Re: [PATCH] libjava: Add option to disable BC ABI in libgcj.

[David Daney <ddaney at avtrex dot com>]

Gerald Pfeifer wrote:
> +@item --disable-libgcj-bc
> +Disable BC ABI compilation of certain parts of libgcj.  By default,
> +some portions of libgcj are compiled with @option{-findirect-dispatch}
> +@option{-fno-indirect-classes}.  This allows them to be overridden at
> +runtime.
>
> When first reading this, I got a bit confused by two aspects.  Perhaps 
> this is something to address in a follow-up patch, David?
>
> One was that "BC API compilation" (including myself ;-) isn't something 
> most readers of doc/install.texi would be familiar with.  How about
> expanding this or adding a reference/cross-reference?
>
> The second one was that I wasn't sure what "This" referred to: the 
> configure option, or the previous sentence explaining BC ABI compilation.
> Perhaps replacing this by ", which" might be more clear?
>
> +If @option{--disable-libgcj-bc} is specified, libgcj is built without
> +these options.  This makes it impossible to override portions of
> +libgcj at runtime, but can make it easier to statically link to libgcj.
>
> Why does this read "can make" and not just "makes"?  I'm sure there is
> some technical background here which I'm missing. :-)  Perhaps a (cross)
> reference to more detailed information somewhere else could clarify that?
>   
How about this version instead?  I think it gets rid of some of the
ambiguity and explains things a bit better.

There really is nothing other than e-mail archives that could be cross
referenced to provide deeper information about this option.

Tested with make info and make html with no errors.

2008-01-25  David Daney  <ddaney@avtrex.com>

    * doc/install.texi (--disable-libgcj-bc):  Reword documentation.

Index: doc/install.texi
===================================================================
--- doc/install.texi	(revision 131856)
+++ doc/install.texi	(working copy)
@@ -1557,12 +1557,13 @@ Disable JVMPI support.
 @item --disable-libgcj-bc
 Disable BC ABI compilation of certain parts of libgcj.  By default,
 some portions of libgcj are compiled with @option{-findirect-dispatch}
-@option{-fno-indirect-classes}.  This allows them to be overridden at
-runtime.
+and @option{-fno-indirect-classes}, allowing them to be overridden at
+run-time.
 
 If @option{--disable-libgcj-bc} is specified, libgcj is built without
-these options.  This makes it impossible to override portions of
-libgcj at runtime, but can make it easier to statically link to libgcj.
+these options.  This allows the compile-time linker to resolve
+dependencies when statically linking to libgcj.  However it makes it
+impossible to override the effected portions of libgcj at run-time.
 
 @item --with-ecos
 Enable runtime eCos target support.