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Re: srcdir == objdir build issues [SC take note]
DJ Delorie <dj@delorie.com> writes:
> > Did anybody not like this approach? I was surprised this did not go in.
>
> I had misgivings about a setup where you tell the software to do one
> thing, and it does something completely different. It also added a
> maintenance headache for the "synthetic" top-level Makefile, since
> every target in the real Makefile would have to be replicated (and
> maintained - for ever). It's far easier to just tell the user to
> build elsewhere.
For what it's worth, I agree.
Personally, I think the only reasonable choices are:
1) Have ./configure work in the expected and normal fashion; that is,
put .o files next to the .c files, and only create new
subdirectories for unusual cases like multilib. This obviously
requires regular testing, which is simple, and a commitment to keep
it working, which is harder but should be doable.
or
2) Have ./configure simply fail with an error message directing the
user to acquire GNU make and build in a different directory.
I think that having ./configure do something else is an increase in
complexity for no clear benefit. I believe the point of having
./configure work is to make gcc behave like most other programs. That
is, I think the goal ``./configure must work'' is incomplete. The
right goal is ``./configure must behave as expected.'' Either
implement that goal, or have it fail in an obvious and straightforward
fashion.
Ian