Re: [Bug-tar] ./configure has become unusable slow

[Paul Eggert]

Joerg Schilling <address@hidden> writes:

> I never found any autoconf related problem so it seems that there is
> a work around.

That would be news to me.  I don't know of any workaround.

> If somebody did change autoconf in 1996, I would understand the reason.
> Doing it now looks insane.

Sorry, I don't follow this line of reasoning.  The change to Autoconf
makes it a bit more of a hassle to use Autoconf-generated 'configure'
scripts on SunOS 4.x.  SunOS 4.x was not 100% obsolete in 1996; some
people still used it, so there was some benefit to making 'configure'
scripts run without any hassle on SunOS 4.x back then.  In contrast,
almost nobody uses SunOS 4.x now, so it's no longer a big deal to ask
the few remaining SunOS 4.x users to first install a standard program
(standardized by POSIX for more than 10 year now) in order to build
modern software.

> Well you could use a autoconf version for GNU tar that does not have 
> this problem.

Sorry, that's no longer feasible.  Too many parts of GNU tar, some
imported from elsewhere, assume a more modern Autoconf.

Time is marching on and has passed SunOS 4.x by.  It's still
supported, but it's not as convenient as it used to be, and if you
really want to use it you'll have to install more modern programs on
it.  You've already taken the first step by installing GCC; all you
have to do next is to take the next step and install Bash.

> This machine still (since > 10 years) runs my ISDN/IP interface and
> is used for portability checks...

Yes, I figured it was something like that.  Such checks used to be
useful, but nowadays they're pretty much a waste of time.  Nobody
seriously uses SunOS 4.x for new projects any more.