taskGNU Astronomy Utilities - Tasks: task #14001, Check if libraries are reachable...

 
 

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task #14001: Check if libraries are reachable in LD_LIBRARY_PATH at configure time

Submitter:  Mohammad Akhlaghi <makhlaghi>
Submitted:  Thu 19 May 2016 04:33:08 AM UTC
   
 
Should Start On:  Wed 18 May 2016 03:00:00 PM UTC Should be Finished on:  Wed 18 May 2016 03:00:00 PM UTC
Category:  Installation Priority:  7 - High
Item Group:  Enhancement Status:  Postponed
Privacy:  Public Assigned to:  None
Percent Complete:  0% Open/Closed:  Open
Effort:  0.00

Thu 19 May 2016 04:44:42 AM UTC, comment #1: 

This was an important issue and was noticed from the early Gnuastro tests. It is also included in the "Known issues" section of the book (after `make check'):

http://www.gnu.org/software/gnuastro/manual/html_node/Known-issues.html

However, it would be great help to the new users who still don't understand these environment variables clearly if we can set up this test at configure time.

Mohammad Akhlaghi <makhlaghi>
Group administrator
Thu 19 May 2016 04:33:08 AM UTC, original submission:  

A very common problem that new users have is that they have installed the necessary dependencies (CFITSIO, WCSLIB, and GSL) in `/usr/local/lib', however, this directory is not in their LD_LIBRARY_PATH. I am not sure how, but it it seems the ./configure script uses that directory when it is checking the libraries. So they can successfully ./configure and make Gnuastro.

But when they run `make check', only the first test passes, all the rest fail because the utilities can't find their dependencies (which are installed in `/usr/local/lib') in LD_LIBRARY_PATH. The first test in `make check' is actually not a test, it just brings all the configuration files from each program's source into a hidden `.gnuastro' directory for the rest of the tests to use, so it passes.

To avoid this problem, we have to put a test in `configure.ac' which will actually look into LD_LIBRARY_PATH to find the libraries. When the standard AC_CHECK_LIB function finds the library, but it is not found in LD_LIBRARY_PATH, then we can add a warning to the message in the end of configure. In the warning, we will inform the user about what they should do: add the appropriate directory to their LD_LIBRARY_PATH.

It would also be great if we can specify exactly which directory they should add and instruct them to read the "Installation directory" section of the manual for details on adding them.

Mohammad Akhlaghi <makhlaghi>
Group administrator

 

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