Re: [PATCH] Fix compiling on CentOS 7.

[Roel Janssen <roel@gnu.org>]

Alex Kost writes:

> Tomáš Čech (2016-08-27 09:57 +0300) wrote:
>
>> On Fri, Aug 26, 2016 at 09:48:36PM +0200, Roel Janssen wrote:
>>>Dear Guix,
>>>
>>>Due to an old Automake version (1.13), running the `./configure' phase on
>>>CentOS 7 fails with:
>>>
>>>> autoreconf: running: automake --add-missing --copy --force-missing
>>>> configure.ac:21: warning: The 'AM_PROG_MKDIR_P' macro is deprecated, and its use is discouraged.
>>>> configure.ac:21: You should use the Autoconf-provided 'AC_PROG_MKDIR_P' macro instead,
>>>> configure.ac:21: and use '$(MKDIR_P)' instead of '$(mkdir_p)'in your Makefile.am files.
>>>> Makefile.am:422: warning: AM_GNU_GETTEXT used but 'po' not in SUBDIRS
>>>> automake: error: cannot open < ./%D%/guix.texi: No such file or directory
>>>> autoreconf: automake failed with exit status: 1
>>>
>>>(It does not replace %D% with the appropriate directory..)
>>>
>>>The attached patch replaces each instance of %D%, which I believe stands
>>>for the current subdirectory from the project root, with the appropriate
>>>directory.  With these changes, I've been able to compile GNU Guix on
>>>CentOS 7.
>>>
>>>I am not sure how this change impacts custom configure options, so I
>>>would like to ask someone with more Automake knowledge and experience to
>>>elaborate on the possible downsides of applying this patch.
>>>
>>>If this change is acceptable to the project, I will update the commit
>>>message to a more detailed and conforming message.  Suggestions are
>>>welcome here though.
>>>
>>>What do you think about making Guix compilable on this "stable"
>>>distribution? :-)
>>
>> I'd prefer to keep this patch in CentOS (or similar distribution with
>> outdated software) as distro specific. I can assume that CentOS 8
>> won't need it and you can just drop it for newer releases.
>
> I also think this patch should stay on the CentOS side.  Roel, what you
> suggest is a revert of commit c0d2e7b:
>
> http://git.savannah.gnu.org/cgit/guix.git/commit/?id=c0d2e7b197a3c511eb1bf60b61ee6fdc673e36f4

Ha! I  hadn't seen that commit.  It is indeed a revert of this commit.

Let me rephrase my thought:
I don't see any good reason to break compatibility with well established
distributions.  And the commit message does not state why a macro is
better than spelling out the relative path.

Because the above commit shows that we used to be able to compile GNU
Guix without the macro, I am more confident that it is
harmless. Possibly Mathieu can elaborate on the necessity of the
change. :)

I don't see a way to apply this patch "on the CentOS side" except for
waiting (another two or three years) until they upgrade Automake.

Kind regards,
Roel Janssen