Re: overriding libdir?

[Olly Betts]

On 2006-04-13, Ralf Wildenhues <address@hidden> wrote:
> * Olly Betts wrote on Thu, Apr 13, 2006 at 12:53:53AM CEST:
>> 
>> phpextdir = `$(PHP_CONFIG) --extension-dir`
>> phpext_LTLIBRARIES = php_mod_bt.la
>> 
>> You probably also want to remove the .la file this installs:
>
> Why do you want to do that?  This in an honest question; let's fix the
> bugs you are trying to work around with this.

Well, PHP doesn't use libltdl to load its modules.  So at best
installing it adds cruft which will never get used, at worst it could
conceivably even confuse PHP.  It's not just PHP, the same goes when
building modules for Python, Tcl, Java, etc.

>> I don't know of a way to avoid installing it in the first place...
>
> Well, there is a point to having them in the first place.

I realise that there is in general (both for libraries and modules), but
when building modules for a particular application that is known not to
ever use .la files there isn't, is there?

In fact, for this use case what you probably want to be able to say to
libtool is "build me only a shared module (and fail if you can't) and
create it in the current directory (skipping the usually .la wrapper
with the .so in the .libs subdirectory)".  That would make it cleaner to
test the module without installing it too.  Currently I have to use
this, which probably assumes things it shouldn't about how libtool
works internally:

TESTS_ENVIRONMENT = $(PHP) -c php.ini -d extension_dir=.libs

(I realise I probably shouldn't use .libs explicitly but should get it
from objdir in libtool -config, but even then it seems I'm relying
on implementation details...)

Cheers,
    Olly