[plug] library paths, Debian

[James Devenish]

In message <Pine.LNX.3.96.1030704213801.5409B-100000 at cyllene.uwa.edu.au>
on Fri, Jul 04, 2003 at 09:50:24PM +0800, Denis Brown wrote:
> I can do some comparison testing, comparing the structures on the
> (problem child) machine to another of similar config that is working.
> Problem being that the working one has a few more bits & pieces so I
> cannot be sure I'm really comparing fairly.

Well, why not go to the heart of the problem? Is it true that the
problem arises during ./configuration? If so, be aware that configure
can generate errors that are misleading. Presumably you have a highly
specific error message (e.g. "looking for zlib...not found" or such).
If that is the case, then there is a specific test that is being tried
and which is failing. I wouldn't assume, at that stage, that there is
anything wrong with your system (I would actually suspect ./configure,
but that is because I have learnt not to trust ./configure). Anyway,
since there is a specific activity that is failing, you can reproduce
that specific test and examine its own behaviour. I have to do this
routinely with ./configured software. Even if the test does not reveal
any problem with ./configure itself, it might produce a specific
description of the problem. Other than that, do you know that there is
any other zlib-dependent software that doesn't work? (E.g. is your copy
of zlib sitting on unreliable disk blocks.)