Solaris install

ruby-talk
1

Folks, I have a real opportunity to make a
difference here. But I need some help, and
the lack of documentation on this subject
is a major hindrance.

To do an install, I have to do a build (unlike
my PC). For that, I need a bit more assistance.

Dan Berger was very helpful when he laid out
this process:
>
>> make distclean
>> ./configure --prefix=/wherever/you/want
>> make
>> make install
>>
That's a good process that will probably work
decently. But then Ara Howard added this cryptic
note:
>
> don't forget to do both of these before compiling
>
> LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/wherever/you/want/lib
> LD_RUN_PATH=/wherever/you/want/lib # most important!
>
> if you do this all the stuff you compile it will
> inter-operate nicely--e.g. ruby extensions--and other
> users will be able to use it without having their
> LD_LIBRARY_PATH set. They'll only require PATH.
>
I sure this makes sense, but I'm missing the mental
model--the picture of what's happening--that would
explain /why/ it makes sense. These variables aren't
mentioned in the Makefile, so they must be important
to gcc. But why, if I'm /creating/ the lib as part
of the process??

Finally, it looks as though install-all is what I want, because install looks seems to a documentn-free install.
I'm not conversant enough with the Ruby build to be
sure I'm reading the Makefile right, but what I see is
this:
>
> install: install-nodoc $(RDOCTARGET)
> install-all: install-nodoc install-doc
>
Where RDOCTARGET is defined as nil, by default.

If it's supposed to be specified, it's not mentioned in
the Makefile. So I'm guessing that the target I really
want is install-all. But I'd like to confirm that.

So the process that /looks/ right to me, at the moment,
is:

    make distclean
    setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH /wherever/you/want/lib
    setenv LD_RUN_PATH /wherever/you/want/lib
    ./configure --prefix=/wherever/you/want
    make
    make install-all

I'll try it, but I feel like a blind man groping in
the dark. I was hoping for confirmation and/or a bit
more enlightenment before going forward...

2

it has nothing to do with ruby, the Makefile, or gcc - it's all about your
linker:

man ld.so
man ld
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.ruby/browse_frm/thread/615935bf1489d843/dae3f2dd2fae3e1e?q=LD_RUN_PATH&rnum=6#dae3f2dd2fae3e1e
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.ruby/browse_frm/thread/b0ecc81f80082df8/f651b1d2000dd5e1?q=LD_RUN_PATH&rnum=7#f651b1d2000dd5e1
http://www.visi.com/~barr/ldpath.html

let me know if this doesn't shed some light.

regards.

-a

···

On Fri, 19 May 2006, Eric Armstrong wrote:

That's a good process that will probably work
decently. But then Ara Howard added this cryptic
note:

don't forget to do both of these before compiling

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/wherever/you/want/lib
LD_RUN_PATH=/wherever/you/want/lib # most important!

if you do this all the stuff you compile it will
inter-operate nicely--e.g. ruby extensions--and other
users will be able to use it without having their
LD_LIBRARY_PATH set. They'll only require PATH.

I sure this makes sense, but I'm missing the mental
model--the picture of what's happening--that would
explain /why/ it makes sense. These variables aren't
mentioned in the Makefile, so they must be important
to gcc. But why, if I'm /creating/ the lib as part
of the process??

--
be kind whenever possible... it is always possible.
- h.h. the 14th dali lama

3

Ah ha!! Thanks much for the additional info, Ara.

Your 5 May 2004 writeup was particularly good:
>
> You have two good choices
>
> a) install ruby where your system looks for stuff
>
> b) configure your system to look where ruby puts stuff
>
> Having LD_RUN_PATH set at compile time encodes it
> in the binaries. It sets up all the bins and libs so
> they know where to look for things.

You also give a good diagnostic tool:
>
> In general, if you are having load errors do this
>
> ruby -e 'p $LOAD_PATH'
>
> this tells you where ruby looks for things.

In your 32 Mar 2006 msg, you gave a really nice recipe:
>
> If you follow these steps just about anything will work:
>
> - chose a common nfs location. we'll call it /nfs
>
> - every single time you compile something do this
>
> export LD_RUN_PATH=/nfs/lib
> export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/nfs/lib
> ./configure --prefix=/nfs && make && make install
>
> I set LD_LIBRARY_PATH and LD_RUN_PATH in my .bashrc
> because i do this so much. the cool thing with
> LD_RUN_PATH is that it encodes inter-library dependencies
> (so ruby tk.so needs libtk.so needs ...) , so users don't
> have to set LD_LIBRARY_PATH themselves...They just have to
> add /nfs/bin to their path.

So it appears that:

   LD_RUN_PATH
      tells the binaries where to look for things
      when they're running

   LD_LIBRARY_PATH
      tells the linker where to look for things
      when it is creating the binaries

The installation sequence for a non-standard location Solaris location therefore turns out to be:

# Clear out a previous build & create config.h
make distclean
./configure --prefix=/wherever/you/want

# Set the values you need when compiling
sh: export LD_RUN_PATH=/wherever/you/want/lib/
       export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/wherever/you/want/lib/

csh: setenv LD_RUN_PATH /wherever/you/want/lib/
       setenv LD_LIBRARY_PATH /wherever/you/want/lib/

# Compile without installing, then install binaries & docs

make
make install-all

Thanks again. Considering that your original post on this
subject was in 2004, I can see why your responses have
become shorter!

I greatly appreciate your help, and am glad to say that
I now have functional installation of Ruby.

P.S.
I'll be happy to put this information on a Wiki page
somewhere. I went to RubyGarden, but only saw a small
comment box. I could stuff it in there, post at my
weblog, or put it anywhere else that will let the
community find it easily. Suggestions?

···

ara.t.howard@noaa.gov wrote:

On Fri, 19 May 2006, Eric Armstrong wrote:

That's a good process that will probably work
decently. But then Ara Howard added this cryptic
note:

don't forget to do both of these before compiling

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/wherever/you/want/lib
LD_RUN_PATH=/wherever/you/want/lib # most important!

if you do this all the stuff you compile it will
inter-operate nicely--e.g. ruby extensions--and other
users will be able to use it without having their
LD_LIBRARY_PATH set. They'll only require PATH.

I sure this makes sense, but I'm missing the mental
model--the picture of what's happening--that would
explain /why/ it makes sense. These variables aren't
mentioned in the Makefile, so they must be important
to gcc. But why, if I'm /creating/ the lib as part
of the process??

it has nothing to do with ruby, the Makefile, or gcc - it's all about your
linker:

man ld.so
man ld
http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.ruby/browse_frm/thread/615935bf1489d843/dae3f2dd2fae3e1e?q=LD_RUN_PATH&rnum=6#dae3f2dd2fae3e1e

http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.ruby/browse_frm/thread/b0ecc81f80082df8/f651b1d2000dd5e1?q=LD_RUN_PATH&rnum=7#f651b1d2000dd5e1

http://www.visi.com/~barr/ldpath.html

let me know if this doesn't shed some light.

regards.

-a