[Fontconfig] fontconfig-config?

[Olivier Chapuis]

On Sat, Jun 14, 2003 at 05:47:55PM +0300, Ciprian Popovici wrote:
> On Fri, 13 Jun 2003 08:45:54 +0200 Olivier Chapuis
> <olivier.chapuis at free.fr> wrote:
> > On Thu, Jun 12, 2003 at 10:26:49PM -0400, Ambrose Li wrote:
> > > On Thu, Jun 12, 2003 at 05:29:08PM -0500, Keith Packard wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > I switched the configuration from autoconf to automake and didn't
> > > > bother to bring that app forwards.  I prefer 'pkg-config', but if
> > > > you think fontconfig-config is necessary, please feel free to
> > > > submit a working version to the bugzilla...
> > > 
> > > It seems that fontconfig-config can be created quite trivially as a
> > > wrapper of pkg-config; patch to make a working fontconfig-config
> > > follows (patch is against the fontconfig-config as shipped with
> > > XFree86 4.3.0).
> > > 
> > 
> > The problem with this solution (fontconfig-config as a warper
> > of pkg-config) is that:
> > 
> > 1 - You need pkg-config and so the compilation of a package which can
> > use fontconfig needs pkg-config: you add a dependence. 
> > 2 - If fontconfig is installed at a no standard place (vs pkg-config)
> > you should set the PKG_CONFIG_PATH env variable. In the other hand
> > if you have installed fontconfig in a no standard place you must
> > have set your PATH accordingly and fontconfig-config is found.
> > 
> > By the way, I prefer fontconfig-config than 'pkg-config'. For me
> > 'pkg-config' add only complication for low level library.
> 
> Maybe, but try using an environment full of applications installed in
> odd (ie. non-standard) places, based on *-config rather than pkg-config.
> Sooner or later, as more packages are added or upgraded, you're gonna
> have some trouble with dependencies and whatnot and you're gonna have to
> fix stuff by hand. On the other hand, with pkg-config all you have to do
> is make sure PKG_CONFIG_PATH contains all the relevant *.pc files'
> locations.
> 

I do not see the difference. With *-config the PATH give you the good
stuff and with pkg-config PKG_CONFIG_PATH do the trick. Anyway, all
this is not very important.

By the way, I was not very happy to receive bug reports of the type
"your soft do not detect xft" simply because fontconfig-config has
been removed (lost 1 hours of free development: detect the problem
and add pkg-config support in the configure stuff).
Also, now for compiling a package which needs fontconfig you need
pkg-config. Again, adding this dependence for fontconfig (a "universal
library") is IMHO a bad idea (but I will surely not lost one more hour
to send a patch for reestablish it).

Finally I've nothing against pkg-config, I get no special difficulty
to use it. Moreover, it has surely some advantage when you consider
stuff which use one tone of libraries.

Regards, Olivier