Re: a saner bootstrap script

[Jim Meyering]

Gary V. Vaughan wrote:
> Hi Jim,
>
> On 4 Oct 2011, at 17:09, Jim Meyering wrote:
>> Gary V. Vaughan wrote:
>>> Sorry I didn't notice your reply sooner.
>>>
>>> On 22 Sep 2011, at 23:38, Jim Meyering wrote:
>>>> Gary V. Vaughan wrote:
>>>>>>> * address@hidden:gvvaughan/GNU-coreutils.git in gary/bootstrap
>>>>>>> https://github.com/gvvaughan/GNU-coreutils/commits/gary/bootstrap
>>>>
>>>> I'll try to find time for this next week.
>>>
>>> Thanks.  How did you get on?
>>
>> Hi Gary,
>>
>> I started looking, but found that your bootstrap.conf is
>> months old, and thus not usable with the current sources.
>
> Indeed.  Although the idea was to prove that my bootstrap works well by
> writing a series of bootstrap.conf for a selection of GNU projects with
> different bootstrap requirements... and much less to provide bootstrap.conf's
> for the projects I chose for that demonstration. And I wasn't really expecting
> to wait 14 months for it to be adopted into gnulib, and didn't anticipate the
> ongoing development in those projects would make my demo bootstrap.confs
> obsolescent :(
>
>> Do you feel like rebasing it?
>
> Sure, although it will take me a few days to find the time - is that because
> you're planning to adopt my bootstrap script into coreutils master 
> unilaterally?
> If not then you can easily checkout my coreutils snapshot from github to 
> verify
> that it is perfectly sane.
>
> Really, I'm trying to help gnulib to adopt the script first and foremost...
> although the last few Zile releases have been using it, and I'll be making
> a Libtool release in the next week or so that uses it irrespective of gnulib
> adoption.  And I expect I'll also put an M4 alpha out with that script too
> before long.  So, if you want to unilaterally take the script into coreutils
> too, then I'll be very happy to provide any assistance I can with updating
> the coreutils bootstrap.conf I wrote all those months ago.

I'm trying it solely because you've invested so much in it and asked so
many times.  I'm certainly not chomping at the bit for a new version.

However, I confess that I was disappointed by your rejection of some of
the style-related suggestions made by Stefano, and have to say that if I
do use it, the copy I use in coreutils, grep, gzip, patch, parted, etc.
will inherit most, if not all, of his suggestions.

>>> I just tried to check that everything in my coreutils bootstrap.conf still
>>> works correctly with coreutils master, but unfortunately coreutils bootstrap
>>> now requires that I install the latest autotools -- including 
>>> gettext-0.18.1.1
>>> which doesn't compile on Mac OS 10.7.1 with the latest Apple supplied gcc
>>> (4.2.1 LLVM).  And without that, I can no longer bootstrap coreutils on my
>>> Mac :-(
>>
>> If it's a gettext problem, report it and it should be fixed very quickly.
>> Otherwise, just adjust the AM_GNU_GETTEXT_VERSION([0.18.1]) line
>> in configure.ac to accommodate whatever version of gettext you have.
>> You should be ok if it's 0.17.x.
>
> If an older version of gettext is sufficient, then can you please require
> that version instead?  Gettext is a large complex package that is quite a

Using an older version is sufficient to ensure that your script works
with coreutils.  I don't see why everyone should accept an older version
just because a build-glitch affects one type of system.  The work-around
is trivial.

> challenge to compile on some of the architectures we support at times.
>
> At least as far as Mac OS 10.7 is concerned, I tracked the problem down to
> a bug in the gnulib non-release that was used to bootstrap gettext-0.18.1.1,
> which has since been fixed in gnulib.

Again, did you report it?
I guess Bruno may read this, but still.
It's been over 100 commits since 0.18.1.1.
Maybe the report of a build problem like that
will encourage him to make a new release.

> Rather than trying to rebootstrap
> gettext to pick up the fix, and have to worry about other problems that
> might bring, I hand-applied the patch to gettext configure, and was able to
> build a new enough gettext.
>
> I haven't had time yet to pick up the coreutils bootstrap.conf update, but
> I'll probably be able to get to it by the end of the week.  If you're in a
> hurry, then I think you might find writing your own updated bootstrap.conf
> would be instructive in the vast improvements I think the new bootstrap I've
> written brings to the table - and maybe help build enough confidence in it
> that you'd like to help me adopt it into upstream gnulib?

If I go with it, it will eventually gain at least 10 new client packages.
However, I don't have a lot of time to invest in the transition,
so anything you can do to make it easier may go a long way.