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Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!helps!bigtex!james
From: james@bigtex.cactus.org (James Van Artsdalen)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.sysv386,comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Trouble porting X11R4 to ISC 2.2 - "Arg list too long"?
Keywords: Arg list too big
Message-ID: <51243@bigtex.cactus.org>
Date: 15 Dec 90 19:44:01 GMT
References: <125@chansw.UUCP>
Reply-To: james@bigtex.cactus.org (James Van Artsdalen)
Followup-To: comp.unix.sysv386
Distribution: na
Organization: Institute of Applied Cosmology, Austin TX
Lines: 30

In <125@chansw.UUCP>, m2c!chansw!chan wrote:

> Anybody successfully build the X11R4 core images (i.e., xterm,
> shared lib's, etc.) on ISC 2.2?  I seem to have run into a problem
> midway through the "make ... World" process where the error

>      "$?: Arg list too long"

> appears, after which builds barf due to failed image builds (in
> particular, libXmu.a). I suspect that I have run into some sort of
> length restriction of "/bin/sh".

No, you've found a bug in make(1).  Some array is too small.  You can
use GNU make or get your unix vendor to fix the make(1) bug.

If you use GNU make, there are two problems you may find.

First, GNU make will try to make "makefile" before executing it.  This
does not work since MIT has rules to build "makefile" that do not
always work.  So, you have to disable this feature.

Second, GNU make normally exports all makefile variables into the
environment.  This will not work for really big makefiles.  So this
must be disabled too.

GNU make 3.59 may have options for this built in.  If not, I have
hacks to 3.58 to add a -M and -E flag to handle both cases.
-- 
James R. Van Artsdalen          james@bigtex.cactus.org   "Live Free or Die"
Dell Computer Co    9505 Arboretum Blvd Austin TX 78759         512-338-8789