Confused about build proceedure srcdir vs objdir

[Paolo Carlini]

Hi Harry,

>Oh, thanks Paolo.  I already posted another `amateur hour' message
before seeing your post.
>What is the significance of `bootstrap'? I didn't notice anything about
that at the config help page.
>Now looking at the `build' instructions ... maybe in there.

Do you know the novel "THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHHAUSEN"?
"Bootstrap" has to do with lifting yourself in the air by pulling your
own boot-straps!

So, for compilers, you have the problem that after your un-tar you have
to compile your own compiler?!? How to do it? Well, you cannot really do
what MUNCHHAUSEN does in the novel (i.e., you *need* a basic working C
compiler to begin with!) but then, after having built a new C compiler,
the boostrap process uses it to build the others (C++, Fortran, Java,
...). In the meanwhile it is also carried out a sanity check of the
system (this is for another time ;-)

I suggest you to always use "make bootstrap" even if you are confident
that you installed compiler could be used right away to build the new
suite (plain "make" does this). This should be also explained in the
docs.

Cheers,
Paolo.