Subject: [clisp-list] clisp "bug" (in binary distribution?)

From: Carlo Traverso <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri Dec 14 13:03:02 2001

While installing clisp-2.27, I had an error; I have completely
understood what has been my error, and what happened, but since my
action was natural and might confuse more naive users, it might be
considered a bug.

I run a RedHat Linux 7.0, kernel 2.2.16-22; I first installed the
binaries found at http://clisp.sourceforge.net/ ; they did not work,
probably because of kernel versions (they are compiled with 2.2.19).

Hence I got and compiled the sources; there was an error

*** - READ from #<INPUT BUFFERED FILE-STREAM CHARACTER #P"/usralt/clisp-2.27/src/compiler.fas" @3000>: there is no package with name "POSIX"

and later a fatal error 

./lisp.run -B . -N locale -Efile UTF-8 -norc -m 1000KW -M halfcompiled.mem -q -c init.lisp

*** - EVAL: the function BATCHMODE-ERRORS is undefined

I then erased everything, and recompiled: it worked; looking at the
compilation messages, I found a difference that explained why it did
not work at first:

earlier I had

.....

(initial part of the compilation equal)
.....
./lisp.run -B . -N locale -Efile UTF-8 -norc -m 750KW -x "(load \"init.lisp\") (sys::%saveinitmem) (exit)"

....  clisp logo etc.

;; Loading file defseq.fas ...
;; Loading of file defseq.fas is finished.

.....  (load many more files)

;; Loading file /usralt/clisp-2.27/src/compiler.fas ...
*** - READ from #<INPUT BUFFERED FILE-STREAM CHARACTER #P"/usralt/clisp-2.27/src/compiler.fas" @3000>: there is no package with name "POSIX

after cleanup I had

;; Loading file defseq.lisp ...
;; Loading of file defseq.lisp is finished.

etc

i.e. in the first compilation I used the "old" .fas files instead of
the "new" .lisp files; the old files were garbage from the previous
binary installation, the configure had been made with diffeent flags.
I should have made a preliminary "make distclean".

In my opinion, the "bug" is in the binary distribution: the
compilation should have been made in a directory different from src.

Or it might be in configure: one should not be allowed to configure
(i.e. prepare to compile) without cleaning the compilation directory.

Carlo Traverso