configure (i.e., those started from some code
generated by autotools) are run this way.  It's the one you do manually,
on your command line, that doesn't fit this scheme.

Cheers,
Ralf