./configure --with-packages=...

[mkoeppe]

./configure should accept an argument --with-packages=... so that a user can request a list of packages to be installed.

One could consider to have sage -i edit config.status (ac_cs_config) whenever a package is installed.

Also there should be an argument --ignored-installed-packages so that the contents of $SAGE_LOCAL/var/lib/sage/installed is ignored by configure. This is may be useful to ensure predictable builds.

See also: #21700 - crucial to get all dependencies of all optional packages right, because we no longer can tell the user to "first install this, then install that".

Component: build: configure

Issue created by migration from https://trac.sagemath.org/ticket/21538

[mkoeppe]

Description changed:

--- 
+++ 
@@ -2,5 +2,5 @@
 
 One could consider to have `sage -i` edit `config.status` (`ac_cs_config`) whenever a package is installed.
 
-Also there should be an argument `--ignored-installed-packages` so that the contents of `$SAGE_LOCAL/var/lib/sage/installed` is ignored. This is may be useful to ensure predictable builds.
+Also there should be an argument `--ignored-installed-packages` so that the contents of `$SAGE_LOCAL/var/lib/sage/installed` is ignored by `configure`. This is may be useful to ensure predictable builds.
 

[mezzarobba]

comment:2

Why not an argument --enable-foo (and/or perhaps --with-foo=/path/where/installed, depending on the answer to #21566 comment:3) for each package foo?

[mkoeppe]

comment:3

Yes, this syntax could also work and is probably a better idea.

I like --with-foo=/path/where/installed too, but as I said on #21566, it won't happen on this ticket.

[mkoeppe]

Description changed:

--- 
+++ 
@@ -4,3 +4,4 @@
 
 Also there should be an argument `--ignored-installed-packages` so that the contents of `$SAGE_LOCAL/var/lib/sage/installed` is ignored by `configure`. This is may be useful to ensure predictable builds.
 
+See also: #21700 - crucial to get all dependencies of all optional packages right, because we no longer can tell the user to "first install this, then install that". 

[embray]

comment:6

#27567 offers a slightly different approach, but I think effectively serves the same purpose as this proposal.

One thing it doesn't do yet is provide a way to enable specific optional/experimental packages at configure time. One might also consider that useful, but I'm treating it as a separate issue for now.

[embray]

comment:7

Superseded for now by #27567, though some of the suggestions in this ticket like --ignore-installed-packages might be useful down the line.

[mkoeppe]

comment:8

Not quite - what's missing is the possibility to add optional packages in the configure call.

[mkoeppe]

comment:9

This was implemented in #28095 (Add --enable-OPTIONALSPKG options to configure).