Andrew Bartlett wrote:
Why is there a Makefile (not Makefile.in) in CVS?
Makefile is there for historical reasons and will be removed asap.
Isn't the first thing we want to do (on a checkout) a
./configure, which
will replace this file anyway?
Likewise, I'm confused: why do we allow prefix and exec_prefix to be
specified at 'make' (rather than configure) time?
You can set them at
configure time. I use "configure
--prefix=/home/rich/11srv && make install" for testing.
This is typically at
configure time in other open source projects.
Actually, it is a "feature"
of autoconf/automake to allow you to set
them at make time, in addition to being able to set them at configure
time. It is my understanding that autoconf/automake work fine, no
matter if you set them at configure or make time. From "info autoconf":
"Most of these variables have values that rely on `prefix' or
`exec_prefix'. It is deliberate that the directory output variables
keep them unexpanded: typically `@datadir@' will be replaced by
`${prefix}/share', not `/usr/local/share'.
This behavior is mandated by the GNU coding standards, so that when
the user runs:
`make'
she can still specify a different prefix from the one specified to
`configure', in which case, if needed, the package shall hard code
dependencies corresponding to the make-specified prefix.
`make install'
she can specify a different installation location, in which case
the package _must_ still depend on the location which was compiled
in (i.e., never recompile when `make install' is run). This is an
extremely important feature, as many people may decide to install
all the files of a package grouped together, and then install
links from the final locations to there.
...
"
There is more in the autoconf info doc about this too.
Changing this would seem
to remove some additional complexity from the build system...
What additional complexity is introduced?
Andrew Bartlett
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