Mailing List Archive

Re: [Q] Is perl a GNU tool?
>
>WHY????

Impatient. :)

Because stepping through tedious numbers of questions about the return
value of a function call was no fun. I was looking up each one in the
header files to make sure that the type of variable returned was indeed
what was expected by the PERL distribution.

Another example is asking me whether the machine I'm running has 4-byte
ints, etc. I don't know without looking it up.

>
>perl's Configure -d is remarkably similar.

I was afraid to use that because some questions were related to paths and
library sets which I felt needed non-default answers. I suppose that I
could have used the -d switch then gone back through the enormous list of
uncommented variables and try to figure out which variables have to do with
the parameters I want to insure. The fact that that configuration variable
file has no comments makes it difficult to determine what variable means
what. In fact, some of them are remarkable similar in appearance. I imagine
some of them are not even used.

If I think of more ambiguities I'll let you know; unless you've heard enough.

Thx,
dk

--
dks@spies.com | Performance is life, entertainment is death.
Re: [Q] Is perl a GNU tool? [ In reply to ]
On Wed, 6 Sep 1995, dk smith wrote:

> >
> >WHY????
>
> Impatient. :)
>
> Because stepping through tedious numbers of questions about the return
> value of a function call was no fun. I was looking up each one in the
> header files to make sure that the type of variable returned was indeed
> what was expected by the PERL distribution.

Here we have the first problem: it's not obvious that Configure has gone
to a deal of trouble to work out the defaults, and that the defaults are
almost definitely correct.

> Another example is asking me whether the machine I'm running has 4-byte
> ints, etc. I don't know without looking it up.

Same point.

> >
> >perl's Configure -d is remarkably similar.
>
> I was afraid to use that because some questions were related to paths and
> library sets which I felt needed non-default answers. I suppose that I
> could have used the -d switch then gone back through the enormous list of
> uncommented variables and try to figure out which variables have to do with
> the parameters I want to insure. The fact that that configuration variable
> file has no comments makes it difficult to determine what variable means
> what. In fact, some of them are remarkable similar in appearance. I imagine
> some of them are not even used.
>
> If I think of more ambiguities I'll let you know; unless you've heard enough.
>
> Thx,
> dk
>
> --
> dks@spies.com | Performance is life, entertainment is death.

How about this: a rating of questions based on importance, or likelyhood
of the default being incorrect. Some switch (maybe switched on by
default) cuts out all of the low rated questions, and just accepts the
defaults.

--
Kenneth Albanowski (kjahds@kjahds.com, CIS: 70705,126)
Re: [Q] Is perl a GNU tool? [ In reply to ]
> How about this: a rating of questions based on importance, or likelyhood
> of the default being incorrect. Some switch (maybe switched on by
> default) cuts out all of the low rated questions, and just accepts the
> defaults.

Good idea!

--Gisle
Re: [Q] Is perl a GNU tool? [ In reply to ]
On Thu, 7 Sep 1995, Tom Horsley wrote:

> >How about this: a rating of questions based on importance, or likelyhood
> >of the default being incorrect. Some switch (maybe switched on by
> >default) cuts out all of the low rated questions, and just accepts the
> >defaults.
>
> Actually, how about changing the order of the questions so that all the
> stuff you might want to configure differently (directory to install in,
> which extensions to build, with or without debugging, etc.) come very
> very early (like maybe first) in the configure process, and the other
> stuff which there will almost never be any reason to change (integer size,
> byte order, etc) comes at the end.

Yes, that's an obvious change, but unfortunately not a very feasible one.
Metaconfig is based around a tsort of the various units, and each unit
has to ascertain the default before it can ask it's questions, and that
needs previous unit's data, and that... well, it has to be in the
semi-random order that it's in right now, baring major changes to metaconfig.

> Configure could then print a message after the first chunk of stuff
> reminding you that you can now type &d to have the remaining stuff use the
> default answers which are almost certainly correct.

Going with a cutoff is more realilistic, I'm afraid. It would also be more
automatic, which is probably a good idea. The last thing we need is to add
a new question to Configure that goes: "OK, now you've finished the simple
stuff. The really tough questions are coming up. You probably won't need
to answer them, as the defaults will be fine. They only need to be changed
if your system does things really weirdly. Continue to the tough section
[n]:". That sort of thing causes exactly the lack of confidence that is
causing problems with people using Configure.

> --
> Tom.Horsley@mail.hcsc.com
> Home: 511 Kingbird Circle Delray Beach FL 33444
> Work: Harris Computers, 2101 W. Cypress Creek Rd. Ft. Lauderdale FL 33309
> Support Project Vote Smart! They need your support in non-election years too!
> (email pvs@neu.edu, 1-800-622-SMART, http://www.vote-smart.org)
>

--
Kenneth Albanowski (kjahds@kjahds.com, CIS: 70705,126)
Re: [Q] Is perl a GNU tool? [ In reply to ]
>How about this: a rating of questions based on importance, or likelyhood
>of the default being incorrect. Some switch (maybe switched on by
>default) cuts out all of the low rated questions, and just accepts the
>defaults.

Actually, how about changing the order of the questions so that all the
stuff you might want to configure differently (directory to install in,
which extensions to build, with or without debugging, etc.) come very
very early (like maybe first) in the configure process, and the other
stuff which there will almost never be any reason to change (integer size,
byte order, etc) comes at the end.

Configure could then print a message after the first chunk of stuff
reminding you that you can now type &d to have the remaining stuff use the
default answers which are almost certainly correct.

--
Tom.Horsley@mail.hcsc.com
Home: 511 Kingbird Circle Delray Beach FL 33444
Work: Harris Computers, 2101 W. Cypress Creek Rd. Ft. Lauderdale FL 33309
Support Project Vote Smart! They need your support in non-election years too!
(email pvs@neu.edu, 1-800-622-SMART, http://www.vote-smart.org)