Re: Compiling NetBSD mtree in-tree with meson.build

[Mouse <mouse%Rodents-Montreal.ORG@localhost>]

> I have decided to use meson.build (https://mesonbuild.com/) to define the bu$

> Takeaways:
[...]
> * meson.build can replace autotools in tools/compat. I consider it a far bet$

> Looking forward to your feedback.

Well, this is just one curmudgeon's opinion.  Probably worth about what
you paid for it.  (And, as a side note, my first bit of feedback is
actually "please don't use paragraph-length lines".)

I'm no fan of autotools.  But I think I like meson even less.  It
requires installing a whole new language (python); while this may be
acceptable for NetSBD's own build procedure, it significantly raises
the bar for cross-building pieces - if I have to not just copy over the
program's source but also install python?  Honestly, I'd more likely
try to figure out enough from the meson description file(s) to build it
manually.

Depending on python is doubtless fine for most systems (FSVO "most").
My understanding is that the cross-build infrastructure is trying for a
wider reach than just "most systems".  Maybe I've misunderstood.

More generally, I don't really understand the recent proliferation of
autotools-replacement build systems.  cmake, meson, ninja, etc, they
all appear to be trying to reinvent make and/or autotools as the tool
designer thinks they should have been, and they all appear to think
that installing a new, complex, and almost totally unsandboxable tool
as the first step to building the software you're trying to build is
completely acceptable.  As I wrote of autotools configure scripts in my
blah on 2009-11-20[%], this is a security disaster waiting to happen -
the only significant difference I see is that, unlike configure
scripts, the autoconfiguration tool isn't distributed with the software
(which is both good and bad, of course).  In general, that is; in
specific cases, such as meson, there can be additional requirements,
such as installing python, which affect this further.

[%] http://ftp.rodents-montreal.org/mouse/blah/2009-11-20-1.html

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