ncurses-5.3 configure error - fails sanity check
 

Ok, movin' right along.

I get to the ncurses-5.3 installation in chapter 6. And I do the
./configure --prefix=/usr --with-shared

And, as usual, a bunch of stuff starts scrolling off the screen.
Then I get:
.
.
checking for stdbool.h... yes
checking for builtin bool type... no
checking how to run the C++ preprocessor... /lib/cpp
configure: error: C++ preprocessor "/lib/cpp" fails sanity check

How did cpp become insane here?

I searched on www.google.com/linux and found a couple of hits about this, but didn't find a solution. I don't think I missed any steps? But, maybe I did.

Thanks...

Re: ncurses-5.3 configure error - fails sanity check
 

You missed http://search.linuxfromscratch.org

Enter the error message "configure: error: C++ preprocessor "/lib/cpp" fails sanity check" as the search query and you'll get a bunch of returns. One of the cause of your error is a missing C++ compiler, probably made a mistake during chapter6-gcc where the C++ compiler was supposed to be installed.

OK, well, as someone who knows how dirty a windows registry can get, especially if you have ever had AOL installed then ran its uninstall and then looked at your registry and saw the 200 or so AOL references still in there, you know how I now feel about what I have done. ;) Well, sorta.

OK, after having already 'configured' gcc in chapter 6 and then getting to the problem in ./configure'ing ncurses, I went back and deleted the 2 directories gcc-build and gcc-3.2.1. I then repeated chapter 6.15. I assume that the intial 'configure' modified, moved, created, etc., a lot of other files. So, now I am also assuming that deleting the 2 directories and starting over will simply overwrite or ignore any files that are affected.

Anyway, after re-doing gcc, the ncurses part configured with no error. So, apparently something was amiss with my 'tree', since I stepped back through my command line entries and didn't see any typos.

So, now, hopefully, the gcc part is set and happy, and the redo didn't hose up anything that will cause more problems on down the road.

regards...

(oh, also, my search did hit a couple of those ncurses 'returns' but there were no obvious solutions in there, just that the user probably screwed up something, as you stated, "probably made a mistake during chapter6-gcc", which, of course, did repeat the definition of my problem.)
:D

Edit: And thanks for pointing me to the problem as being in the chapter 6 gcc. That was where the problem occurred after all.

I'm getting the same thing except I don't get the fault fixed after re-building gcc...

It seems g++ is not installed either. Perhaps there is something wrong with my gcc build / install. Am I correct in saying the gcc-g++-3.2.1.tar.gz tarball should be expanded in the gcc-3.2.1 directory?

** later edit ***

!DOH! gcc-g++-3.2.1.tar.gz already has the gcc-3.2.1 directory inside - pwd I should have been gcc-3.2.1/.. when I un-tarred it. Sorry.