[gnuastro-devel] [task #14001] Check if libraries are reachable in LD_LIBRARY_PATH at configure time

[Mohammad Akhlaghi]

URL:
  <http://savannah.gnu.org/task/?14001>

                 Summary: Check if libraries are reachable in LD_LIBRARY_PATH
at configure time
                 Project: GNU Astronomy Utilities
            Submitted by: makhlaghi
            Submitted on: Thu 19 May 2016 01:33:08 PM JST
         Should Start On: Thu 19 May 2016 12:00:00 AM JST
   Should be Finished on: Thu 19 May 2016 12:00:00 AM JST
                Category: Installation
                Priority: 7 - High
              Item Group: Enhancement
                  Status: Postponed
                 Privacy: Public
        Percent Complete: 0%
             Assigned to: None
             Open/Closed: Open
         Discussion Lock: Any
                  Effort: 0.00

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Details:

A very common problem that new users have is that they have installed the
necessary dependencies (CFITSIO, WCSLIB, and GSL) in `/usr/local/lib',
however, this directory is not in their LD_LIBRARY_PATH. I am not sure how,
but it it seems the ./configure script uses that directory when it is checking
the libraries. So they can successfully ./configure and make Gnuastro. 

But when they run `make check', only the first test passes, all the rest fail
because the utilities can't find their dependencies (which are installed in
`/usr/local/lib') in LD_LIBRARY_PATH. The first test in `make check' is
actually not a test, it just brings all the configuration files from each
program's source into a hidden `.gnuastro' directory for the rest of the tests
to use, so it passes.

To avoid this problem, we have to put a test in `configure.ac' which will
actually look into LD_LIBRARY_PATH to find the libraries. When the standard
AC_CHECK_LIB function finds the library, but it is not found in
LD_LIBRARY_PATH, then we can add a warning to the message in the end of
configure. In the warning, we will inform the user about what they should do:
add the appropriate directory to their LD_LIBRARY_PATH. 

It would also be great if we can specify exactly which directory they should
add and instruct them to read the "Installation directory" section of the
manual for details on adding them. 




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