Re: error: installing './INSTALL'; error while making link: File exists

[Bruce Korb]

In reading that code, it looks like I could go figure out where the
INSTALL file normally lives and just copy the thing into my build tree
as part of my "create derived sources" step. I'd really rather have
autoreconf do it, but not if it is going to fail on me.

On Sun, Sep 1, 2019 at 4:39 PM Bruce Korb <address@hidden> wrote:
>
> Long, long ago I learned that the safest thing is to purge my build
> directory and create a new one.
> After that, I link in all of my managed sources and then create any
> derived sources I need.
> After doing that, I run "autoreconf" and get the result you see. IOW,
> it is a really clean directory.
>
> On Sat, Aug 31, 2019 at 5:31 PM Dan Kegel <address@hidden> wrote:
> >
> > I don't know what you're trying to make, but you could
> > try cleaning the directory to remove stale symlinks first...
> > or unpacking the source tarball into a clean directory
> > and building there.
> >
> > Here's the code you're probably hitting, fwiw:
> >
> > ```
> >           # Install the missing file.  Symlink if we
> >           # can, copy if we must.  Note: delete the file
> >           # first, in case it is a dangling symlink.
> >           $message = "installing '$fullfile'";
> >  ...
> >           # Windows Perl will hang if we try to delete a
> >           # file that doesn't exist.
> >           unlink ($fullfile) if -f $fullfile;
> >           if ($symlink_exists && ! $copy_missing)
> >             {
> >               if (! symlink ("$libdir/$file", $fullfile)
> >                   || ! -e $fullfile)
> >                 {
> >                   $suppress = 0;
> >                   $trailer = "; error while making link: $!";
> >                 }
> >             }
> >           elsif (system ('cp', "$libdir/$file", $fullfile))
> >             {
> >               $suppress = 0;
> >               $trailer = "\n    error while copying";
> >             }
> > - Dan
> >
> > On Sat, Aug 31, 2019 at 5:17 PM Bruce Korb <address@hidden> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi,
> > >
> > > Googling doesn't get me any answers and I cannot rebuild until
> > > autoreconf is gotten working.
> > > The embedded autoreconf step that fails is automake. I have no idea at
> > > all what the message is really trying to say. Help, please?
> > >
> > > $ automake --add-missing --no-force
> > > Makefile.am: error: installing './INSTALL'; error while making link: File 
> > > exists
> > > doc/Makefile.am:71: warning: call gen_man,gnu-pw-mgr,opts.def:
> > > non-POSIX variable
> > > name
> > > doc/Makefile.am:71: (probably a GNU make extension)
> > > doc/Makefile.am:80: warning: call gen_man,sort-pw-cfg,sort-opts.def:
> > > non-POSIX va
> > > riable name
> > > doc/Makefile.am:80: (probably a GNU make extension)
> > > doc/Makefile.am:90: warning: call check_exe,gnu-pw-mgr : non-POSIX 
> > > variable name
> > > doc/Makefile.am:90: (probably a GNU make extension)
> > > doc/Makefile.am:91: warning: call gen_invoke,gnu-pw-mgr,opts.def :
> > > non-POSIX vari
> > > able name
> > > doc/Makefile.am:91: (probably a GNU make extension)
> > > doc/Makefile.am:101: warning: call check_exe,sort-pw-cfg : non-POSIX
> > > variable nam
> > > e
> > > doc/Makefile.am:101: (probably a GNU make extension)
> > > doc/Makefile.am:102: warning: call
> > > gen_invoke,sort-pw-cfg,sort-opts.def : non-POS
> > > IX variable name
> > > doc/Makefile.am:102: (probably a GNU make extension)
> > >
> > >
>
>
>
> --
>  - Bruce



-- 
 - Bruce