Re: Support for a non-standard directory

[Ralf Wildenhues]

Hello Richard,

* Richard Bos wrote on Tue, Feb 19, 2008 at 05:30:49PM CET:
> 
> For an open source project, that I work on, it is needed to define a 
> webserver 
> root directory.  This is done using a variable webserver_document_root, that 
> is (in my case) defined as /srv/www/htdocs.

> When I now run:
> DISTCHECK_CONFIGURE_FLAGS="--with-dist=suse --without-openpkg" make distcheck 
> it fails :(

That is likely because distcheck ensures that with --prefix, all
installed files can be redirected to be inside a subtree.

Do you have a way to override the webserver_document_root?  If yes,
assuming that the possibility is --enable-webserver-document-root=DIR,
you can add
  DISTCHECK_CONFIGURE_FLAGS='--with-dist=suse --without-openpkg 
--enable-webserver-document-root=${sharedstatedir}/htdocs'

Alternatively, you could default the directory in configure.ac

  if test -n "$enable_webserver_document_root"; then
    ...
  else
    webserver_document_root='${sharedstatedir}/htdocs'
  fi
  AC_SUBST([webserver_document_root])

> Whatever I do to the webserver_document_root (more details about this below) 
> it either fails the 'make distcheck', or 'make install' installs in an 
> incorrect location.
> 
> I'm now going to use a workaround to (mis)use the configure argument 
> --htmldir 
> to define the webserver root directory.

--htmldir should be for documentation in HTML format.

> Two questions:
> 1) is a feature request feasible, asking to extend configure so it gets a 
> command line option that can be used to define the webserver root directory 
> (--webserverdir e.g.)?

No.  It is deliberate that all configure scripts understand the same
flags, --enable-* and --with-* are for package-specific extensions (that
are to be ignored by other packages).  The GNU Coding Standards mandate
this; the rationale is to allow you to build trees of packages,
connected by AC_CONFIG_SUBDIRS, and not have configure scripts fail due
to arguments it does not know.

>  If I search the internet, more people are fighting 
> this battle to obtain a webserver root directory with autotools and 
> have 'make distcheck' work.  Hence, it would serve multiple people.

FWIW, I have seen none of this battle so far.

Cheers,
Ralf