Re: pkg-config wisdom

[Andrew W. Nosenko]

On Fri, Oct 23, 2009 at 00:50, Alfred M. Szmidt <address@hidden> wrote:
> The way is to simply not use pkg-config, and use AC_CHECK_* functions
> to find what is needed; and let the user specify where/what, using
> *FLAGS.

Can I ask hard to me and seems easy to you question:
how I can detect using AC_CHECK_*  2nd, 3rd etc libraries, which need
to resolve symbols in 1st layer library?  For example, I want to link
libxml2.  How I should to obtain LDFLAGS, which would to statisfy
libxml2 link needs?  Whether I need to add -lzlib?  -lpthread?  Or
just -pthread (no library but C compiler flag)?  How using AC_CHECK_*
I can guess _preprocessor_ flags?  (Hint -D_REENTRANT, IIRC)?  How
using the same, or any another check I can guess name of library if
package maintainer changed it for strong for he, but absolutely
unpredictable for me way and reason?  (Hint SleepyCat's Berkeley DB
v4.1 has official name libdb-4.1 from author's (sleepycat) point of
view, but FreeBSD port maintaner(s) decided to rename it to libdb41.
How I can to read his minds?????  How I can to guess that someone
doesn't like characters '-' and '.' so strong that decide to break
compatibility with upstream????)

And please, don't say about "Linux has interlibrary dependency for
shared libraries".  First at all, not all libraries are shared (even
under Linux).  Second, Linux is not only one flavor of Unix.  Third,
sometime developers are forced to use OS'es different from Unix at
all.  And forth, recall the CPPFLAFS!

-- 
Andrew W. Nosenko <address@hidden>