227078 - build should not require File::Spec version 0.8

Status: RESOLVED FIXED

(SeaMonkey :: Build Config, defect)

Description

[David Baron :dbaron: (⌚️UTC-4, no longer working on Mozilla)]

The build should not require File::Spec version 0.8.  It has proven to be a pain
and there's no good reason why we need it.  See bug 184182 and bug 224557.

I think we should remove this requirement for 1.6b, either by fixing the XUL
preprocessor (as in the patch in bug 184182) or by not using it in Seamonkey
until the XUL preprocessor is fixed.

Comment 1

[Hixie (not reading bugmail)]

I have to admit being confused as to why you wouldn't have File::Spec 0.8. All
the machines I use have File::Spec versions greater than 0.8. Heck even
DreamHost has File:Spec 0.83, and DreamHost are notorious for being slow to
update, and they use Debian, who are themselves notorious for being years behind
the rest of the world. And they've had it for a good year. Machines without
File::Spec 0.8 or higher really ought to join us in the 21st century.

I personally can't do much about this since I can't actually find a machine that
_doesn't_ have File::Spec 0.8 or above, so I couldn't test a patch that made us
not dependent on 0.8. Someone wrote a patch for this in one of the bugs, but
they didn't respond to my review question.

Comment 2

[David Baron :dbaron: (⌚️UTC-4, no longer working on Mozilla)]

So take that patch, modify it so you're happy with it, and assume it still
doesn't require 0.8.

It's not hard.  It should take you about an hour to do it and get it reviewed,
super-reviewed, and checked in, which is less time than I spent upgrading the
tinderboxes that needed the upgrade.  Never mind all the time this will force
people to spend who want to build the 1.6 release.

There are good reasons to upgrade the build requirements, but "I'm too lazy to
spend a few minutes fixing up a patch and getting it checked in" isn't one of them.

Comment 3

[David Baron :dbaron: (⌚️UTC-4, no longer working on Mozilla)]

(Note that Hixie wasn't the one responsible for foisting this build requirement
change on Seamonkey, and the people I'm really annoyed at are those who did.)

Comment 4

[Hixie (not reading bugmail)]

I don't understand the change that I asked about in the patch, and I have a
feeling that it is required to not depend on 0.8, although I have no way of
verifying this. Hence my reluctance to accept it or check it or a variant in
myself. Trying to work out what changes would be needed without any more than
the module's changelog would take time, and at the moment I do not have cycles
to spend on it. Sorry.

(I also find it quite amusing that a tool I was writing for fun somehow ended up
requiring review, super-review, and my staying up for an hour checking
tinderboxes every time I change it.)

Comment 5

[David Baron :dbaron: (⌚️UTC-4, no longer working on Mozilla)]

Axel, can you do what's necessary to get this in?

Comment 6

[Axel Hecht]

My phd defense is on next monday, and I don't have perl versions ancient enough
at my disposal, sorry.
Well, I have a perl5.00503, but that doesn't seem to have File:Spec:Unix, though
it has a (empty) dir File/Spec. No idea why that would be, it could be the admins 
of that machine.
Doesn't seem like I could review
http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/attachment.cgi?id=129428&action=edit, either.
Sebastion (or Alan?) should prolly answer Hixie's question.

Comment 7

[Asa Dotzler [:asa]]

moving nomination to 1.6 final. Not going to hold beta for this. 

Comment 8

[jon rekai]

Attachment: patch to remove File::Spec 0.8

This patch was created/tested on a FreeBSD 4.9 system with perl 5.005_03 and
File::Spec 0.6.

Each of the FreeBSD ports patches for Mozilla and Firebird and
<http://bugzilla.mozilla.org/attachment.cgi?id=129428&action=view> is in itself
inadequate.

This one's a bit more thorough, and some attention was given to making the
paste job look not so awful:)

Comment 9

[Hixie (not reading bugmail)]

Looks good. I'll look at this in more detail ASAP.

Comment 10

[chris hofmann]

need to make a call in this 1.6 very soon...

Comment 11

[Hixie (not reading bugmail)]

Attachment: minor changes from attachment 138256 to fit the local style more

Comment 12

[Hixie (not reading bugmail)]

(r/sr from dbaron would be fine too)

Comment 13

[Asa Dotzler [:asa]]

Comment on attachment 138659 [details] [diff] [review]
minor changes from attachment 138256 [details] [diff] [review] to fit the local style more

a=asa (on behalf of drivers) for checkin to 1.6

Comment 14

[chris hofmann]

ok, lets get this in quickly if we are going to do it for 1.6...  who can do the
deed?

Comment 15

[Hixie (not reading bugmail)]

This is now in on the trunk. Someone with a 1.6 branch should do the branch
checkin, I don't have a tree. (I have a very localised checkout of just the
preprocessor.pl file.)

Marking FIXED for the trunk.

Comment 16

[David Baron :dbaron: (⌚️UTC-4, no longer working on Mozilla)]

Checked in to 1.6 branch.

Comment 17

[Hixie (not reading bugmail)]

This broke ActiveState builds (see bug 232002). I have no idea why. Unless we
can work out why, I intend to back this change out.