Automating the package configure script errors
 

Hi everyone,
Need help in doing a tedious thing and no idea how to achieve this. The thing I am after is Makefile which generates after ./configure script runs successfully. Now the thing is when
we run the `configure` script it may get stuck because of lots of reasons like needs mandatory options to pass with configure,
library/header file is missing, etc. So I want to automate this problems as far as I can. As I am not installing the package so apt-get/yum won't hold here for me.

So what should be your suggestions on achieving this. Should I study the configure script and the sample Makefile's inside the package
Thank you.

What package are you trying to install?

Are you trying to make your own package from your own software? Read a good tutorial on the automake process.

Are you trying to modify another package? Read a good tutorial on the auto make process.

Most people don't edit the ./configure script by hand for complicated programs. You edit other files and rerun autoconf. Many simple programs often don't even have a ./configure script because a simple Makefile is good enough. Sometimes the ./configure script is a completely customized thing that wasn't created by the automake process.

No, I am just downloading packages from internet like amanda, bacula, emacs, chkconfig and trying to run ./configure from my program to get the Makefile. Now say amanda it's gives compilation error to pass the option --with-user=USER .. another package may say lib6...so.6 is missing.
Now through my program I want to automatically resolve these issues cause I need to run configure successfully to get the `Makefile` which is I am mainly after.
From the exit status I can know that configure failed but how to know for what it failed. Say even if I parse the config.log and see that its asking for --with-user parameter but in some other package it will ask for something else may be a library file. Thats the problem.

Thanks.

Automation methods : 1) RPM systems : rpmbuild -bb <app>.spec :
The missing 'Buildrequires' will be listed.

2) Debian systems : a) apt-get build-dep <source-name>
..... will install all dependencies.
b) apt-get -b <source-name>=<version> : Will build the packages.
Example : http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...-deb-855498/#2


Sometimes plain "configure" can be used. Most often some options are required.
And then there are the other "ten" build system : No 'configure'.
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...rce-826421/#10

It is also possible to write an automation script for every application.
Example : ftp://ftp.astro.rug.nl/gipsy/gipsy_install.csh
..

All I have is a source file like amanda-2.5.1p2.tar.gz and after untar it I am running the configure script of that through my tool and If error comes I have to handle by my tool to resolve that automatically. I am also looking into your links too.