Debian: Avoid install-info errors on "make install"?

Debian: Avoid install-info errors on "make install"?

[Kai Großjohann]

When compiling Emacs from the CVS sources, then doing "make install",
I get errors (warnings?) like this:

* Ada mode: (ada-mode). Emacs mode for editing Ada code.
install-info(/home/kai/sw/emacs-21.0/info/ada-mode): replacing existing dir entry for `ada-mode'
cp: cannot create regular file `/var/backups/infodir.bak': Permission denied
install-info(/home/kai/sw/emacs-21.0/info/ada-mode): couldn't backup /home/kai/sw/emacs-21.0/info/dir in /var/backups/infodir.bak: No such file or directory

Suggestions?
-- 
A turnip curses Elvis

Re: Debian: Avoid install-info errors on "make install"?

[Kevin Rodgers]

Kai Großjohann wrote:

> When compiling Emacs from the CVS sources, then doing "make install",
> I get errors (warnings?) like this:
> 
> * Ada mode: (ada-mode). Emacs mode for editing Ada code.
> install-info(/home/kai/sw/emacs-21.0/info/ada-mode): replacing existing dir entry for `ada-mode'
> cp: cannot create regular file `/var/backups/infodir.bak': Permission denied
> install-info(/home/kai/sw/emacs-21.0/info/ada-mode): couldn't backup /home/kai/sw/emacs-21.0/info/dir in /var/backups/infodir.bak: No such file or directory
> 
> Suggestions?

Find out why install-info is referencing /var/backups.  It's probably being
passed explicity from the Makefile, so perhaps its a configure parameter.  It
does seem odd that it has apparently ignored your
--prefix=/home/kai/sw/emacs-21.0 parameter, though.

-- 
<a href="mailto:&lt;kevin.rodgers&#64;ihs.com&gt;">Kevin Rodgers</a>

Re: Debian: Avoid install-info errors on "make install"?

[Kai Großjohann]

Kevin Rodgers <kevin.rodgers@ihs.com> writes:

> Find out why install-info is referencing /var/backups.  It's probably being
> passed explicity from the Makefile, so perhaps its a configure parameter.  It
> does seem odd that it has apparently ignored your
> --prefix=/home/kai/sw/emacs-21.0 parameter, though.

Debian has its own install-info.  It writes the right dir entries, it
seems, but it /additionally/ references /var/backups.

The Debian folk say that their install-info does exactly what Debian
needs.  But I'm afraid it doesn't do what I need.  I'd be happy about
a regular install-info as distributed with GNU Texinfo.  But that
will never happen (I mean they never will distribute it), I'm afraid.
-- 
A turnip curses Elvis

Re: Debian: Avoid install-info errors on "make install"?

[Romain FRANCOISE]

kai.grossjohann@uni-duisburg.de (Kai Großjohann) writes:

> The Debian folk say that their install-info does exactly what Debian
> needs.  But I'm afraid it doesn't do what I need.  I'd be happy about
> a regular install-info as distributed with GNU Texinfo.  But that
> will never happen (I mean they never will distribute it), I'm afraid.

If that's really what the Debian maintainer told you, you probably
should remember him item 4 of the Debian Social Contract: «Our
Priorities are Our Users and Free Software.»

See <URL:http://www.debian.org/social_contract> for details.

(Also in /usr/share/doc/debian/social-contract.txt provided the
doc-debian package is installed.)

-- 
Romain FRANCOISE <romain@orebokech.com> | All of the planet's dead, so
it's a miracle -- http://orebokech.com/ | let me out of here.

Re: Debian: Avoid install-info errors on "make install"?

[Kai Großjohann]

Romain FRANCOISE <romain@orebokech.com> writes:

> If that's really what the Debian maintainer told you, you probably
> should remember him item 4 of the Debian Social Contract: «Our
> Priorities are Our Users and Free Software.»

Okay, okay.  It's just my interpretation, not anything official from
them.
-- 
A turnip curses Elvis

Re: Debian: Avoid install-info errors on "make install"?

[Kevin Rodgers]

Kai Großjohann wrote:

> Kevin Rodgers <kevin.rodgers@ihs.com> writes:
>>Find out why install-info is referencing /var/backups.  It's probably being
>>passed explicity from the Makefile, so perhaps its a configure parameter.  It
>>does seem odd that it has apparently ignored your
>>--prefix=/home/kai/sw/emacs-21.0 parameter, though.
> 
> Debian has its own install-info.  It writes the right dir entries, it
> seems, but it /additionally/ references /var/backups.

ln -s /tmp /var/backups

-- 
<a href="mailto:&lt;kevin.rodgers&#64;ihs.com&gt;">Kevin Rodgers</a>

Re: Debian: Avoid install-info errors on "make install"?

[Bijan Soleymani]

kai.grossjohann@uni-duisburg.de (Kai Großjohann) writes:

> Debian has its own install-info.  It writes the right dir entries, it
> seems, but it /additionally/ references /var/backups.
> 
> The Debian folk say that their install-info does exactly what Debian
> needs.  But I'm afraid it doesn't do what I need.  I'd be happy about
> a regular install-info as distributed with GNU Texinfo.  But that
> will never happen (I mean they never will distribute it), I'm afraid.

I still don't understand the big conflict between the two versions of
install-info. Why won't Debian ever distribute it? What's wrong with
the version that comes with texinfo.

In any case if you want the behaviour of the other install-info why
not just use that during the installation procedure.

Bijan

Re: Debian: Avoid install-info errors on "make install"?

[Kai Großjohann]

Bijan Soleymani <bijan@psq.com> writes:

> kai.grossjohann@uni-duisburg.de (Kai Großjohann) writes:
>
>> Debian has its own install-info.  It writes the right dir entries, it
>> seems, but it /additionally/ references /var/backups.
>> 
>> The Debian folk say that their install-info does exactly what Debian
>> needs.  But I'm afraid it doesn't do what I need.  I'd be happy about
>> a regular install-info as distributed with GNU Texinfo.  But that
>> will never happen (I mean they never will distribute it), I'm afraid.
>
> I still don't understand the big conflict between the two versions of
> install-info. Why won't Debian ever distribute it? What's wrong with
> the version that comes with texinfo.
>
> In any case if you want the behaviour of the other install-info why
> not just use that during the installation procedure.

If I had the GNU version, I'd be a happy camper.  But I didn't want
to install GNU Texinfo from source just because of this.

The Debian folks started the whole thing, their install-info is older
than the GNU version.  So it's understandable that they are somewhat
reluctant to ditch their version.

But in the end, how about you ask them to change it?  (If you're a
Debian user.)  That could be quite useful either way: either you get
an explanation about why they don't want to do it, or they do it and
make me happy :-)
-- 
A turnip curses Elvis