Re: [Axiom-developer] Axiom does not configure/build on OpenBSD

[root]

Henry,

>  Axiom fail to configure and build on OpenBSD.

Yes, that's true. In fact at the moment Axiom will not build on any
of the BSD systems.

>  AFAIK, OpenBSD would have all the requirements, with the exception of
> GCL, which is a Lisp build from C code (so it should be no problem
> /and/ its included in Axiom anyways): gcc, GNUMake, etc. It's even
> possible to have Linux emulation (with RedHat 8.0 binaries, as of now,
> or FreeBSD 4.0 library emulation).

Well, there is no such thing as a simple job. It only takes one simple
difference to stop the build which consists of thousands of steps. Even
a 1 character difference in a file (SIGCHLD vs SIGCLD) causes the build
to fail. 

>  I'm not yet a good Unix, just a newbie, but from what I've seen, you
> make too much assumptions about a Linux system, instead of just
> assuming Unix (a bigger set, include Linux).

Since I don't have a BSD system I can use I'm working blind and
depend on others for fixes.

>  Why does the configure script, for instance, bork with a Unix that's
> not one of those included? I don't see anything in the Makefile that
> implies that using system() is a necessary condition. I might be
> wrong, though :-)

The configure script is written to figure out options on systems where
Axiom can run. It is a hard problem to write system-dependent code (such
as figuring out the system name, version, and release) on a system that
Axiom has never seen.

>  I would like to help having Axiom on yet-another-open-source-unix, a
> BSD at least. I like OpenBSD. It's a very secure system, very well
> programmed (fewer mistakes in C than average) and it's growing in
> packages and ports of applications. What can I do to help?

There are 3 people who have expressed an interest in *BSD systems:
Chuck Miller <address@hidden>  (BSD on the MAC OSX)
Pierre Doucy <address@hidden> (BSD on the MAC OSX)
Mark Murray  <address@hidden>       (FreeBSD)

Visit http://arch.axiom-developer.org, follow the instructions under
"If you need write access to the archive" (toward the bottom of the page)
and become an active developer.

If you don't want to be a developer you can help by trying to build Axiom,
sending the failing console output to this list, and either suggesting
fixes or testing fixes I suggest. This effectvely makes you my remote
hand and eyes. It's a slow process and requires a lot of patience but it
is still an effective way to work. 

You can also be very effective by posting good bug reports on IssueTracker
http://page.axiom-developer.org/zope/mathaction/IssueTracker

Mark Murray has sent me a whole set of changes for FreeBSD, most of which
I have merged into the version of the system planned for the May target.
The hope is to get the system able to build on FreeBSD by then. 

Tim