[Xastir] CVS update

[Tom Russo]

On Sun, Sep 26, 2004 at 11:04:57AM -0700, a Mr. Richard Feyler of Fort Lee, New Jersey <archer at eskimo.com> writes 'Dear Rosanne Rosannadanna':
> On Sun, 26 Sep 2004, ha2vr wrote:
> 
> > I am trying to get the latest cvs and compile in Mandrake 10.0.
> > After cvs update I have problem with ./bootstrap.sh.
> > I am getting the following error:
> > Makefile.am:7: option 'dist-bzip2' not recognized
> > scripts/Makefile.am:6: invalid variable 'pkglib_SCRIPTS'
> > scripts/Makefile.am:6: invalid variable 'pkglib_SCRIPTS'
> >
> > After this message ./bootstrap.sh stops.
> >
> > I have Mandrake 10.0 with automake1.9-1.9-1.mdk and autoconf 2.5-2.59-3mdk.
> >
> > Am I doing something wrong?
> 
> Perhaps you need bzip2 installed?  Not sure.
> 
> automake-1.6.3 and autoconf-2.53 are the minimum requirements right
> now.  I think your autoconf-2.5-2.59-3mdk might qualify, but I'm not
> familiar with that numbering scheme.  automake looks good.

Unfortunately, the autotools don't maintain strict backward compatibility,
and it can be the case that using *too* new a version of automake could
cause errors.  That's where I'd put my money on ha2vr's problem.  To solve
it one would have to try exactly those versions of the autotools and work
through what bogon it's hitting.

For example, when I use the automake that comes with recent cygwin installs
(1.8, I think), I get numerous warnings about underquoted strings in
macros, but no warnings at all when I use automake 1.6.3.

Autotools are cool, but the constant changes in them make them a very 
frustrating thing to work with.  At work we typically freeze autoconf
versions for a year or more because we'd spend more time futzing
with configure.ac and Makefile.am than our own code if we let the autotools
keep up with the times.  We just keep "blessed" versions in a place for 
everyone to use when working on our code.  It only took shooting one or two
developers for checking in a configure that was generated with a different
version to get everyone on the same page.

When I work on xastir I always use a specific version of automake and autoconf
installed just for that work:  autoconf 2.57 and automake 1.6.3.  I just
re-adjust my path so whenever I'm working on xastir those are always found
before any system-installed version.  It's easy to get source code for older
versions of autoconf and automake (they're all there in the same download
area on www.gnu.org, I think), and trivial to build, so this is much easier
than trying to spend one's life keeping up with the tools.

-- 
Tom Russo    KM5VY     SAR502  DM64ux         http://www.swcp.com/~russo/
Tijeras, NM  QRPL#1592 K2#398  SOC#236 AHTB#1 http://www.qsl.net/~km5vy/
(1) Ignorance of your profession is best concealed by solemnity and silence,
which pass for profound knowledge upon the generality of mankind.
                -------"Advice to Officers of the British Army", 1783