FreeTDS Development Group

["Lowden, James K" <LowdenJK AT bernstein.com>]

> From: Sam Denton [mailto:denton AT wantec.com]
> Sent: July 3, 2002 11:26 AM 
>  
> Under "Do I need to configure anything?", the following config options are
listed:
> 
> --enable-shared
>     build shared libraries [default=yes]
> --enable-static
>     build static libraries [default=yes]
> 
> Does this mean that the default is to do what the option says to do?
> If so, (1) what's the point of the option, and (2) how does one disable 
> the option?  If not, this should be rewritten.

Sam, 

I expect the configure & build questions to migrate entirely to the UG,
except where amplification is needed.  

In answer to your questions, you could say:

        $ ./configure --enable-shared=no

That would cause the linker to produce only static libraries.  AIUI, the
enable/disable thing is a standard feature of "configure" scripts generated
with the Gnu toolchain.  

I agree, it could be clearer.  

> Also, under "Which Perl library should I use?", the following is stated:
>     DBD::FreeTDS does not depend on the FreeTDS libraries.
> If this is correct, it certainly looks like a typo.  Perhaps this should
be added:
>     (The similarity in the names is purely coincidental.)

I think that's actually true: DBD::FreeTDS contains its own TDS
implementation.  At this point, though, our library is much more functional,
and I don't think DBD::FreeTDS has seen a new line of code in years.  We
should probably say something like "if you stumble across it, feel free to
pause for a moment of silence in memoriam.  But don't try to use it."  Isn't
that what "currently unmaintained" means?

One of the goals of tightening the FAQ is to make it trustworthy.  The
reader shouldn't say to himself, "Hmm.  He misspelled 'definately' there and
dropped a verb over there.  Maybe that 'not' is wrong, too?"  People reading
it should have to wonder if it's authoritative.  

Thanks for the feedback.  I'll use it when updating the docs. 

--jkl