Re: [ft-devel] PaxHeaders directories when using BSD tar

[Werner LEMBERG]

> I unpacked freetype-2.5.4 on a NetBSD 6.1.5 machine and the configure 
> script failed like this:
> 
> # MAKE=gmake ./configure
> builds/PaxHeaders.20567/detect.mk:1: *** missing separator.  Stop.
> 
> These PaxHeaders.xxx directories were created when using the
> standard BSD tar program.  When I downloaded and used GNU tar the
> build worked fine.  Can freetype be packaged using a more portable
> tar method?

More portable?  Hmm.  It is my impression that BSD in general tries to
be as much compatible to POSIX as possible, right?  I'm using GNU tar
1.26 on my openSuSE box that has been compiled with

  --format=posix -f- -b20 --quoting-style=escape --rmt-command=/usr/lib/rmt
  --rsh-command=/usr/bin/rsh

according to its `--help' output.  This implies that your tar program
isn't capable yet of handling the POSIX-1.2001 specification of the
tar format (implied by the `--format=posix' configuration option) –
given that this standard appeared 13 years ago, I rather think that
BSD tar urgently needs an update, and you should complain to the
NetBSD maintainers...

Anyways, I'll add option `-H ustar' to the tar program to use the
ancient POSIX.1-1988 standard for the next upload.


    Werner