Problem
I’ve noticed that whenever I install new software in Linux, I always have to configure it first.
But, as I did today to install lxml, we occasionally need to pass various parameters.
./configure --with-python=/opt/python27/bin/python
--prefix=/usr/local
--with-libxml-prefix=/usr/local
--with-libxml-include-prefix=/usr/local/include
--with-libxml-libs-prefix=/usr/local/lib
Now I’m curious as to how someone will know which parameters, such as —with-python, can be used. That is to say:
Asked by Mirage
Solution #1
./configure --help
This will display all of the options for that specific configure script.
Answered by Carlos Campderrós
Solution #2
Some are common to all Autoconf configure scripts (which is most of them, but not all); for example, —prefix is almost universal. Others are unique to the configure script in question.
Answered by Richard Kettlewell
Solution #3
Configure —help is something I’m familiar with, yet the information presented is “light.” Additional information can be found in the GNU resources listed below:
Installation directory variables
Release process
Answered by Pancho
Solution #4
It’s usually a good idea to use configure —help. However, in many packages, not just the top source directory, but each subdirectory may also have its own configure script. As a result, you should look at the configure scripts in each subdirectory to learn about all of the various arguments that can be passed to the configure script in the top source directory. There are —with-sysroot and —with-lib-path arguments in the top source directory of the binutils-2.34 tarball, for example. Because they are documented in the configure script under the subfolder ld/, there are no document items for both of them when you type./configure —help in the top source directory. As a result, run./ld/configure —help.
Answered by LGD
Post is based on https://stackoverflow.com/questions/6227875/what-are-various-options-arguments-for-configure-in-linux