Re: LYNX-DEV USE_EXTERNALS

[David Combs]

I don't even know what this thing is,
USE_EXTERNALS, but if there is no DISADVANTAGE
to having it, then please just stick it in
for EVERYONE.

Why?  Because there are those of us who
use lynx via shell acct on an ISP, and
don't have the disk space for our own
copy -- we have to use whatever is provided --
and of course have no control over how that
is COMPILED....

> From address@hidden Mon Dec  8 03:10:46 1997
> Date: Mon, 8 Dec 1997 04:26:23 -0500
> From: Jan Hlavacek <address@hidden>
> 
> On Sun, Dec 07, 1997 at 05:17:38PM -0500, Larry W. Virden, x2487 wrote:
> > 
> > I was wondering if anyone planned on adding a bit more support to the
> > USE_EXTERNALS capability of Lynx.  Right now it is only compiled in
> > if the user hand edits an include file to indicate it - and the
> 
> You can allways set the $CFLAGS environment variable before runnig configure,
> but it doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere.
> 
> > symbol isn't mentioned in userdefs.h, where one normally does that
> > type of thing.  There doesn't appear to be any mention of the
> > variable or the interface in any of the html or man pages.  The only
> 
> I second this.  I learned about existence of externals only when editing
> lynx.cfg,  and even there there is no mention of the fact that it works only
> when lynx is compiled with -DUSE_EXTERNALS.  I had to search changes file to
> find out.  I don't know how many sysadmins are going to do that when
> installing lynx on their systems.
> 
> I suggest:
> 
> 1) adding a line or two in lynx.cfg about it,  something similar as for
>    LONG_LIST or EXP_CHARTRANS.
> 
> 2) add USE_EXTERNALS either into userdefs.h or docs/README.defines.  In the
>    later case,  add a line to INSTALLATION about reading the
>    docs/README.defines before running configure.
> 
> 3) possibly creating a configure option,  something like --enable-externals.
>    Add something like this in configure.in:
> 
>    AC_MSG_CHECKING(if EXTERNALs should be used)
>    AC_ARG_ENABLE(externals, [  --enable-externals enable use of EXTERNAL
>    command in lynx.cfg], [AC_DEFINE(USE_EXTERNALS)])
>    AC_MSG_RESULT($enableval)
> 
> -- 
> Jan Hlav\'{a}\v{c}ek
> address@hidden  (Blind Carbon Copies will bounce)
> www: http://www.math.ohio-state.edu/~lahvak/
> 
>