Bug#906774: Bug#906790: libtasn1-6 FTBFS during arch-only: missing makeinfo

[Adrian Bunk]

Control: reassign 906790 automake
Control: reassign 906778 automake
Control: reassign 906775 automake
Control: reassign 906557 automake
Control: reassign 906426 automake
Control: forcemerge -1 906790 906778 906775 906557 906426
Control: affects -1 src:guile-gnome-platform src:hamlib src:ratpoison src:gnuchess

On Sat, Aug 25, 2018 at 01:28:34PM +0200, Andreas Metzler wrote:
> On 2018-08-23 Andreas Metzler <ametzler at bebt.de> wrote:
> [...]
> > Almost, it is caused by upgrading automake. Building with automake
> > 1:1.16.1-1 fails, downgrading to 1:1.15.1-3.1 lets the build succeed.
> > Which seems to have hit other packages, too. With one report (#906774)
> > reassigned to automake.
> 
> > FWIW at first glance I have not found not-too-involved a workaround yet.
> > I might be forced to move stuff from Build-Depends-Indep to
> > Build-Depends.
> 
> Hello,
> 
> this is caused mdate-sh.
> 
> The rule that checks whether version.texi is up to date runs mdate-sh on
> the source texi file and compares whether the result differs from the
> current timestamp in version.texi state.[1] If the timestamp differs
> version.texi is regenerated and a rebuild of the info documentation is
> triggered.
> 
> mdate-sh in automake 1:1.16.1-1 has grown "support" for
> SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH. If SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH is set in the environment then
> its value is used and the modification time of the file is ignored.
> Which causes the build-failure by tricking make into thinking the info
> file is out of date.
> 
> This seems to be a Debian specific change. The patch was already present
> in 1:1.15.1-3 (and -3.1) *source* but did not end up changing
> usr/share/automake-1.15/mdate-sh. It is however present in 1:1.16.1-1's
> /usr/share/automake-1.16/mdate-sh.

Thanks for your analysis.

I am merging the other bugs with this one in automake:

It might be desirable to rebuild .info files when building Debian 
packages, but the problem is that this currently also forces users of
a tarball of upstream software generated on Debian to install texinfo.

> cu Andreas
>...

cu
Adrian

-- 

       "Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out
        of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days.
       "Only a promise," Lao Er said.
                                       Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed