Corrections to the "Install from Source Code" section of the Sage Installation Guide

[drkirkby]

#11081 added a number of changes to the section of the Sage Installation Guide dealing with building from source code.

Despite correcting a large number of errors in the previous version of the manual, some further changes are needed:

1. The manual stated GNU tar is needed, but BSD tar also works (at least on OS X).
2. We should clearly state that gcc 4.6.0 is not yet supported.

Depends on #11081.

---

Apply 11159.patch​, 11159-finally-fix-GNU-tar-issue.2.patch​, and 11159_review.patch​.

[drkirkby]

I'll sort this out in the next 15 minutes or so.

[drkirkby]

I messed uo the patch - will have to rebuild sage from scratch and redo it!! It will take an hour or so.

Dave

[drkirkby]

Corrects error about GNU make being required, and adds the fact gcc 4.6.0 will not build Sage

[jdemeyer]

I would drop the reference to a specific Sage version in the manual, reviewer patch added. Otherwise positive review.

[drkirkby]

My reason for stating 4.7.0 was problematic was because if someone has the latest gcc in their linux distribution, they do have the option of building Sage 4.6.2.

But I'm not too bothered either way. Let's hope we can get a fix for gcc 4.6.0 quickly. A quick Sage 4.7.1 was just the gcc-4.6.0 patches, would be quite helpful.

Dave

[drkirkby]

Replying to drkirkby:

A quick Sage 4.7.1 was just the gcc-4.6.0 patches, would be quite helpful.

Dave

I mean:

A quick Sage 4.7.1 with just the gcc-4.6.0 patches, would be quite helpful

[jhpalmieri]

Do we have a meta-ticket for gcc 4.6.0 issues? Once they're sorted out, we need to make sure to fix the installation guide accordingly.

Regarding the actual patch here, the description says something about GNU tar vs. BSD tar, but the patch discusses GNU make vs. BSD make. On my OS X box, I have GNU make and BSD tar, so is the patch saying what it's supposed to?

$ which make # (or "command -v make")
/usr/bin/make
$ make --version
GNU Make 3.81
Copyright (C) 2006  Free Software Foundation, Inc.
This is free software; see the source for copying conditions.
There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

This program built for i386-apple-darwin10.0

and

$ which tar
/usr/bin/tar
$ tar --version
bsdtar 2.6.2 - libarchive 2.6.2

I also have a program installed called "bsdmake". When I tried building Sage with export MAKE="bsdmake -j2", I got an error building boehm_gc:

...
config.status: creating tests/Makefile
config.status: creating src/config.h
config.status: executing depfiles commands
config.status: executing default commands
(null): illegal option -- -
usage: make [-BPSXeiknqrstv] [-C directory] [-D variable]
	[-d flags] [-E variable] [-f makefile] [-I directory]
	[-j max_jobs] [-m directory] [-V variable]
	[variable=value] [target ...]
make[1]: *** [all-recursive] Error 1
Error building BoehmGC.

[drkirkby]

Replying to jhpalmieri:

Do we have a meta-ticket for gcc 4.6.0 issues? Once they're sorted out, we need to make sure to fix the installation guide accordingly.

We did not, but I have just created one (#11216). I've listed all the gcc 4.6.0 issues, including the resolved ones, so we have a record. To my knowledge there were 4 issues, 3 of which have been resolved with one (Singular) outstanding. But there may be others I'm unaware of, so others should edit the description if I missed any.

The ticket I created does mention both the Wiki and the Installation Guide will need updating when these issues are resolved.

Regarding the actual patch here, the description says something about GNU tar vs. BSD tar, but the patch discusses GNU make vs. BSD make.

I was sitting in bed thinking the exact same thing. I was aware I'd put the wrong information in the patch. Still, the point about needing GNU Make on Solaris is true so I just need to add the information about 'tar'

I also have a program installed called "bsdmake". When I tried building Sage with export MAKE="bsdmake -j2", I got an error building boehm_gc:

I think it's probably true you need GNU make too,

Yes, it probably is true you need GNU make, though I think Solaris and OpenSolaris are the only systems where that version of 'make' is not the default.

I will apply a patch to correct the 'tar' issue. As such, I'm marking this as "needs work" for now.

Dave

[drkirkby]

State that on OS X, the BSD tar supplied is acceptable.

[drkirkby]

I've fixed the tar issue, so are marking this for review.

I actually think another update of this section of the Installation Guide should split up the build instructions on each platform into different sections. i.e have sections for:

• Linux
• OS X
• Solaris or OpenSolaris
• AIX
• HP-UX

Each platform has it own set of requirements, with no two platforms being exactly the same. Having different sections should cut down the amount a user needs to read.

Dave

[drkirkby]

Replying to drkirkby:

My reason for stating 4.7.0 was problematic was because if someone has the latest gcc in their linux distribution, they do have the option of building Sage 4.6.2.

That was a factually incorrect statement, as I doubt any version of Sage would build with gcc 4.6.0, so Jeroen was certainly correct to remove the comment about Sage 4.7.0.

Dave

[jdemeyer]

New reviewer patch, remove the statement that m4 is needed (I have built Sage completely from scratch on a GNU/Linux system without m4 and it worked).

[jhpalmieri]

All three patches look good to me. Dave, the comma starting line 129 in your second patch should actually be at the end of line 128; could you fix that?

[kcrisman]

Apply this instead, fixes comma

[kcrisman]

This fixes, that, and everything else looks nice in the doc.

[drkirkby]

Replying to jhpalmieri:

All three patches look good to me. Dave, the comma starting line 129 in your second patch should actually be at the end of line 128; could you fix that?

I've been beaten to that, and this is now merged.

Whilst I believe the changes have significantly improved this section of the documentation, I still believe it could be improved somewhat more. Most of the errors have been removed, but it's not wonderfully clear and a bit confusing in places. I've created a new ticket (#11237 )to make some further improvements. Feel free to make any comments on #11237.