build problem when building to non /usr/local locations about tcpdump

[infrastation]

The reported issue is still the case (I cannot tell if this is not the intended behaviour though).

[fxlb]

Should we close this issue ?
Version 3.7.2 is rather old (2003).

[guyharris]

It still seems to work that way - I built with --prefix=/tmp/install and it neither used -I /tmp/install/include nor -L /tmp/install/lib.

[guyharris]

For what it's worth, the GNU Coding Standards say, in the Variables for Installation Directories section:

Running ‘make install’ with a different value of prefix from the one used to build the program should not recompile the program.

If the intent is that prefix controls the location in which to search for header files and libraries, that seems to me to be inconsistent with "changing prefix shouldn't cause the program to be recompiled".

In addition, in the "Optional Features" section of the autoconf manual, it says

For packages that use the X Window System, configure can usually find the X include and library files automatically, but if it doesn't, you can use the configure options --x-includes=dir and --x-libraries=dir to specify their locations.

which also suggests that --prefix= may not be the way to say where to search for headers and libraries.

And if a particular package required by a program is installed in an unusual place - a place other than where the program itself should be installed - having --prefix affect where the script and the build process search for header files and libraries won't help.

So I'm not sure that changing the script so that --prefix affects where to search for libraries and headers is the right thing to do. Setting CFLAGS and LDFLAGS environment variables, with CFLAGS having a -I flag and LDFLAGS having a -L flag, when running the configure script will cause header files and libraries to be searched for in the specified directories.

[mcr]

Guy Harris <[email protected]> wrote: So I'm not sure that changing the script so that --prefix affects where to search for libraries and headers is the right thing to do. Setting CFLAGS and LDFLAGS environment variables, with CFLAGS having a -I flag and LDFLAGS having a -L flag, when running the configure script will cause header files and libraries to be searched for in the specified directories. I concur. It's very annoying if "sudo make install" causes a recompile. I rather think it should just fail. So I don't want any recompiles there.

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-- ] Never tell me the odds! | ipv6 mesh networks [ ] Michael Richardson, Sandelman Software Works | network architect [ ] [email protected] http://www.sandelman.ca/ | ruby on rails [

[fxlb]

So I'm not sure that changing the script so that --prefix affects where to search for libraries and headers is the right thing to do. Setting CFLAGS and LDFLAGS environment variables, with CFLAGS having a -I flag and LDFLAGS having a -L flag, when running the configure script will cause header files and libraries to be searched for in the specified directories.

Totally agree.

[guyharris]

Close it, then?

[fxlb]

Yes, done.