Re: configure problems with the C for AIX compiler and AIXV5.x

[Stewart Dean]

I regret that I can't be more specific.  My days of C coding are in the 
past, and I only blow the dust off what I remember when I have to try to 
compile Open Source code.
Currently, I have been working to build Dovecot, an IMAP server 
application, which I believe was set up with autoconf 2.59.  Some of the 
issues are presented in the attached message which I sent to IBM in the 
hopes that they might take an interest from that end.  Basically, it was 
my hope that tests that are run during the invocation of configure and 
the data in config.in would be updated to remove obsolete references 
(for instance, xlC), update header location of IBM's idiosyncracies and 
include the functionality and standards conformance offered IBM C for 
AIX compilers, including its different forms,  c89, c99, xlc and other.
Please read the attached message, then ask me any more questions.  Thanks!

Ralf Wildenhues wrote:
> Hi Stewart,
>
> * Stewart Dean wrote on Wed, Feb 22, 2006 at 05:47:27PM CET:
>   
> > It seems like the support of IBM's AIX is for V4.3 and the old, old xlC 
> > compiler, both of which are obsolete and haven't been supported by IBM 
> > in 5 or so years.  Might I ask for support in autoconf/configure for AIX 
> > V5.x and the current C for AIX compiler, V6/7/8, which goes under the 
> > name xlc, NOT xlC.
> >     
>
> Might I ask what issues you are seeing?  Autoconf itself has very little
> code that tests the compiler name.  Maybe you are talking about Libtool?
> If so: which version are you speaking about?
>
> Cheers,
> Ralf
>   

--
====
Stewart Dean, Unix System Admin, Henderson Computer Resources 
Center of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York  12504  
address@hidden  voice: 845-758-7475, fax: 845-758-7035

> --- Begin Message ---
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> Subject: 
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> PMR48552B180, OPen Source compile problems, autconf/configure related
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> Date: 
>
> Thu, 23 Feb 2006 15:45:54 -0500
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> User-agent: 
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> Thunderbird 1.5 (Windows/20051201)
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>
> The Open Source world, almost without exception, now uses 
> *autoconf*/*configure* to generate the Makefile used to compile Open 
> Source source code.  Since there are 10-20 different flavors of Unix and 
> the configuration/customization/installed functionality of every build 
> environment and host is different, *configure* is used to automagically 
> construct a Makefile that is appropriate to the build environment.  
> Before that, though *autoconf*, a *gnu.org* application, builds the 
> configure exec based on the needs of the application to be compiled.  
> You might say autoconf is a meta-configure:  The application designer 
> first writes a *configure.in* file that holds information on all the 
> base and optional functionality and resource that must/can be built for 
> the application, then runs autoconf to build the configure file.  When 
> the end-user system administrator wants to compile the OPe Source code, 
> he or she first runs configure in his or her build environment to 
> construct a Makefile tailored to the build environment and the optional 
> features desired.
>
> In the Open Source world, the advocates of all the various flavors of 
> Unix work to make sure that *autoconf* runs correctly to build Makefiles 
> for their particular Unix /and/ makes sure that the stuff to make it do 
> so is added to the master, distributed to the world, version of 
> *autoconf* .  For whatever reasons, that is not the case for AIX...the 
> world distribution of *autoconf* appears to know nothing of AIX more 
> recent that V4.3.3, looks for the old xlC compiler that used to come 
> free with AIX and doesn't find it or other key header files like quota.h 
> that are is AIX-idiosyncratic location.  Consequently, when configure is 
> run in an AIXV5.3 and C for AIX V6.0 build environment compiling of a 
> current Open Source executable like Dovecot (a IMAP server application), 
> one sees things like this:
>
> /checking sys/quota.h usability... no
> checking sys/quota.h presence... no
> checking for sys/quota.h... no
> checking sys/fs/ufs_quota.h usability... no
> checking sys/fs/ufs_quota.h presence... no
> checking for sys/fs/ufs_quota.h... no
> checking ufs/ufs/quota.h usability... no
> checking ufs/ufs/quota.h presence... no
> checking for ufs/ufs/quota.h... no/
>
> (Because, of course, quota.h is in sys/jfs...)
>
> and this:
> /checking for xlC_r... no
> checking for xlC... no
> /
> and this:
> /checking for flock... no
> /
>
> So, instead of knowing the/ /characteristics of the IBM C compiler and 
> AIX V5.x build environment, *configure* is
> a) forced to guess
> and
> b) can't find key stuff.
>
> It may be that IBM's Linux team has a working *autoconf*, but that 
> doesn't help all that much, because the application developer runs the 
> commonly available *autoconf, *and it doesn't know from current AIX.  
> Even if I could down load an *autoconf* that knows about AIX, after I 
> might run into problems, inconsistencies...and the application developer 
> would rightly say I was on my own with anything that I got from IBM.
>
> So, my request is for IBM to do what is done with every other flavor of 
> Unix: figure out what is needed for *autoconf* to work in the IBM AIX, C 
> for AIX build environment and ensure that it becomes part of the 
> mainstream *autoconf* application.
>
> I direct you to:
> http://www.gnu.org/software/autoconf/autoconf.html
>
>
>
>
>
> --
> ====
> Stewart Dean, Unix System Admin, Henderson Computer Resources 
> Center of Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York  12504  
> address@hidden  voice: 845-758-7475, fax: 845-758-7035
>
>
>
> --- End Message ---