Re: [Bug-gnulib] Re: [PATCH] ping on GNU/KFreeBSD patch sent a while ago

[Robert Millan]

On Thu, Oct 30, 2003 at 10:21:25PM +0100, Bruno Haible wrote:
> 
> So IMO we should ask the FreeBSD and NetBSD people honestly: "Listen, we
> need two different names in order to distinguish the whole system and the

We don't really need that. I've never had (technical/practical) problems
with using "freebsd" triplet for FreeBSD and "kfreebsd-gnu" for GNU/KFreeBSD.

> kernel of your system. What are your preferences?" Robert, do you or
> RMS already know what there preferences are?

Since changing the "freebsd" triplet to "kfreebsd-freebsd" would break
existing software on FreeBSD, I believe you'll find strong opposition if you
want to change it.

> > > And believe me, having ported the first hundreds of software packages to
> > > GNU/K*BSD, I have some idea on what I'm talking about.
> 
> Can you please tell from your experience (my experience covers only the
> first 25 packages of GNU/FreeBSD, so I really wish to know): What is the
> approximate percentage of packages which test the $host values
>    a) in order to know about some hardware/kernel issues,

Very few. That I can remember right now, only binutils, gcc (gcc itself, not
g++ etc) and some parts of libtool.

>    b) in order to know about things tied to libc,

Most of them. They tend to use triplets to define things like _GNU_SOURCE,
dynamic linker stuff, Glibc-specific CFLAGS, etc.

>    c) in order to know about things tied to particular userland programs
>       or conventions (like the 'make' program's flavour, or the installation
>       location of man pages etc)?

A few do that. That I can remeber right now, e2fsprogs uses it to determine
wether the fsck wrapper should be built. And both e2fsprogs and Ncurses to
determine the installation prefix.

-- 
Robert Millan

"[..] but the delight and pride of Aule is in the deed of making, and in the
thing made, and neither in possession nor in his own mastery; wherefore he
gives and hoards not, and is free from care, passing ever on to some new work."

 -- J.R.R.T, Ainulindale (Silmarillion)