RE: [Caml-list] Flexdll circular dependency fix uses system provided flexdll.h [was: opam-cross-windows]

[David Allsopp <dra-news@metastack.com>]

Michael Soegtrop wrote:
> Dear David,
> 
> > I'm not convinced this is a fundamental flaw - I think it more likely
> > that you have an existing flexlink in PATH, which will cause
> > config/Makefile to pick up the wrong include directory. I think it
> > likely if you study the failing command during make -f Makefile.nt opt
> you will see a -I pointing to your PATH'd flexlink.exe directory.
> 
> I have no system installation of flexdll. The compilation fails in my
> case, because there is no flexdll.h at all, except the one in the flexdll
> folder of ocaml. The only -I option when win32.c is compiled in asmrun is
> -I../byterun.

Something weird is going on - you should not be seeing that! As https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/blob/trunk/asmrun/Makefile.nt#L71-L74 states, there should definitely not be -I../byterun and there should be $(IFLEXDIR) which, as long as no system flexlink.exe is found, should be -I../flexdll.

What's your precise sequence of commands (right from untarring or git clone)? Is this from a git clone or a released tarball?

> Does the flexdll make in ocamlc a local build of flexdll, or does it
> install flexdll somewhere globally? In the first case I think a -
> I../flexdll is missing, in the second case I guess I might miss some
> install prefixes.
> 
> > A git clone of trunk will use the version of flexdll configured at the
> time - that's how git submodules > work (because it stores a commit SHA,
> not a branch).
> 
> Does this also work if I get the ocaml sources as a tar ball rather than
> via a git clone?

No, you'd need either to get a specific sources tarball or checkout the correct commit after cloning the *flexdll* repository. I agree that in future it should state the version - however, it doesn't at the moment because you need "0.35" (i.e. master) which isn't actually released (hence the instruction to use a git clone).

Relatedly, my work packaging it all up with native Windows OPAM does install the version of flexdll which was current at the time of release (see https://github.com/dra27/opam-repository/blob/next-windows/packages/ocaml/ocaml.4.03.0/opam#L7 vs https://github.com/dra27/opam-repository/blob/next-windows/packages/ocaml/ocaml.4.02.0/opam#L7, for example)


David