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Re: Creating "Additional" makefiles
From: |
Wim Oudshoorn |
Subject: |
Re: Creating "Additional" makefiles |
Date: |
Tue, 27 Nov 2001 16:02:56 +0100 |
> > NOTE: although I'd love to be able to avoid using
> > autoconf/configure to set up some of these things,
> > the fact that developers and users are going
> > to have to have certain 3rd party libraries installed
> > means that we've got to be able to ensure that they're there,
> > and configure accordingly.
>
> Yes - you certainly need to use autoconf/configure in the configuration
> steps of your frameworks to detect and locate the required external
> libraries.
Looking at it from a highlevel, there seem two issues here:
A) Detecting if 3rd party librairies are installed
B) Configuring accordingly
What does autoconf/configure add here?
A.1) Upfront detecting of missing libraries
B.1) Figuring out where the libraries are installed.
What is the problem if you do not use autoconf/configure?
A.2) You detect at link time that the libraries can not be found
B.2) If libraries are not installed in a default place they will
not be found.
Personally I find A.2 not a problem, so for me the only advantage
will be point B.1 (and avoiding B.2).
If indeed B is the only reason to use autoconf/configure, could it not
be made in such a way that it is not compulsory to run use it?
Just add in a readme file instructions like to change the makefile
in a few specific places.
Wim Oudshoorn.
P.S.: I was ranting against autoconf/configure just last week.
was this the reason for you'r question about avoiding autoconf?
It is not that I hate it, just that it, in my experience, is prone
to fail and almost impossible to work around if it fails.