Re: why is gtk install so difficult?

[Michael Torrie <torriem chem byu edu>]

On Tue, 2003-10-21 at 20:37, Ruben Safir Secretary NYLXS wrote:
> > 
> > If you don't know whether, or where, it's installed, and you don't know how
> > to find out, you shouldn't be messing with source installs. You're likely to
> > break things.
> > 
> 
> That's one opinion, but not a good one.

There is a huge difference between building an app from source using
available system libraries and building a system library.  The
dependency chains alone dictate that you *must* know what you're doing
before you do it.  

> 
> Why not show him how to find them?

I'm afraid that having a configure script search all over hell for a
library (which may or may be the right library) leads exactly to the
situation that we all would like to avoid where we have complete DLL
hell with the same .dll (but different compiles, glitches, etc) existing
in several places.  This would be analogous to the DLL hell that
currently exists on windows.  Also just because a DLL is on the system
doesn't mean the linker is going to look at it.  How do you propose to
solve the problems that will erupt when user's can figure out why the
linker isn't seeing their special dll in nonstandard location X.  Just
because the configure script and the compiler find it doesn't mean the
linker will (or should).

Furthermore, at the very least you should never look for shared
libraries that are outside the scope of the linker's search path.  To do
so would be disasterous, resulting in further error messages and end
user confusion.


-- 
Michael Torrie <torriem chem byu edu>