bug#54421: AM_PROG_AR and LT_INIT don't work together when using lib.exe
Hello :) Assume environment variable AR="lib.exe" and configure.ac has ``` AM_PROG_AR LT_INIT ``` Then AM_PROG_AR checks for an archiver using AC_CHECK_TOOLS. Then it detects the lib.exe interface and prefixes the AR variable with a call to ar-lib. (There's a FIXME in the code that says that overwriting is wrong). But so far so good, this works. Now LT_INIT will again look for an archiver using AC_CHECK_TOOLS (in subroutine _LT_PROG_AR). The check will discover that ac_cv_prog_AR has "lib.exe" (unprefixed!) and overwrites AR with it. So AR is correct (with ar-lib prefix) after AM_PROG_AR but LT_INIT overwrites with the unprefixed value again, causing the build the fail. I wonder why noone has reported this so far. I tend to think that lib.exe support is only really useful in combination with libtool but this then triggers the bug. Possible workarounds include: * Calling AM_PROG_AR after LT_INIT. But this will raise a warning in autoreconf telling me that I should call AM_PROG_AR before LT_INIT. * Clearing the cache value. This is what I've done for now in our project [1]. Note that here I'm careful and clear two cache variables but in in the end it's enough to clear ac_cv_prog_AR. The aforementioned FIXME mentions introducing am_AR as a cleaner way. This sounds like it fix the problem but maybe I'm overlooking something. A crude hack is to overwrite not only AR but also ac_cv_prog_AR. Best, Tim [1] https://github.com/bitcoin-core/secp256k1/pull/1084/commits/e6b8a1ca47c07b798cf45ea85e257546c4dbafc4
bug#54421: AM_PROG_AR and LT_INIT don't work together when using lib.exe
On Fri, 2023-01-13 at 05:52 +, Mike Frysinger wrote: > i think the expectation is that, if you're using libtool, then you > use libtool. Well, I *use* libtool. libtool needs some AR. I choose to use libtool.exe with the ar-lib wrapper.
bug#54421: AM_PROG_AR and LT_INIT don't work together when using lib.exe
On 13 Jan 2023 13:52, Tim Ruffing wrote: > On Fri, 2023-01-13 at 05:52 +, Mike Frysinger wrote: > > i think the expectation is that, if you're using libtool, then you > > use libtool. > > Well, I *use* libtool. libtool needs some AR. I choose to use > libtool.exe with the ar-lib wrapper. you wondered why no one has reported/noticed hits before. i gave you an explanation. what you're doing is unusual, and so far, i haven't seen an explanation as to why you're doing something unusual. so the (implicit) question still stands: why are you using Automake's archive (ar-lib) logic when libtool already provides support for doing the same thing -- creating static archives. should we fix it ? probably. is it worth the effort ? maybe not. would we accept patches from someone who wants to spend the time ? depends on the patch. -mike signature.asc Description: PGP signature
