Re: [libksd-devel] Looking to the future ...

[David S. <xe...@ne...>]

Andrew Sterling Hanenkamp wrote:
> I just downloaded the newest version of libksd and tried to compile 
> it--using spare time I should be using for my final projects and 
> sleeping! ;)  I had problems with autogen.sh so I got the latest 
> automake (1.5), autoconf (2.52), and libtool (1.4.2) and I still have 
> issues--albeit different ones.  

First of all, by "newest" are you refering to the CVS or the release?? 
For the release version, you do not need to run autogen.sh or have the 
any autotools at all!!  What are your problems specifically??  I have 
run the build system on many different systems with different 
distributions and had success with them all.  I suspect that your 
problems are system specific and if you give me the details I will try 
to provide a fix that accounts for a system like yours.  (In fact, I 
wish that everyone who tried to compile libksd sent me a description of 
their problems because I don't have access to an infinite number of 
set-ups).

> I do believe the build system must be
> simplified and fixed.  I mean no disrespect and am speaking as one with 
> little experience in these tools.  

The build system *has* been greatly simplified in the past two releases, 
to the point where I am satistfied with its design.

> However, I have on more than one
> occasion gone looking for another project to work on similar to this one 
> because of how cruddy the build system has treated me.  This is a show 
> stopper, in my opinion.  

Agreed.  But if it works fine with all my testing, how do I know what to 
fix??  More testing, on wider variety of systems is necessary!

> Must we require such particular versions of
> these build tools?  The build system shouldn't need to be so specific 
> for building to work properly.

The version requirements only affect those who build from CVS, aka the 
developers.  And the build system has been greatly cleaned up, due to 
these new versions.  In libksd 0.0.1 and 0.0.2 I had to do a number of 
complicated hacks to make up for missing functionality in libtool. 
Mainly, libtool could not link a libtool library to another libtool 
library (a very very big deal when considering libksd's modular design).

Soon, these versions of the autotools will be standard in all majors 
distributions anyway.  In my opinion, it is better to use the cleaner 
design and let the world catch up to us, than to cator to old inferior 
software, just because most people have it.
	-- David Snopek

/-- libksd --
| The C++ Cross-Platform Game Framework
| Only want to write it once??
| http://libksd.sourceforge.net
\------------