PETSC_ARCH variable --> PETSC_CONF

[Barry Smith]

    The problem is that we cannot demand that every PETSc user install  
a decent version of gnu make. Some systems have their own strange make  
and getting users to install gnu make and get PETSc to use it is  
asking too much.

     Barry

On Nov 30, 2009, at 4:38 PM, Boyana Norris wrote:

> Actually GNU make features are the only reason I continue to touch  
> make -- without them I would not use it for anything.
>
> Boyana
>
> --
> Boyana Norris, Computer Scientist, Argonne National Laboratory
> norris at mcs.anl.gov, +1.630.252.7908, http://www.mcs.anl.gov/~norris/
>
> On Nov 30, 2009, at 4:29 PM, Barry Smith wrote:
>
>>
>> Boyana,
>>
>>   We are going to stop using make before we ever start using GNU  
>> make features :-)
>>
>>  Barry
>>
>> On Nov 30, 2009, at 4:23 PM, Boyana Norris wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> On Nov 30, 2009, at 3:59 PM, Barry Smith wrote:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Nov 30, 2009, at 3:51 PM, Boyana Norris wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Why not recognize both? It's fairly trivial to check for  
>>>>> PETSC_CONF if PETSC_ARCH is undefined and internally define  
>>>>> PETSC_ARCH using PETSC_CONF.
>>>>
>>>> This is a make variable. I am not sure that it is trivial to  
>>>> check if a variable is set and use something else otherwise in a  
>>>> tidy way in make. Plus I had the idea of having two variables  
>>>> that mean the same thing.
>>>
>>> There are a couple of different ways, e.g., one is
>>>
>>> ifndef PETSC_ARCH
>>> ifdef PETSC_CONF
>>> PETSC_ARCH=$(PETSC_CONF)
>>> else
>>> $(error "Make sure the PETSC_CONF environment variable is defined  
>>> before running make.")
>>> endif
>>> endif
>>>
>>> This is for GNU make, which is pretty widely available, and may  
>>> have to be adjusted for ancient systems.
>>>
>>> Boyana
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Barry
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Boyana
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Boyana Norris, Computer Scientist, Argonne National Laboratory
>>>>> norris at mcs.anl.gov, +1.630.252.7908, http://www.mcs.anl.gov/~norris/
>>>>>
>>>>> On Nov 30, 2009, at 3:43 PM, Matthew Knepley wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 3:38 PM, Barry Smith  
>>>>>> <bsmith at mcs.anl.gov> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I guess the argument is that on occasion in the future a  
>>>>>> certain number of people will misinterpret the meaning of  
>>>>>> PETSC_ARCH frustrating them and us; the number misinterpreting  
>>>>>> PETSC_CONF will be much smaller or zero saving people's time  
>>>>>> and energy.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> This will be far outweighed by the number of people complaining  
>>>>>> about such a change. I agree with them.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Matt
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Barry
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Nov 30, 2009, at 3:25 PM, Matthew Knepley wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I see the point, but this is one of the oldest parts of PETSc,  
>>>>>> and I am hesitant to change one
>>>>>> arbitrary name to another without a more convincing reason.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Matt
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 2:17 PM, Barry Smith  
>>>>>> <bsmith at mcs.anl.gov> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Lisandro has pointed out to me several times that the variable  
>>>>>> name PETSC_ARCH can be confusing; some people may think it is  
>>>>>> related to the architecture of the machine and don't understand  
>>>>>> that it is an arbitrary name that the user can make up. He  
>>>>>> suggested changing it to PETSC_CONF to be clearer.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Should we change it? Use something else?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Barry
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -- 
>>>>>> What most experimenters take for granted before they begin  
>>>>>> their experiments is infinitely more interesting than any  
>>>>>> results to which their experiments lead.
>>>>>> -- Norbert Wiener
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> -- 
>>>>>> What most experimenters take for granted before they begin  
>>>>>> their experiments is infinitely more interesting than any  
>>>>>> results to which their experiments lead.
>>>>>> -- Norbert Wiener
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>