Julian Foad wrote:
> Michael Sweet wrote:
>>
>> If the assumption is that users normally want a dynamic module
>> instead of a static build, then what does it hurt to display a
>> warning message or hint at the end, just as you already do for
>> Berkeley DB (the warning message will appear even if I use
>> --without-berkeley-db...) I'm not talking about creating something
>> as annoying as "clippy", just checking for common configuration
>> errors and letting the user know about it.
>
> Thanks for pointing out the Berkeley DB warning. Warning the user that we
> couldn't find something they explicitly asked to be omitted is a bug,
> because
> it makes the user doubt whether their "--without" option has been
> recognised
> properly, and then casts doubt on the pertinence of all other warnings we
> print.
>
> However, you now say "warning or hint" and hints would be OK for both.
> So, instead of (paraphrasing):
>
> $ configure --without-berkeley-db
> [...]
> Warning: could not find Berkeley DB.
> You can get it from SleepyCat.com.
>
> this would be much better:
>
> $ configure --without-berkeley-db
> [...]
> Configured to build the following repository back-ends:
> FSFS: yes
> BDB: no
>
> A hint about Apache modules could go something like this:
>
> $ configure --with-apache
> [...]
> Configured to build the following Apache modules:
> static (for building Apache from source): yes
> dynamic (for loading into Apache at run time): no
>
> My example hint text is poor, but my point is to give the user a hint
> about whether they're getting what they want, without printing something
> like:
>
> Warning: you have asked to build static modules;
> most people don't want to do this.
>
> which will irritate the people who do want to do it.
+1 (not that I have a vote)
Your proposed change is both clear and concise.
I would keep the "--help" text and configure results/summary text
consistent, so for the above examples I would use:
Configured to build the following repository back-ends:
FSFS: yes
BDB (Berkeley DB): no
Configured to build the following Apache modules:
Static (build in Apache source directory): yes
Shared (build using apxs tool): no
--
______________________________________________________________________
Michael Sweet, Easy Software Products mike at easysw dot com
Internet Printing and Document Software http://www.easysw.com
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Received on Tue Oct 11 16:59:51 2005