why automake fails to generate Makefile.in

6
votes

Trying to use automake/autoconf (versions 1.10 and 2.61, respectively). Everything is working OK, except automake is not generating Makefile.in.

There are some warnings generated, but I don't think they're significant. However, the last line makes me think it's generating something it shouldn't and stopping there. There is a md5.cc and md5.c file in the project.

xanadu:fsd wwilliam$ automake --add-missing
configure.ac:46: warning: AC_COMPILE_IFELSE was called before AC_USE_SYSTEM_EXTENSIONS
/var/tmp/autoconf/autoconf-15~193/SRC/autoconf/lib/autoconf/specific.m4:421: AC_USE_SYSTEM_EXTENSIONS is expanded from...
/var/tmp/autoconf/autoconf-15~193/SRC/autoconf/lib/autoconf/functions.m4:1677: AC_FUNC_STRNLEN is expanded from...
configure.ac:46: the top level
configure.ac:46: warning: AC_RUN_IFELSE was called before AC_USE_SYSTEM_EXTENSIONS
configure.ac:46: warning: AC_COMPILE_IFELSE was called before AC_GNU_SOURCE
/var/tmp/autoconf/autoconf-15~193/SRC/autoconf/lib/autoconf/specific.m4:340: AC_GNU_SOURCE is expanded from...
configure.ac:46: warning: AC_RUN_IFELSE was called before AC_GNU_SOURCE
configure.ac:46: warning: AC_COMPILE_IFELSE was called before AC_AIX
/var/tmp/autoconf/autoconf-15~193/SRC/autoconf/lib/autoconf/specific.m4:455: AC_AIX is expanded from...
configure.ac:46: warning: AC_RUN_IFELSE was called before AC_AIX
configure.ac:46: warning: AC_COMPILE_IFELSE was called before AC_MINIX
/var/tmp/autoconf/autoconf-15~193/SRC/autoconf/lib/autoconf/specific.m4:474: AC_MINIX is expanded from...
configure.ac:46: warning: AC_RUN_IFELSE was called before AC_MINIX
Makefile.am: object `md5.$(OBJEXT)' created by `md5.cc' and `md5.c'

Relevant contents of configure.ac:

AC_INIT(testapp, 1.1, [email protected])
AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE(testapp,1.1)
AC_OUTPUT(Makefile)

Contents of Makefile.am:

AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS = foreign

CFLAGS=-O2
bin_PROGRAMS = testapp
testapp_SOURCES = interface.cc interface.hh keymgr.cc keymgr.hh main.cc manage.cc manage.hh md5.c md5.cc md5.h mm.cc mm.hh mysqldb.cc mysqldb.h testapp.cc testapp.h

I've been googling the issue but haven't found anything helpful.

Commands run were:

autoscan
mv configure.scan configure.ac
(edit configure.ac)
autoconf
(edit Makefile.am)
aclocal
automake --add-missing

Anyone seen anything like this before or know perhaps how I could turn on some additional debugging to troubleshoot the problem?

3
makefileautoconfautomake
OT: You are using an outdated way of calling AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE. The modern usage is: AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([1.11]). If you're using options (and not setting the options in Makefile.am, call it like this: AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE([1.11 foreign -Wall -Werror]). – Jack Kelly

3 Answers

7
votes
Makefile.am: object `md5.$(OBJEXT)' created by `md5.cc' and `md5.c'

is an error message that causes Automake to abort. These two files would have to be compiled to md5.o, so that is a problem.

Can you rename one of these two files?

1
votes

It complains on line 46, which you do not provide to your question.
Anyhow, to fix this issue you have to add AC_USE_SYSTEM_EXTENSIONS in your configure.ac.

example:

AC_INIT(testapp, 1.1, [email protected])
AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE(testapp,1.1)
AC_OUTPUT(Makefile)
AC_USE_SYSTEM_EXTENSIONS
AC_PROG_C
...
0
votes

I have one program that I configure with automake. That program has a script to do the setup, which consists of:

aclocal -I config &&
libtoolize --automake &&
autoheader &&
automake --foreign --add-missing &&
autoconf

The difference, as I see it, is that in this the autoconf step is last, not in the middle.