Re: [matplotlib-devel] autoconf+python

[Benjamin R. <ben...@ou...>]

On Mon, Jan 7, 2013 at 12:11 PM, Thomas Kluyver <th...@kl...>wrote:

> On 7 January 2013 16:57, Benjamin Root <ben...@ou...> wrote:
>
>> I was just reading some comments from Richard Stallman on ./ when I
>> noticed that he pointed out a useful autoconf feature that was added
>> somewhat recently.  Essentially, this feature would allow one to do a
>> build/install of a python module using the "./configure; make install"
>> approach, if one chooses.  Maybe it should be something to consider adding
>> to our build system?
>
>
> My 2 cents: I took over the maintenance of a Python project built by
> autotools. The build system felt more complex than the actual application -
> a fantastic world of .am files generating .in files generating Makefiles,
> which themselves were packed with abstractions. I had little idea how to
> change anything in the build process, and before long I ripped it out in
> favour of setup.py, despite all distutils' flaws.
>
> I'm sure that's more a question of my experience than of autotools, but
> I'd think twice before adding it to a project.
>
> Best wishes,
> Thomas
>
>
That's a very good point.  I certainly don't want to add significant
complexity to our build system.  We certainly have enough of it as-is.  I
was hoping that there was a way to complement our setup.py approach.  In
other words, "python setup.py install" would be our primary means of
build/install, while allowing for "make install" as an alternative.  I have
yet to actually look into how this current autoconf feature would work and
if that is even possible.

Ben Root