Re: [mxe-octave:dev] default-octave on hydra site

[Mike Miller]

On Sat, Jul 23, 2016 at 15:55:59 +0900, Tatsuro MATSUOKA wrote:
> If mxe-octave is configured with --enable-octave=default, mxe-octave is set 
> to build default branched source.
> If one did not make tar ball by oneself, the mxe-octave will download default 
> branch source from the hydra site
> 
> http://hydra.nixos.org/job/gnu/octave-default/tarball/latest/download
> 
> 
> However, this tar ball has two demerits:
> 
> 1. It is not the latest. (Some delays always happen.)
> 2. Contents of the file HD-ID is "unknown" and ChangeLog is empty so that 
>    one cannot know to which commit is applied to the source tree.
> 
> Of course, as is written in the wiki about mxe build,
> 
> http://wiki.octave.org/Windows_Installer#Step_2:_To_build_your_first_Octave-for_Windows_development_version:
> 
> It is better to build octave on Unix family (linux etcs.) and make tar ball 
> by make dist.
> 
> The tar ball using this procedure has not unknown HD-ID and not empty 
> ChangeLog.
> 
> 
> Perhaps the procedure that the mxe-octave downloads tar ball 
> from hydra site when octave-x.x.x+.tar.gz does not exist in the pkg directory
> is considered to be users' convenient.
> However, demerit is not so small, I think.
> 
> In my opinion, it is better that use of tarball from hydra site will be 
> optional.

I agree with your assessment of the problems with the source
distribution from hydra.

I don't know if it's possible, but maybe mxe-octave could be changed to
just report an error if the user tries to build default-octave and there
is no tarball.

-- 
mike