[gnutls-dev] Guile related 'make install' failure

[Ludovic Courtès]

Hi,

Simon Josefsson <simon at josefsson.org> writes:

> Right, it is the same problem as for perl, python, emacs etc and other
> similar systems that use a local package repository.  I think the best
> we can do is to offer these options:
>
> 1: Install GnuTLS guile bindings under our $prefix, and ask users to put
> the directory in their load-path.
>
> 2: Ask users to configure using
> --with-guile-site-dir=/usr/share/guile/site and getting the proper
> rights to that directory.

The idea of having something that purposefully fails by default seems
questionable.  :-)

> 3: Ask users to build using --prefix=/usr

Why?  Isn't it equivalent to removing the `--prefix' option altogether?

> 4: Ask users to get their package built from some distribution that does
> the right thing (--prefix=/usr).
>
> The majority of users will do #4

Fortunately...  ;-)

> Do you think we could add something about this to the manual?  How would
> a user append the load-path in Guile?  There is no 'load-path'
> variable...  Maybe an example would be useful.

It's called `%load-path':

  http://www.gnu.org/software/guile/manual/html_node/Build-Config.html

Rather than writing a Scheme snipped that modifies `%load-path', people
would rather change the `GUILE_LOAD_PATH' environment variable or add
`-L' switches to the Guile command-line.  Having to do one of these is
not convenient, though.

What I initially did was to add `--with-guile-site-dir'.  Its purpose
was two-fold:

  1. Allow `distcheck' to work, by automatically using it (through
     Automake's `DISTCHECK_CONFIGURE_FLAGS').

  2. Allow users who really don't want to install to `$(GUILE_SITE)' and
     who know what they are doing to specify another installation
     directory.

Doesn't it seem reasonable?  Perhaps `--with-guile-site-dir' should be
mentioned in the manual?

> Generally, I think it would be nice if Guile was changed to look into
> /usr/local/share/guile/site as well.

Hmm, not sure if that would help much.  And then why not
`/opt/guile/site' as well, or `/gnu/guile/site', etc.?

Thanks,
Ludovic.