Re: A patch for configure

[Ian Lance Taylor <ian at zembu dot com>]

   Date: Thu, 18 May 2000 15:33:00 -0700
   From: "H . J . Lu" <hjl@lucon.org>

   >    I'd like to install this patch. Without it, cross compiling may
   >    fail due to the way gcc uses to find binutils.
   > 
   >    20000-05-18  H.J. Lu  (hjl@gnu.org)
   > 
   > 	   * configure: Ask to create the gcc directory for cross
   > 	   compiling if necessary.
   > 
   > This patch makes no sense to me.  As far as I can tell, your patch
   > will prevent me from configuring a cross-toolchain unless I first
   > install gcc.  I often build cross-toolchains and simply run them from
   > the build directory without ever installing them.  Your patch would
   > prevent me from even configuring such a toolchain.  What's the point
   > of that?

   It checks

   [ x${gcc_version} != x -a ! -d ${prefix}/lib/gcc-lib/${target_alias}/${gcc_version} ]

   If you don't have the gcc source in your souce tree directory, it
   shouldn't do anything. If it does, it is a bug. If you can show me
   how to reproduce it, I will fix it.

I do have gcc in my source tree.  I'm building an entire toolchain.
I'm just not installing it.  This works fine with the appropriate -B
options.

   > What problem are you trying to solve?  I can only guess that you are
   > trying to solve the problem of an uninstalled gcc trying to find an
   > installed binutils.  That problem relates to gcc, not to the
   > binutils.  Why are you trying to fix it in the binutils?

   Because they may share the same configure.

But if I am right about the problem you are trying to solve, why not
solve it in gcc/configure.in?

Ian