is autotools configure script multi-threaded safe?
In a typical configure script generated by autotools, you have this kind of fragment:
eval "$ac_cpp conftest.$ac_ext") 2>&5 |
tr -d 'r' |
$SED -n -e "/^boost_lib_version = /{s///;s/"//g;p;q;}" >conftest.i 2>&1
This is somewhat complicated, but what matters for my question, is roughly:
g++ -E conftest.cpp > conftest.i 2>&1
Now, this is not multi-threaded safe is it?
I have myself seen a failure, where a Make process with -j option spawning multiple threads, one of the threads put out on standard-error some junk output, and another thread, running the configure script above, would put the errors from the first thread, into conftest.i. I guess this is because they share stream 2 (standard error), inherited from the parent process.
Who's at fault:
Do autotools that generate the
configurescript, have a bug because they generate code that is not multi-threaded safe? But that is strange that such a simple bug would be present in such a mature software.Does the build script that uses the makefile that uses
configurehave a bug, in that it usesmakewith-jnoption? But that is also strange, because many makefiles useconfigurescripts and it would be unreasonable to require all of them to be slow and not use-jn.
The failure above is real, I have seen it. I think I understand the mechanism of the failure. What I am confused about, is who has the bug?
autotools
asked Feb 1 at 21:28
user322908user322908
419517
add a comment |
In a typical configure script generated by autotools, you have this kind of fragment:
eval "$ac_cpp conftest.$ac_ext") 2>&5 |
tr -d 'r' |
$SED -n -e "/^boost_lib_version = /{s///;s/"//g;p;q;}" >conftest.i 2>&1
This is somewhat complicated, but what matters for my question, is roughly:
g++ -E conftest.cpp > conftest.i 2>&1
Now, this is not multi-threaded safe is it?
I have myself seen a failure, where a Make process with -j option spawning multiple threads, one of the threads put out on standard-error some junk output, and another thread, running the configure script above, would put the errors from the first thread, into conftest.i. I guess this is because they share stream 2 (standard error), inherited from the parent process.
Who's at fault:
Do autotools that generate the
configurescript, have a bug because they generate code that is not multi-threaded safe? But that is strange that such a simple bug would be present in such a mature software.Does the build script that uses the makefile that uses
configurehave a bug, in that it usesmakewith-jnoption? But that is also strange, because many makefiles useconfigurescripts and it would be unreasonable to require all of them to be slow and not use-jn.
The failure above is real, I have seen it. I think I understand the mechanism of the failure. What I am confused about, is who has the bug?
autotools
asked Feb 1 at 21:28
user322908user322908
419517
add a comment |
In a typical configure script generated by autotools, you have this kind of fragment:
eval "$ac_cpp conftest.$ac_ext") 2>&5 |
tr -d 'r' |
$SED -n -e "/^boost_lib_version = /{s///;s/"//g;p;q;}" >conftest.i 2>&1
This is somewhat complicated, but what matters for my question, is roughly:
g++ -E conftest.cpp > conftest.i 2>&1
Now, this is not multi-threaded safe is it?
I have myself seen a failure, where a Make process with -j option spawning multiple threads, one of the threads put out on standard-error some junk output, and another thread, running the configure script above, would put the errors from the first thread, into conftest.i. I guess this is because they share stream 2 (standard error), inherited from the parent process.
Who's at fault:
Do autotools that generate the
configurescript, have a bug because they generate code that is not multi-threaded safe? But that is strange that such a simple bug would be present in such a mature software.Does the build script that uses the makefile that uses
configurehave a bug, in that it usesmakewith-jnoption? But that is also strange, because many makefiles useconfigurescripts and it would be unreasonable to require all of them to be slow and not use-jn.
The failure above is real, I have seen it. I think I understand the mechanism of the failure. What I am confused about, is who has the bug?
autotools
asked Feb 1 at 21:28
user322908user322908
419517
In a typical configure script generated by autotools, you have this kind of fragment:
eval "$ac_cpp conftest.$ac_ext") 2>&5 |
tr -d 'r' |
$SED -n -e "/^boost_lib_version = /{s///;s/"//g;p;q;}" >conftest.i 2>&1
This is somewhat complicated, but what matters for my question, is roughly:
g++ -E conftest.cpp > conftest.i 2>&1
Now, this is not multi-threaded safe is it?
I have myself seen a failure, where a Make process with -j option spawning multiple threads, one of the threads put out on standard-error some junk output, and another thread, running the configure script above, would put the errors from the first thread, into conftest.i. I guess this is because they share stream 2 (standard error), inherited from the parent process.
Who's at fault:
Do autotools that generate the
configurescript, have a bug because they generate code that is not multi-threaded safe? But that is strange that such a simple bug would be present in such a mature software.Does the build script that uses the makefile that uses
configurehave a bug, in that it usesmakewith-jnoption? But that is also strange, because many makefiles useconfigurescripts and it would be unreasonable to require all of them to be slow and not use-jn.
The failure above is real, I have seen it. I think I understand the mechanism of the failure. What I am confused about, is who has the bug?
autotools
autotools
asked Feb 1 at 21:28
user322908user322908
419517
asked Feb 1 at 21:28
user322908user322908
419517
edited Feb 1 at 21:34
user322908
asked Feb 1 at 21:28
user322908user322908
419517
asked Feb 1 at 21:28
user322908user322908
419517
asked Feb 1 at 21:28
user322908user322908
419517
419517
add a comment |
add a comment |
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