[GRASS5] ./configure --with-dbm on Debain/Testing

[Markus Neteler]

On Sun, Aug 24, 2003 at 05:17:49AM +0100, Glynn Clements wrote:
> 
> Hamish wrote:
> 
> > > libgdbm is (unsurprisingly) the GNU version, which includes both DBM
> > > and NDBM functions, as well as a new set of functions (i.e. the GDBM
> > > interface). At least it did, until Debian decided that they were going
> > > to be different to every other Unix system from the last couple of
> > > decades. But that's Debian's problem, not ours.
> > 
> > Again, I think this is a change in the GNU version, which Debian is just
> > shadowing.
> > 
> > libgdbm_compat exists in the latest versions here, for example:
> > http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/gnu/gdbm/
> 
> Oh dear.
> 
> Fortunately, it doesn't appear that anything actually uses dbm.h. The
> checks were originally added because David D Gray implied back in Jan
> 2002 that he wanted to use them for v.in.shape/v.in.mif, but I can't
> find any trace of DBM/NDBM/GDBM actually being used.

As far as I remember he never got finished/started that DBM
implementation.

> The easiest solution would seem to be to simply remove the checks, and
> set aside the issue of whether to accomodate this particular piece of
> GNU idiocy until it actually has to be addressed.

This should be the best solution. Why confusing users with
test for non-used packages? If agreed we should also update
the release branch then.

Markus