Warren Turkal <wt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
> Beta4 doesn't have docdir documented in ./configure --help. I don't actually
> regenerate the configure script, so it is as shipped from the netcdf tarball.
>
> *snip*
>
>> This is all part of the usual configure script option, so this should
>> work on almost any package which has a configure script, not just
>> netCDF.
>
> Not on beta4.
>
> *snip*
>
>> --docdir=DIR documentation root [DATAROOTDIR/doc/netcdf]
>
> This option is not in beta4. This is a good default for it, however. Maybe
> it's time to cut beta5 so that this is included?
OK, sorry about that. This must be a feature of autoconf 1.61, or
automake 1.10, both of which have upgraded since the beta4 release.
Beta5 will be out this month. *Then* you will be able to control the
docs directory.
>> Please let me know if this doesn't help, or if you need more
>> information.
>
> Here are some other comments about the package:
> 1) I don't think that the examples should be build by default.
They are only built if you do a "make check".
If you do a "make install" they are not built.
As far as the configure is concerned, the examples are all extra
tests. And, in fact, they have already proved useful in that roll for
the F90 and C++ APIs, which are not tested nearly as well as the C and
F77 APIs.
> 2) Please name the beta tarballs according to their release (i.e.
> netcdf-3.6.2~beta4.tar.gz instead of netcdf-beta.tar.gz). It would make
> finding new versions with a script easier since I could just compare version
> numbers. BTW, the version syntax used up there is like Debian packages. The ~
> makes the version sort before 3.6.2.
The distribution files have the names given by "make dist", which are:
netcdf-3.6.2-beta4.tar.Z 6738 KB 08/16/2006 02:32:00 PM
netcdf-3.6.2-beta4.tar.gz 4205 KB 08/16/2006 02:32:00 PM
The netcdf-beta.tar.gz is just a link to the latest beta release, so
that we can have a URL that always fetches the latest beta.
When I do a beta release, I move the link.
Sorry, I think the ~ is a good idea, but I'm a bit too old-fashioned
to change the name of my releases. I like to do things the autotools
way. If automake decides to use the ~, I'm all for it!
Seems like a good way to look for new versions would be to look at the
date of the netcdf-beta.tar.gz file. When it changes, that means I put
a new beta out. But no doubt you already thought of this...
>
> I am just hoping you will be releasing the real 3.6.2 real soon.
>
Beta5 is looking to be the last beta release for 3.6.2. That means the
3.6.2 release will come in the first quarter of 2007.
The entire 3.6.2 release is about better configuration and
documentation. The core library code has not changed in any
significant way since 3.6.1. So there is little need to be impatient,
unless you are trying to build netCDF on a previously unsupported
platform, like MingW.
The 3.6.2 release is better tested, better documented, and will
install on more platforms, more easily. It offers more configuration
options and works in a more standard way than previous
installations. It also makes many changes behind the scenes which
support the upcoming (and much more dramatic) 4.0 release.
Some very minor bugs have been fixed in the C library, the F90
library, and ncgen/ncdump, but nothing that anyone really need worry
about.
And with the improvements in testing, it's also true that the beta5
release will be better tested than any previous netCDF release,
including 3.6.1. So although it is a beta release, there is no need to
worry about the stability of the netCDF library in the 3.6.2 series -
it remains untouched, and well-tested.
Thanks,
Ed
--
Ed Hartnett -- ed@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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