[GRASS-dev] FIXED: Re: compiling GRASS-latest - configure fails with Unable to locate PostgreSQL includes

[Markus Neteler]

Hi Zoltan,

On Mon, Jun 21, 2021 at 4:09 PM Zoltan <zoltans at geograph.co.za> wrote:
>
> Hi Markus,
> OK, I am now logged into the Ubuntu system I used, and can better trace what I did.
>
> I started my research at https://github.com/OSGeo/grass/blob/previewbranch_8_0/INSTALL
> Under "Prerequisite/Installation order" I installed/compiled gdal with ecw, and installed postgres.
>
> I then did a ./configure (without extra parameters) and tried to bumble my way through the errors I was getting.
> I fired off my initial email to grass-dev as I was not finding the solution.
>
> I then found the grass-wiki recipe and corrected the problems by copy/paste the ./configure for Ubuntu 20.04
>
> So, a few thoughts from my side.
>
> In the github install (all versions of grass), add a pointer to the grasswiki page, especially at the ./configure paragraph.

Indeed, it was there, but not in the right position. I have
(hopefully) amended that now:
https://github.com/OSGeo/grass/commit/6c55820a90f64a2e1573a81eb23447a552515a9e

> (I would find it more reliable and easy to manage a link to one source of info, than to copy the source into contents of other documents)

Agreed but there are so many supported operating systems that the
INSTALL file would become too long.

> Amend the configure script error message to suggest the that the with-XXX-includes= parameter should be used, instead of just:
> configure: error: *** Unable to locate FreeType includes.
> As most apt installed products go to specific directories, is it possible to let the configure script not first try a few obvious places before crashing with the error message? If they are not 'apt installed', then they likely go to /usr/local/XXX

For changes this file needs to be edited:
https://github.com/OSGeo/grass/blob/6c55820a90f64a2e1573a81eb23447a552515a9e/configure.in#L1735

.. but I am not quite sure if that's possible at all since messages
may be created by "autoconf-2.13" which generated configure from
configure.in.

Maybe others here have suggestions how to improve the current
(message) situation?

Best,
Markus