Re: [LI] c compiler

["Shanker R Swaminathan" <CseWhiz@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: Gurunandan R. Bhat <grbhat@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <linux-india@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, November 14, 1999 2:07 PM
Subject: Re: [LI] c compiler


>
>
. In the event that you
> recompile pristine sources, all it tests is your ability to type
> "CFLAGS=XXXXXX ./configure; make install".
>

1. recompiling from the CVS is still no joke. And many cards now-as- days
come with drivers in source form , notably network drivers.There have been
occasions, when a tweak in the source of the default drivers have been
nescessary to get a card to work , there are still ISA cards around.

2. if you have managed to compile without errors ever you must be lucky
indeed. Try compiling apache 1.3.9 with mysql and php3 support as well as
mod_perl without getting an  error. The -Xlinker flag happens to be missing
in the generated makefiles. Do compile in mod_frontpage (v4) as well :The
makefile is a mess.And to run commercial servers, you need these extensions,
which are never available by default. ( You have to download them)

3. Unless you compile for your platform with whatever you want like mod_ssl-
again looking at apache, you will never get it as leaving SuSE , no
distribution ever gives you a secure server by default ( again this is an
example, you may take samba as an alternative example). Most distributions
are not mind readers , they assume a standard , it is upto you to twist
things as you see fit. Again lots of packages require post install
configuration , which a standard distribution cannot do without the risk of
becoming a complicated install procedure.

 > With *experimental* features like -O6 and pentium specific optimisations
> you are throwing yourself open to implementations that could be a major
> risk in a production environment. Remember that the "e" in egcs stands for
> experimental.

4. if you are not willing to experiment, you will be better off Linux- After
all, the open source philosophy encourages you to Strike out .BTW ,
recompile egcs with all these optimisations. It will not create a binary
which could have problems- the make will fail.

>There is one another instance where you might like to recompile from
> sources --- when binaries of the latest versions are, as yet, unavailable.
>

5. how do you intend to get features like cross compilation , which is NOT a
default option and needs a recompile of egcs. All this is just to point out
that you have to retrofit your distribution to your needs. Do not take it as
a contrived example- What if you needed to compile for a Alpha, would you
not rather recompile rather than waste telephone calls getting a precompiled
binary.



> I am afraid you would have to miss out
> on several goodies that Linux Distributions bring with them. Here are a
> few:
>
> 1) xforms
> 2) vmware
> 3) db2
> 4) adabas
> 5) staroffice
> 6) acroread
> 7) ferret
> 8) arcad
> 9) blender
> 10) eagle pcb-designer and layout router
> 11) flagship
> 12) informix
> 13) insure-c++
> 14) ixware (ERP)
> 15) mtv
> 16) neatbeans
> 17) nps
> 18) open link
> 19) sybase
> 20) ibm-viavoice
> 21) xvoice
>
> and many many other packages that do not distribute sources.

6. Just how many of these packages do you use together? Don't tell me you
want to run all possible SQL engines on one machine( Sybase and Informix ,
etc together- ). And just how many on this list have the hardware resources
to run them ,let alone VMWare . I ,with 32MB ram  cannot even dream of
trying to do any such stuff in the near future, what with the prices RAM had
recently touched. Anyway they come under the head of commercial software,
which you have to install on a as is basis. I never claimed i lay off
commercial software, I only stated, that for packages where the source is
available, it is silly not to take advantage of the options at your
disposal. I am Totally against cramming a hard disk with packages that are
only rarely , if ever used.not everyone has lots of storage space and RAM
and etc. etc.

Shanker


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