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From: culliton@srg.af.mil (Tom Culliton x2278)
X-Mailer: SCO System V Mail (version 3.2)
To: cks@hawkwind.utcs.toronto.edu, rc@archone.tamu.edu
Subject: Re: configuration parameters
Date: Fri, 14 Feb 1992 13:01:30 -0600
Message-Id: <9202141401.aa10658@ceres.srg.af.mil>

>>  Can someone describe the GNU configure tool? Does it fall down on
>> strange machines? Does it force you to answer lots of chatty questions?
>> 
>> 	- cks

I've had many problems porting "Auto-configuring" GNU (etc.) stuff to
SCO Unix.  To the best of my knowledge their configure stuff is very
similar (if not identical to) Larry Wall's which also has problems with
SCO.  Admittedly SCO Unix is a bastard cross between a bull bitch and a
window shutter, (don't ask me what that means it's just something my
father used to say) and has various bugs, mis-features and down right
stupidity built in for our enjoyment, but there's a lot of it out here
in the real world.

For example... most auto-config packages deduce that SCO has a working
POSIX rename function.  BZZZZT!  Just try to use it on a NFS mounted
file system and watch the fun.

Hand editing make files usually works much better unless the number of
configuration options is about three or four times what rc has now.

Tom