  11) What is configure all about?
  
   The files configure and configure.in are part of the GNU autoconf
   package. Configure allows us to test for various capabilities of the
   OS, and to set variables that can then be tested in C programs and
   Makefiles. Autoconf is installed on the PostgreSQL main server. To add
   options to configure, edit configure.in, and then run autoconf to
   generate configure.
   
   When configure is run by the user, it tests various OS capabilities,
   stores those in config.status and config.cache, and modifies a list of
   *.in files. For example, if there exists a Makefile.in, configure
   generates a Makefile that contains substitutions for all @var@
   parameters found by configure.
   
   When you need to edit files, make sure you don't waste time modifying
   files generated by configure. Edit the *.in file, and re-run configure
   to recreate the needed file. If you run make distclean from the
   top-level source directory, all files derived by configure are
   removed, so you see only the file contained in the source
   distribution.
   
  12) How do I add a new port?
  
   There are a variety of places that need to be modified to add a new
   port. First, start in the src/template directory. Add an appropriate
   entry for your OS. Also, use src/config.guess to add your OS to
   src/template/.similar. You shouldn't match the OS version exactly. The
   configure test will look for an exact OS version number, and if not
   found, find a match without version number. Edit src/configure.in to
   add your new OS. (See configure item above.) You will need to run
   autoconf, or patch src/configure too.
   
   Then, check src/include/port and add your new OS file, with
   appropriate values. Hopefully, there is already locking code in
   src/include/storage/s_lock.h for your CPU. There is a backend/port
   directory if you need special files for your OS.

-- 
  Bruce Momjian                        |  http://www.op.net/~candle
  maillist@candle.pha.pa.us            |  (610) 853-3000
  +  If your life is a hard drive,     |  830 Blythe Avenue
  +  Christ can be your backup.        |  Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania 19026

Fri, 9 Jul 1999 20:52:40 -0400 (EDT)
Bruce Momjian <maillist@candle.pha.pa.us>
New Developers FAQ items