xapian-config doesn't work with Solaris /bin/sh

[Dagobert Michelsen]

xapian-config contains bash-specific code which fails on systems where sh != bash:

build8st# bash xapian-config --ltlibs   
/opt/csw/lib/libxapian.la
build8st# sh xapian-config --ltlibs  
/opt/csw/lib/libxapian.la
build8st# Usage: grep -hblcnsviw pattern file . . .

The expansion at eval-time doesn't seem to work in the classic bourne shell.

BTW, the usage of the libtool .la-file can be difficult when the distribution policy excludes libtool-files. A standalone-solution of xapian-config without utilization of libxapian.la would IMHO be more compatible.

[Olly Betts]

It's definitely not bash-specific code (/bin/sh on my dev box isn't bash for starters, it's dash).

The problematic shell here is the Solaris one it seems. All the bourne shell implementations I found in Ubuntu jaunty handle it correctly (testing with trunk, but this code hasn't changed):

$ bash ./xapian-config --ltlibs
libxapian-1.1.la
$ dash ./xapian-config --ltlibs
libxapian-1.1.la
$ ksh ./xapian-config --ltlibs
libxapian-1.1.la
$ ksh93 ./xapian-config --ltlibs
libxapian-1.1.la
$ posh ./xapian-config --ltlibs
libxapian-1.1.la
$ mksh ./xapian-config --ltlibs
libxapian-1.1.la

I'm guessing the issue is with $1 and assigning that to a temporary variable might help. Can you try running the attached test script with Solaris /bin/sh?

We recommend installing the .la file, but if you don't xapian-config --ltlibs falls back to just giving -lxapian (preceded by a -L option if necessary) which works for dynamic linking on many platforms. If you wanted static linking to work, or your platform doesn't pull in dependent libraries automatically for dynamic libraries, then ... well, it's your policy to not install .la files, so you get to fix the resultant breakage!

Marking for 1.1.3 for now, assuming we can find a workaround easily.

[Olly Betts]

file to test using a temporary for $1

[Dagobert Michelsen]

Replying to olly:

I'm guessing the issue is with $1 and assigning that to a temporary variable might help. Can you try running the attached test script with Solaris /bin/sh?

This hangs on Solaris 8:

build8s% ./dlname-test 
Usage: grep -hblcnsviw pattern file . . .
^C
build8s% 

It recurses indefinitely:

build8s% ptree 3518
10336 /opt/csw/sbin/sshd
  371   /opt/csw/sbin/sshd -R
    373   /opt/csw/sbin/sshd -R
      375   -zsh
        2590  /bin/sh ./dlname-test
          2591  /bin/sh ./dlname-test
...

When I change the line to extract_dlname "stuff" and put dlname=abc into stuff the following files are stat'ed:

10000  17089 dlname-test   -1 /usr/bin/"$lafile"   
10000  17089 dlname-test   -1 /bin/"$lafile"       
10000  17089 dlname-test   -1 /usr/sbin/"$lafile"  
10000  17089 dlname-test   -1 /sbin/"$lafile"      
10000  17089 dlname-test   -1 /opt/csw/bin/"$lafile" 
10000  17089 dlname-test   -1 /usr/ccs/bin/"$lafile" 
10000  17089 dlname-test   -1 /opt/csw/bin/"$lafile" 
10000  17090 dlname-test   -1 /usr/bin/stuff       
10000  17090 dlname-test   -1 /bin/stuff           
10000  17090 dlname-test   -1 /usr/sbin/stuff      
10000  17090 dlname-test   -1 /sbin/stuff          
10000  17090 dlname-test   -1 /opt/csw/bin/stuff   
10000  17090 dlname-test   -1 /usr/ccs/bin/stuff   
10000  17090 dlname-test   -1 /opt/csw/bin/stuff   

I am not exactly sure what is happening here, but escaping the carret does the trick:

eval `grep \^dlname= "$lafile" 2>/dev/null`

[Dagobert Michelsen]

We recommend installing the .la file, but if you don't xapian-config --ltlibs falls back to just giving -lxapian (preceded by a -L option if necessary) which works for dynamic linking on many platforms. If you wanted static linking to work, or your platform doesn't pull in dependent libraries automatically for dynamic libraries, then ... well, it's your policy to not install .la files, so you get to fix the resultant breakage!

I get the following output after removing the .la-file:

build8xt% xapian-config  --cxxflags
-I/opt/csw/include
build8xt% xapian-config  --libs    
Usage: grep -hblcnsviw pattern file . . .
Usage: grep -hblcnsviw pattern file . . .
-L/opt/csw/lib -lxapian
build8xt% xapian-config  --ltlibs
Usage: grep -hblcnsviw pattern file . . .
/opt/csw/bin/xapian-config: Can't find libxapian.la to link against.
build8xt% xapian-config  --swigflags
-I/opt/csw/include

I'll retry compiling the bindings with this after fixing xapian-config.

[Olly Betts]

The autoconf manual says:

`^'
     Always quote `^', otherwise traditional shells such as `/bin/sh'
     on Solaris 10 treat this like `|'.

I've committed a fix to trunk as r13540 and backported for 1.0 in r13541.

This will probably also fix the issue in comment:3 - there was a second occurrence of an unquoted ^{in xapian-config.}

[Olly Betts]

Silly trac, that should be: "there was a second occurrence of an unquoted <caret> in xapian-config".

Marking as fixed, as I'm pretty certain it is. Please reopen if not.