bugManeage - Bugs: bug #58243, confusing configure instruction:...

 
 

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bug #58243: confusing configure instruction: DO NOT manually edit the relevant files

Submitter:  Boud Roukema <boud>
Submitted:  Sat 25 Apr 2020 09:05:00 PM UTC
   
 
Category:  None Severity:  3 - Normal
Item Group:  Output not reasonable Status:  Fixed
Privacy:  Public Assigned to:  makhlaghi
Open/Closed:  Closed

Tue 28 Apr 2020 02:36:02 AM UTC, comment #3: 

I just pushed a modification of the message to avoid this problem and tell the users what they need to change.

I am closing this bug, thanks for raising it ;-). The message now follows our philosophy of trying to encourage uses to go into the code.

Mohammad Akhlaghi <makhlaghi>
Group administrator
Mon 27 Apr 2020 10:29:29 PM UTC, comment #2: 

For the moment I'm not sure I understand sufficiently
how the system works to write a better version of the
warning. I might try if nobody else does soon and if I don't
keep finding bugs that block configuring the main maneage branch...

Boud Roukema <boud>
Group Member
Sun 26 Apr 2020 03:21:48 AM UTC, comment #1: 

Thanks for pointing this out Boud. The relevant file here is `reproduce/software/config/LOCAL.conf'. This file isn't in the version-controlled history of any project, but keeps the "local" (current machine) settings of the project.

Essentially it just keeps the answers to the questions asked during the `./project configure' step.

But I agree, that statement should infact be corrected to say the opposite, something like: "You can always change the settings selected here by modifying that file". There is just one BIG WARNING that we should add: if the build-directory is changed (with the same content), none of the built software will be usable! Because the absolute URLs of the libraries is hard-coded into all the shared libraries of the project. I guess this was the main reason I put this statement at that time. But I do often find myself manually editing LOCAL.conf to add an input data directory or software tarball directory.

Can you do this in a good way, given your explanation, I am sure you'll be able to put a much better statement ;-).

Mohammad Akhlaghi <makhlaghi>
Group administrator
Sat 25 Apr 2020 09:05:00 PM UTC, original submission:  

This is a usability bug.

After successfully running ./project configure, I see


To change the configuration later, please re-run './project configure', DO
NOT manually edit the relevant files.


This makes the user wonder where s/he should modify configuration parameters,
if s/he is asked not to modify any files that are "relevant"! Literally, s/he
is apparently requested to only edit irrelevant files. Which defeats the point: if the
files are irrelevant, then there's no point editing them.

Clearly, reproduce/software/config/TARGETS.conf should be modified if the user
wishes to add a new top-level target which is one of the packages that is already
set up in the system.

This also seems to discourage the addition of packages that are not yet set up
in terms of:

reproduce/software/config/checksums.conf
reproduce/software/config/versions.conf
reproduce/software/make/high-level.mk


A wording improvement is needed here. Since I'm still getting the hang of the
whole system, I'm not quite sure what is intended here.

Boud Roukema <boud>
Group Member

 

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    Follow 3 latest changes.

    Date Changed by Updated Field Previous Value => Replaced by
    2020-04-28 makhlaghi StatusNone Fixed
        Assigned toNone makhlaghi
        Open/ClosedOpen Closed

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