What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Xue Fuqiao]

Hi,

The INSTALL file says:

--8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
If you want to build Emacs again with different configure options,
first clean the source directories:
      make distclean
      ./configure
--8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---

Does it mean I have to run a pure `./configure' before using a different
configure option?  E.g.,

--8<---------------cut here---------------start------------->8---
make distclean
./configure
./configure --this-time-it-is-a-different-option
--8<---------------cut here---------------end--------------->8---

or just run `make distclean' and use the different option?

I've searched the archives/web, but didn't find a question with close
relations to mine.

--
Best regards, Xue Fuqiao.

Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Glenn Morris]

Xue Fuqiao wrote:

> make distclean
> ./configure
> ./configure --this-time-it-is-a-different-option

No.

> or just run `make distclean' and use the different option?

Yes.

> I've searched the archives/web, but didn't find a question with close
> relations to mine.

It's an unusual question to ask, IMO.

Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 27.07.2013 um 03:59 schrieb Xue Fuqiao:

> make distclean

This command cleans the distribution from all files that were created by previous invocations of configure and make. The files on your disk should afterwards be the same as if you had out-packed them from the archive.

> ./configure

If you have a specific configuration in mind you should not do that silly thing. You are wasting some minutes.

> ./configure --this-time-it-is-a-different-option

Exactly! This is what you want to do. (And then make and make install.)

--
Greetings

  Pete

Build a man a fire and he'll be warm for a night, but set a man on fire and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Xue Fuqiao]

On Sat, Jul 27, 2013 at 10:06 AM, Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org> wrote:
> Xue Fuqiao wrote:
>> make distclean
>> ./configure
>> ./configure --this-time-it-is-a-different-option
> No.
>> or just run `make distclean' and use the different option?
> Yes.

Ah, I see, thank you.  So could we remove the "./configure"?  It looks
confusing.

=== modified file 'INSTALL'
--- INSTALL    2013-07-20 19:20:33 +0000
+++ INSTALL    2013-07-27 22:27:32 +0000
@@ -98,7 +98,6 @@
   first clean the source directories:

         make distclean
-        ./configure

   Note that the install automatically saves space by compressing
   (provided you have the `gzip' program) those installed Lisp source (.el)

-- 
Best regards, Xue Fuqiao.
http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/

Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 28.07.2013 um 00:30 schrieb Xue Fuqiao:

> So could we remove the "./configure"?

No! Without invoking configure at least once after the 'make distclean' or out-packing the sources no Makefile is there and so GNU Emacs cannot be built. The configure run creates the Makefiles in the top level directory and in sub-directories with some kind of sources that need to be compiled to something more useful – these are for example the TEXI or LISP files, which become INFO or ELC files – and the 'make distclean' removes these Makefiles. It might be useful to document that configure can be invoked with arguments to prepare an optimised build. And that the build/install options can be retrieved by invoking "./configure --help"?

Or, if you want to remove something from the INSTALL file, then I'd recommend

	* intlfonts-VERSION.tar.gz 

These are pretty old bitmapped fonts. They cannot be used with GNU Emacs' font shaping capabilities. The GNU Freefonts (FreeSerif, FreeSans, FreeMono) exist and offer support for many scripts and languages.

--
Greetings

  Pete

Either this man is dead or my watch has stopped.
				- Groucho Marx

Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Hongxu Chen]

Xue Fuqiao <xfq.free@gmail.com> writes:

> On Sat, Jul 27, 2013 at 10:06 AM, Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org> wrote:
>> Xue Fuqiao wrote:
>>> make distclean
>>> ./configure
>>> ./configure --this-time-it-is-a-different-option
>> No.
>>> or just run `make distclean' and use the different option?
>> Yes.
>
> Ah, I see, thank you.  So could we remove the "./configure"?  It looks
> confusing.
>
> === modified file 'INSTALL'
> --- INSTALL    2013-07-20 19:20:33 +0000
> +++ INSTALL    2013-07-27 22:27:32 +0000
> @@ -98,7 +98,6 @@
>    first clean the source directories:
>
>          make distclean
> -        ./configure
>
>    Note that the install automatically saves space by compressing
>    (provided you have the `gzip' program) those installed Lisp source (.el)

Hi Fuqiao, I suggest you read a some tutorials about autotools.

And here is a link: http://www.lrde.epita.fr/~adl/dl/autotools.pdf

-- 
Regards,
Hongxu Chen

Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Thien-Thi Nguyen]

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() Hongxu Chen <leftcopy.chx@gmail.com>
() Sun, 28 Jul 2013 10:03:27 +0800

   > Ah, I see, thank you.  So could we remove the "./configure"?  It
   > looks confusing.
   >
   > === modified file 'INSTALL'
   > --- INSTALL    2013-07-20 19:20:33 +0000
   > +++ INSTALL    2013-07-27 22:27:32 +0000
   > @@ -98,7 +98,6 @@
   >    first clean the source directories:
   >
   >          make distclean
   > -        ./configure
   >
   >    Note that the install automatically saves space by compressing
   >    (provided you have the `gzip' program) those installed Lisp
   >    source (.el)

   Hi Fuqiao, I suggest you read a some tutorials about autotools.

It's best to make the INSTALL text clearer for everyone, locally.
Naked "./configure" can be confusing, true, and removing it doesn't
help.  So in this case perhaps adding some text is indicated.

But what text and where?  What is the most elegant way, in the context
of "new configure options"?  What concepts available to the expected
audience can we use to convey this meaning?  Must we be verbose?

-- 
Thien-Thi Nguyen
   GPG key: 4C807502
   (if you're human and you know it)
      read my lisp: (responsep (questions 'technical)
                               (not (via 'mailing-list)))
                     => nil

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Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Xue Fuqiao]

On Sun, Jul 28, 2013 at 4:39 PM, Thien-Thi Nguyen <ttn@gnu.org> wrote:
> () Hongxu Chen <leftcopy.chx@gmail.com>
> () Sun, 28 Jul 2013 10:03:27 +0800
>
>    > So could we remove the "./configure"?

> It's best to make the INSTALL text clearer for everyone, locally.
> Naked "./configure" can be confusing, true, and removing it doesn't
> help.  So in this case perhaps adding some text is indicated.
> But what text and where?  What is the most elegant way, in the context
> of "new configure options"?  What concepts available to the expected
> audience can we use to convey this meaning?  Must we be verbose?

I've thought another way to describe it: "./configure
--your-different-option" before my last post, but IMO the previous
paragraph has stated this very clearly:

  "If you want to build Emacs again with different configure options,
  first clean the source directories:"

It already implies that we _need_ different configure option(s), so we
don't need the second extra line.  What's your opinion?

-- 
Best regards, Xue Fuqiao.
http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/

Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Xue Fuqiao]

On Sun, Jul 28, 2013 at 6:53 AM, Peter Dyballa <Peter_Dyballa@web.de> wrote:
>
> Am 28.07.2013 um 00:30 schrieb Xue Fuqiao:
>
>> So could we remove the "./configure"?
>
> No! Without invoking configure at least once after the 'make
> distclean' or out-packing the sources no Makefile is there and so GNU
> Emacs cannot be built. The configure run creates the Makefiles in the
> top level directory and in sub-directories with some kind of sources
> that need to be compiled to something more useful – these are for
> example the TEXI or LISP files, which become INFO or ELC files – and
> the 'make distclean' removes these Makefiles. It might be useful to
> document that configure can be invoked with arguments to prepare an
> optimised build. And that the build/install options can be retrieved
> by invoking "./configure --help"?

Thanks for your reply.  I think you misunderstood me.  What I wanted to
do is removing this line, not removing the configure process.

> Or, if you want to remove something from the INSTALL file, then I'd recommend
>
>         * intlfonts-VERSION.tar.gz
>
> These are pretty old bitmapped fonts. They cannot be used with GNU
> Emacs' font shaping capabilities. The GNU Freefonts (FreeSerif,
> FreeSans, FreeMono) exist and offer support for many scripts and
> languages.

Agreed.  And (info "(efaq) How to add fonts") also needs changing.

-- 
Best regards, Xue Fuqiao.
http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/

Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Xue Fuqiao]

On Sun, Jul 28, 2013 at 10:03 AM, Hongxu Chen <leftcopy.chx@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Fuqiao, I suggest you read a some tutorials about autotools.
>
> And here is a link: http://www.lrde.epita.fr/~adl/dl/autotools.pdf

Thanks.  I've read this famous/great tutorial written by Alexandre
Duret-Lutz two years ago, but the text in INSTALL makes me doubt
myself.

Now I'm starting to read the manual of Autoconf/Automake/Gnulib.
For Libtool, I have no plan to learn much about it till now.

-- 
Best regards, Xue Fuqiao.

Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Thien-Thi Nguyen]

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() Xue Fuqiao <xfq.free@gmail.com>
() Sun, 28 Jul 2013 21:33:33 +0800

   I've thought another way to describe it: "./configure
   --your-different-option" before my last post, but IMO the previous
   paragraph has stated this very clearly:

     "If you want to build Emacs again with different configure options,
     first clean the source directories:"

   It already implies that we _need_ different configure option(s), so
   we don't need the second extra line.  What's your opinion?

I have two minds (at the moment :-D).

- Towards minimalism (i.e., providing only what is needed), the indented
  block can be completely eliminated.

     If you want to build Emacs again with different configure options,
     first clean the source directories with "make distclean".

- Towards parallelism (i.e., providing a consistent patter for every
  pitter), the second line line of the indented block can be as you
  suggest:

            ./configure --your-different-option

  However, i would use square braces as a further syntactical hint.
  (Who knows, someone might try the literal "--your-different-option"!)

The latter appeals to at-rest aesthetics, while the former, in-motion.
Both get the job done (as does removing "./configure", i suppose, which
basically means: what i think is not as important as what you do).

-- 
Thien-Thi Nguyen
   GPG key: 4C807502
   (if you're human and you know it)
      read my lisp: (responsep (questions 'technical)
                               (not (via 'mailing-list)))
                     => nil

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Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 28.07.2013 um 15:33 schrieb Xue Fuqiao:

> It already implies that we _need_ different configure option(s), so we
> don't need the second extra line.  What's your opinion?

The second mentioning of "./configure" should be extended to

	./configure <your choice of options and settings>

With "options" I mean the --<things>, with "settings" I mean the "influential environment variables".

--
Greetings

  Pete

No matter which way you ride, it's uphill and against the wind. 
				– First Law of Bicycling

Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Xue Fuqiao]

On Sun, Jul 28, 2013 at 11:44 PM, Peter Dyballa <Peter_Dyballa@web.de> wrote:
>
> Am 28.07.2013 um 15:33 schrieb Xue Fuqiao:
>
>> It already implies that we _need_ different configure option(s), so we
>> don't need the second extra line.  What's your opinion?
>
> The second mentioning of "./configure" should be extended to
>
>         ./configure <your choice of options and settings>
>
> With "options" I mean the --<things>, with "settings" I mean the
> "influential environment variables".

Sounds fine to me.  Glenn?

-- 
Best regards, Xue Fuqiao.
http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/

Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Glenn Morris]

Xue Fuqiao wrote:

>> The second mentioning of "./configure" should be extended to
>>
>>         ./configure <your choice of options and settings>
>>
>> With "options" I mean the --<things>, with "settings" I mean the
>> "influential environment variables".
>
> Sounds fine to me.  Glenn?

I think you should just delete the ./configure, like you said earlier.

Re: What should I do when building Emacs again with different configure options?

[Xue Fuqiao]

On Mon, Jul 29, 2013 at 7:47 AM, Glenn Morris <rgm@gnu.org> wrote:
> Xue Fuqiao wrote:
>
>>> The second mentioning of "./configure" should be extended to
>>>
>>>         ./configure <your choice of options and settings>
>>>
>>> With "options" I mean the --<things>, with "settings" I mean the
>>> "influential environment variables".
>>
>> Sounds fine to me.  Glenn?
>
> I think you should just delete the ./configure, like you said earlier.

ok, done as r113582.

-- 
Best regards, Xue Fuqiao.
http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/