Autotools and "foreign"

Autotools and "foreign"

[Mike Looijmans]

I tried to upgrade to the current master, and got a few dozen packages 
now failing to build because of automake errors like this:

| Makefile.am: error: required file './NEWS' not found
| Makefile.am: error: required file './README' not found
| Makefile.am: error: required file './AUTHORS' not found

This apparently traces down to:
74b05bba64589da0e4439a4293559ad9670104bd
"autoconf: remove automake patch enforcing --foreign"

Is there an alternative to manually patching all of these packages to 
get them to compile once more?


-- 
Mike Looijmans

Re: Autotools and "foreign"

[Burton, Ross]

On 12 August 2014 18:40, Mike Looijmans <mike.looijmans@topic.nl> wrote:
> Is there an alternative to manually patching all of these packages to get
> them to compile once more?

Depends on the package, but generally you'll need to update the
automake macro at the top of configure.ac (and submit a patch upstream
as this should have been fixed years ago).

Encouraging said upstreams to use autoreconf instead of (likely)
home-grown crazy would be a good move whilst you're talking to them.

Ross

Re: Autotools and "foreign"

[Mike Looijmans]

On 08/12/2014 08:57 PM, Burton, Ross wrote:
> On 12 August 2014 18:40, Mike Looijmans <mike.looijmans@topic.nl> wrote:
>> Is there an alternative to manually patching all of these packages to get
>> them to compile once more?
>
> Depends on the package, but generally you'll need to update the
> automake macro at the top of configure.ac (and submit a patch upstream
> as this should have been fixed years ago).

Basically, you're saying "no" then?

> Encouraging said upstreams to use autoreconf instead of (likely)
> home-grown crazy would be a good move whilst you're talking to them.

That might be the case if said upstream people actually still existed. Most of 
these packages have since long been abandoned.

So I guess I'll have to cook up a class that works around it, just adding the 
"missing" files into the S directory might do the trick.

Mike.


Met vriendelijke groet / kind regards,

Mike Looijmans

TOPIC Embedded Systems
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Re: Autotools and "foreign"

[Robert Yang]

On 08/13/2014 01:13 PM, Mike Looijmans wrote:
> On 08/12/2014 08:57 PM, Burton, Ross wrote:
>> On 12 August 2014 18:40, Mike Looijmans <mike.looijmans@topic.nl> wrote:
>>> Is there an alternative to manually patching all of these packages to get
>>> them to compile once more?
>>
>> Depends on the package, but generally you'll need to update the
>> automake macro at the top of configure.ac (and submit a patch upstream
>> as this should have been fixed years ago).
>
> Basically, you're saying "no" then?
>
>> Encouraging said upstreams to use autoreconf instead of (likely)
>> home-grown crazy would be a good move whilst you're talking to them.
>
> That might be the case if said upstream people actually still existed. Most of
> these packages have since long been abandoned.
>
> So I guess I'll have to cook up a class that works around it, just adding the
> "missing" files into the S directory might do the trick.
>

How about add this to configure.ac:

AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([foreign])

// Robert


> Mike.
>
>
> Met vriendelijke groet / kind regards,
>
> Mike Looijmans
>
> TOPIC Embedded Systems
> Eindhovenseweg 32-C, NL-5683 KH Best
> Postbus 440, NL-5680 AK Best
> Telefoon: (+31) (0) 499 33 69 79
> Telefax:  (+31) (0) 499 33 69 70
> E-mail: mike.looijmans@topic.nl
> Website: www.topic.nl
>
> Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
>
> Bezoek ons op 9 en 10 september tijdens Technology for Health Den Bosch (stand 53)
> http://www.technologyforhealth.nl
>

Re: Autotools and "foreign"

[Burton, Ross]

On 13 August 2014 06:13, Mike Looijmans <mike.looijmans@topic.nl> wrote:
> That might be the case if said upstream people actually still existed. Most
> of these packages have since long been abandoned.

That's generally where the problems are - packages that expect
autotools from ten years ago.

> So I guess I'll have to cook up a class that works around it, just adding
> the "missing" files into the S directory might do the trick.

In my experience of fixing oe-core, most packages that fail here
already have patches to fix their autotools infrastructure, so adding
[foreign] is just another fix in the same patch.

Ross