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1.1       nia         1: How to convert autotools to meson
                      2: =================================
                      3: 
                      4: GNU's build system ("autotools", ./configure, etc) was previously the
                      5: main one used by most of the open source world. However, lots of high
                      6: profile projects (GNOME, etc) have been switching from it to a new
                      7: python-based one, called meson.
                      8: 
                      9: Many things in pkgsrc have needed to be updated to use meson, so
                     10: here's a guide on doing it properly.
                     11: 
                     12: Basics
                     13: ------
                     14: 
                     15: You won't need the following, so delete them:
                     16: 
1.4     ! nia        17:        GNU_CONFIGURE=  yes
1.1       nia        18:        USE_LIBTOOL=    yes
                     19: 
                     20: Neither meson or cmake (another increasingly popular alternative) uses
                     21: libtool to make shared libraries.
                     22: 
                     23: You will need the following:
                     24: 
                     25:        .include "../../devel/meson/build.mk"
                     26: 
                     27: Tools
                     28: -----
                     29: 
                     30: Only the following tools are generally needed:
                     31: 
                     32:        USE_TOOLS+=     pkg-config msgfmt xgettext
                     33: 
                     34: Nearly every meson package needs pkg-config, since it's the main way it
                     35: resolves dependencies. This also means that dependencies where the
                     36: buildlink isn't included won't be detected.
                     37: 
                     38: meson does not use intltool or other gettext tools than xgettext
                     39: and msgfmt. If your package uses `i18n.gettext` in a `meson.build` file
                     40: it needs xgettext, and if it uses `i18n.merge_file` it needs msgfmt.
                     41: It's easy to check this with grep.
                     42: 
                     43: Python
                     44: ------
                     45: 
                     46: Every Meson project uses Python to build, but many don't install
                     47: Python scripts and don't need it to run, so you should add the following:
                     48: 
                     49:        PYTHON_FOR_BUILD_ONLY=  tool
                     50: 
                     51: If the build process needs a `python3`, `python2`, or `python` binary to
                     52: execute scripts during the build, you should also include the following:
                     53: 
                     54:        .include "../../lang/python/tool.mk"
                     55: 
                     56: This will automatically create a python executable with the appropriate
                     57: suffix (or lack of suffix) for the duration of the build.
                     58: 
                     59: pkgconfig overrides
                     60: -------------------
                     61: 
                     62: Libraries that use meson generally generate .pc files for use
                     63: by pkg-config. This happens during the build, while previously
                     64: they would have been pregenerated.
                     65: 
                     66: You should search for .pc files after the build is complete
                     67: and set the appropriate flags:
                     68: 
                     69:        PKGCONFIG_OVERRIDE_STAGE=       pre-install
                     70:        PKGCONFIG_OVERRIDE+=            output/meson-private/glesv2.pc
                     71: 
                     72: This is necessary so that pkgsrc sets the correct runtime
                     73: path for libraries.
                     74: 
                     75: Remove any old references to nonexistent .pc files from the old
                     76: build system in the PKGCONFIG_OVERRIDE.
1.2       nia        77: 
                     78: gettext issues on NetBSD
                     79: ------------------------
                     80: 
                     81: NetBSD includes an (old, pre-GPLv3?) version of msgfmt. This doesn't
                     82: have the new --desktop or --xml flags, so you'll get a build error
                     83: if a package attempts to use these.
                     84: 
                     85: There's an easy workaround:
                     86: 
                     87:        .include "../../mk/bsd.prefs.mk"
                     88: 
                     89:        # msgfmt: unknown option -- desktop
                     90:        .if ${OPSYS} == "NetBSD"
                     91:        TOOLS_PLATFORM.msgfmt=
                     92:        .endif
                     93: 
                     94: Flags
                     95: -----
                     96: 
                     97: Flags of the following form:
                     98: 
                     99:        CONFIGURE_ARGS+=        --enable-opengl
                    100: 
                    101: Generally now take the following form:
                    102: 
                    103:        MESON_ARGS+=            -Dopengl=true
1.3       nia       104: 
                    105: Check the `meson_options.txt` file.