Re: Integration of a Perl XS module with an Automake build system

[Bob Friesenhahn]

On Tue, 30 Jun 2015, Gavin Smith wrote:
> What you say about using a different compiler is worrying, though, and
> I hadn't thought about it before. So basically when compiling an XS
> module, you need to use whatever compiler was used to compile perl in
> the first place? I think we could retrieve this information and use it
> only when compiling the XS module, allowing the rest of the program to
> be compiled with the compiler that the configure script or user
> chooses.

If you use a system which supports several completely different 
compilers targeting the same ABI, you immediately find dismay unless 
you compile Python using the same compiler you plan to use.

This is quite evident on Solaris systems which use the Sun/Oracle 
compiler to build the bundled Python so it produces Sun compiler 
options which don't work with GCC.

> > Something else which changes is the identity of the target, which determines
> > where build products go in the build tree and when installed.
>
> What, you mean if cross-compiling? It seems impossible: how are we
> supposed to know what compiler flags to use? Some information might
> have to be provided manually. The same problem must have occurred with
> libtool as well, for cross-compiling shared libraries.

Not specifically when cross-compiling. Perl has a particular way to 
name the directories in which it puts the module in the build tree and 
installation tree.  Part of this includes the basic architecture of 
the machine (as known to Perl).

Bob
--
Bob Friesenhahn
address@hidden, http://www.simplesystems.org/users/bfriesen/
GraphicsMagick Maintainer,    http://www.GraphicsMagick.org/