[NTLUG:Discuss] Re: configure: error: C++ preprocessor "/lib/cpp" fails sanity check

[Courtney Grimland]

Terry wrote:

>Now it's saying:
>configure:21279: error: Qt (>= Qt 3.0.2) (headers and libraries) not
>found. Please check your installation!
>

The person/place/thing who distributes whatever software you're trying 
to compile should have a list of requirements so you don't have to keep 
playing the Dependency Whack-A-Mole game.  You seem to be stuck in the 
fifth ring:

The 10 Rings of F/OSS Distribution Purgatory (according to my experience):

1.  Get the source from my CVS server.  I'll leave it as an exercise for 
the user to determine the URL.

2.  Get the source from my CVS server (cvs.foosoft.bar) by typing: cvs 
checkout foo, but I'll ignore the fact that 99.9% of the people who are 
downloading my foolib (just so they can install another lib so they can 
in turn install some weirdo obscure QT/TCL/ncurses applet to monitor the 
status of their wireless hair dryer AND weather feeds) have no idea what 
cvs is and will probably give up at the first sight of "-bash: cvs: 
command not found".

3.  Download a tarball that's full of files owned by sportyspice.wheel 
on my home box and will not correspond to any sensible [ug]id's on your 
system and even includes my .mail directory.  I didn't bother to include 
a Makefile, autoconf script, or even a friggin' README because that 
would just make it too easy on you -- the end user of my pet project and 
potential QA tester.

4.  Download the most recent tarball which has a perl script to compile 
and install.  I hacked it together at 3:30am and it works on my system 
at home (GNU/Obscurix 3.75a-rc24-beta), so it should work for you too.  
I couldn't figure out how to write a Makefile.

5.  Download the tarball and type make -f FOO.MAK.  If it won't compile, 
you can find me (at least once a year) at irc.esoteri.cx on 
#wndow$$_sux0r ~~~***SUPER-VILLAINS-ONLY!!!!!1!!***~~~.  If you don't 
have a clue what that means then go away and re-install XP.  No noobs 
allowed.  I can't help you if you've modified the source at all, which 
includes uncompressing the tarball.  And don't try to contact me if you 
haven't spent at least 17 days on google, LUG mailing lists (don't be 
shy - asking questions in another LUG across the country is a great way 
to make friends), and every random web forum that even mentions "Linux" 
trying to find out what the requirements are.  I don't like to reveal 
that kind of proprietary information, since the GPL doesn't explicitly 
require it.

6.  Download the tarball and type configure && make && make install 
(you're doing this as root, right?).  Read the README and INSTALL files 
I wrote 3 years ago when I first put this project up on sourceforge, but 
haven't updated since.  Nothing in those files actually applies anymore, 
and that's not my email address ever since I dumped AOL last year.

7.  Download the tarball and type configure && make && make install.  
I'm actually in the CIA's witness protection program, so you'll never be 
able to contact me with questions, ideas, or suggestions.  But here's a 
link to $$donate$$ via PayPal.

8.  Download the tarball and type configure && make && sudo make 
install.  I actually took the time to write a proper autoconf script so 
any missing dependencies are caught before 4 miles of compiler warnings 
shoot off the top of your screen and make you curl into a tiny ball and 
cry.  It will even tell you, in plain English, what software must be 
installed, where to get it, and what versions are known to work.  
Nevermind the fact that the package management system that your 
particular distro uses will have no idea that this program is 
installed.  Files will be overwritten next time you do a system update.  
File types will not be associated, MIME will not work, and in general it 
will not integrate with anything at all.  You will have to manually edit 
nine text files located in seven different directories to even get it to 
execute without bombing out.

9.  You can download the tarball and compile it yourself, or you can 
install one of these binary packages that have been contributed by 
various users -- none of whom I've ever actually met and for all I know 
they could be inserting backdoors and trojans and creating huge zombie 
farms.  Don't worry too much though, because chances are I don't have 
one for your distro anyway.  And if you are lucky enough to find one 
that you can use, it's probably old anyway.  In fact, it's the one I 
released right before I released the bugfix that addresses the problem 
you're going to spend the next 3 hours trying to figure out.

10.  apt-get install foo