Re: prefix= in hints

To: Perl Porters <perl5-porters@perl.org>
Message-Id: <Pine.GSU.4.05.9904091445280.894-100000@newton.phys>

(Overrides change #3204 from Kurt)

p4raw-link: @3204 on //depot/cfgperl: 8cef0c70022a42ce6ce5ecba75ca3cb331d9c87e

p4raw-id: //depot/cfgperl@3224

diff --git a/hints/linux.sh b/hints/linux.sh
index 0339e8f..c1172ca 100644 (file)
--- a/hints/linux.sh
+++ b/hints/linux.sh
@@ -43,17 +43,30 @@ ignore_versioned_solibs='y'
 # available via anonymous FTP at tsx-11.mit.edu in
 # /pub/linux/docs/linux-standards/fsstnd.
 # Allow a command line override, e.g. Configure -Dprefix=/foo/bar
-# Also, if the user has specified -Uinstallusrbinperl and hasn't
-# specified a prefix, then set prefix to /usr/local.
-case "$prefix" in
-'')
-    case "$installusrbinperl" in
-    "$undef")
-        prefix='/usr/local' ;;
-    esac
-*)
-    prefix='/usr' ;;
-esac
+#
+#  Addendum for 5.005_57 and beyond:
+#
+# However, most Linux users probably already have a /usr/bin/perl.
+# We can't know whether the current user is intending to *replace*
+# that /usr/bin/perl or whether the user is intending to install
+# a *different* installation.
+#
+# Here is what we used to do:
+# Allow a command line override, e.g. Configure -Dprefix=/foo/bar
+# case "$prefix" in
+# '') prefix='/usr' ;;
+# esac
+#
+# For now, let's assume that most Linux users get their /usr/bin/perl
+# from some packaging system, so that those compiling from source are
+# probably the more experimental folks and hence probably aren't
+# intending to replace /usr/bin/perl (at least just yet).
+# This change makes linux consistent with most other unix platforms
+# in having a default of prefix=/usr/local.
+# These notes can probably safely be removed in 5.006_50 and beyond.
+#
+#      9 April 1999  Andy Dougherty  <doughera@lafayette.edu>
+#
 
 # gcc-2.6.3 defines _G_HAVE_BOOL to 1, but doesn't actually supply bool.
 ccflags="-Dbool=char -DHAS_BOOL $ccflags"