Re: Outdated GNU config (config.{sub,guess}) and autotools-dev

[Alexandre Duret-Lutz <duret_g@lrde.epita.fr>]

[...]

> ./configure --host=$(DEB_HOST_GNU_TYPE)

>From a ./configure point of view, this look like requesting a
cross-compilation from $build (say i585-pc-linux) to $host (here
i386-pc-linux) because they are different.  
Newer configures (Autoconf >= 2.50) will warn about this.

Probably you want to use something like:

  ./configure --build=$(DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE) --host=$(DEB_HOST_GNU_TYPE)

where $(DEB_BUILD_GNU_TYPE) and $(DEB_HOST_GNU_TYPE) are
expected to be the same unless you are cross compiling.

Here is how the Autoconf manual reads:

| `--build=BUILD-TYPE'
|      the type of system on which the package is being configured and
|      compiled.
| 
| `--host=HOST-TYPE'
|      the type of system on which the package will run.
[...]
|    They all default to the result of running `config.guess', unless you
| specify either `--build' or `--host'.  In this case, the default
| becomes the system type you specified.  If you specify both, and
| they're different, `configure' will enter cross compilation mode, so it
| won't run any tests that require execution.
| 
|    Hint: if you mean to override the result of `config.guess', prefer
| `--build' over `--host'.  In the future, `--host' will not override the
| name of the build system type.  Also, if you specify `--host', but not
| `--build', when `configure' performs the first compiler test it will
| try to run an executable produced by the compiler.  If the execution
| fails, it will enter cross-compilation mode.  Note, however, that it
| won't guess the build-system type, since this may require running test
| programs.  Moreover, by the time the compiler test is performed, it may
| be too late to modify the build-system type: other tests may have
| already been performed.  Therefore, whenever you specify `--host', be
| sure to specify `--build' too.
-- 
Alexandre Duret-Lutz