[Devel] Silly autoconf question

[Billy Biggs]

  So, I have an app that uses freetype2, and I have an autoconf script
that tries to check for it.  This seemed pretty easy, I make sure I can
find 'freetype-config' and then make sure it's an acceptable version.

  My freetype2 code uses it like this:

    #include <ft2build.h>
    #include FT_FREETYPE_H
    #include FT_GLYPH_H

  And then I do the dirty work.

  The problem I'm having is that ft2build.h is not in the include path
returned by `freetype-config --cflags`.  On my debian install, provided
by package libfreetype6-dev 2.1.2-7, the file is
/usr/include/ft2build.h, and `freetype-config --cflags` returns
"-I/usr/include/freetype2".

  I have two bug reports from users.  One claims to run slackware, and
the file is /usr/X11R6/include/ft2build.h (and that it isn't in his
standard include path).  And yet another claims he is using RedHat 7.1,
and claims that it works fine if he uses:
#include </usr/include/freetype2/freetype/config/ftbuild.h>  In both
cases, they say this path is not returned by freetype-config --cflags.

  So, I'm a bit confused about who's at fault where, if anyone, and what
I should be doing:

  1. Shouldn't `freetype-config --cflags` include the location of
     ft2bulid.h?  Isn't that the point?
  or,
  2. Is it the packager's responsibility to put ft2build.h in the
     standard include path?  If so, does that mean that freetype2 is
     incorrectly installed on these systems?
  or even,
  3. Am I wrong for using ft2build.h as I do?  Is there something more
     modern, or better yet, something more compatible that I should be
     doing?
  and finally,
  4. Does anyone have an autoconf macro that I can use to find the right
     include paths to use in all of these cases? :)    I can start hard
     coding common paths myself, but I'd rather know what's up first..

  Many thanks,
  Billy

-- 
Billy Biggs
address@hidden