On Fri, 2 Dec 2005, Lior Balkohen wrote:

> I thought, the configure switches --with-zlib=PATH --with-libidn=PATH
> --with-gnutls=PATH --with-ssl=PATH are there to point out a proper path on
> where to find related libs and headers, but if you tell me, you set CFLAGS
> and LDFLAGS to find them, then ok.
>
> for me, it is definitively wrong to add user's LDFLAGS to curl-config.

Well, the LDFLAGS, CFLAGS and CPPFLAGS are "universal" variables that work for
very many configure scripts.

If you ever start, for example, cross-compiling a wide range of unix/linux
software, you'll quickly learn that setting these variables are a lot easier
to make things work than figuring out every single package's configure
switches.

Also, since the --with-* options to configure very often lets you point out
the install prefix of the lib in question, but if you have the lib installed
in an unorthodox path setup, they won't work sufficiently good.

Perhaps it is the wrong approach but I don't think curl's configure started
this wrongness and I can see how lots of people are already using this
wrongness and consider it a feature. Heck, its been our proposed alternative
install-with-OpenSSL approach since 1998!

All this said, I am open for fixes. But be aware that moving bricks in the
bottom of a huge pile will cause certain parts of the pile to fall down... :-)

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