Fail configure if tex is unavailable - #243
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Before this commit, configure will finish successfully if tex is missing, but make will still fail. Now we fail during configure with a hint to install TeX or skip the documentation build.
jrincayc
reviewed
Aug 31, 2026
Checking for tex was not enough to guarantee the manual builds: - texi2dvi, which builds the PDF, comes from GNU Texinfo rather than from a TeX distribution, so it can be absent on a machine that has tex. Automake hardcodes TEXI2DVI = texi2dvi with no configure probe. - makeinfo builds ucblogo.info and ucblogo.html. Neither is checked in and ucblogo.html is in doc_DATA, so make needs it. - texi2dvi --pdf runs pdfetex or pdftex. Plain tex is only used for DVI output, so it is not the binary this build invokes. Check all three and report every missing one in a single error. The variables are named HAVE_MAKEINFO, HAVE_TEXI2DVI and DOCS_PDFTEX because automake sets MAKEINFO to its missing wrapper, and TEX is an environment variable texi2dvi reads to choose an engine.
jrincayc
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Sep 4, 2026
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Reviewed and tested (example output from test:
checking enable_docs... yes
checking for makeinfo... yes
checking for texi2dvi... no
checking for pdfetex... pdfetex
configure: error: missing tools required to build the manual: texi2dvi
makeinfo and texi2dvi come from GNU Texinfo; pdftex comes from a TeX
distribution such as TeX Live or MacTeX.
Install them, or pass --disable-docs to skip documentation.
```
Approved.
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#239
Background
configurewill finish successfully if the documentation toolchain is missing, butmakewill fail. Two issues:--disable-docscould save a somewhat heavy installation (mactexrequires ~10GB)Building the manual needs three programs:
makeinfobuildsucblogo.infoanducblogo.htmltexi2dvibuildsucblogo.pdfpdftex(orpdfetex) is whattexi2dvi --pdfactually runsProposed change
Fail at the
configurestep, reporting every missing tool in one message, with a hint to install them or skip the documentation build (--disable-docs).Tested
no Texinfo, no TeX (configure fails, lists all three)
Texinfo installed, no TeX (configure fails, names only
pdftex)TeX installed, no Texinfo (configure fails, names the Texinfo tools)
docs disabled, nothing installed (configure passes, no tool checks run)
everything installed (configure and make run successfully)