msort 8.53: fixing install by disabling iwidgets itcl dep & running patched old Makefile.am

[vike2000]

I don't know if I'm correct in creating this ticket as I'm doing.
Please forgive any annoying language / formatting.

I tried to summarise my steps for a successful install in the ticket summary,
but I give you a full trace of my steps from problem to solution:

• sudo port install msort
  

  …
  

  grep 'configure:.* error:' '/opt/local/var/macports/build/_opt_local_var_macports_sources_rsync.macports.org_macports_release_tarballs_ports_lang_itcl/itcl/work/itcl3.4/config.log'
  

  Getting given an initial error:

  configure:2138: error: C compiler cannot create executables
  

• (Examining some MacPorts configure/C-compiler options.)

• Finding ticket:44829#comment:9 mentioning itcl is "included in MacPorts' tcl".
  Also, above that, a question:

  is msort now effectively a dead twig on the port tree?

• Patching the iwidgets Portfile to remove the itcl dep

  (a) tarballs vs. (b) local

  @@ -21 +21 @@
   
   checksums           ${name}${version}.tar.gz md5 0e9c140e81ea6015b56130127c7deb03
   
  -depends_build       port:tk port:itcl
  +depends_build       port:tk
   
   build.args          CPPFLAGS=-I${prefix}/include
   

• sudo port install msort
  

  …
  

  grep -B1 'error: use of undeclared identifier' /opt/local/var/macports/logs/_opt_local_var_macports_sources_rsync.macports.org_macports_release_tarballs_ports_textproc_msort/msort/main.log|grep -Ev '\^|--'
  

  Getting given a secondary error

  :info:build In file included from /opt/local/include/uninum/uninum.h:19:
  :info:build /opt/local/include/gmp.h:1743:33: error: use of undeclared identifier 'UINT_MAX'
  :info:build /opt/local/include/gmp.h:1754:33: error: use of undeclared identifier 'ULONG_MAX'
  :info:build /opt/local/include/gmp.h:1765:33: error: use of undeclared identifier 'USHRT_MAX'
  

• Finding ​a highly relevant comment before a debian bugreport getting fixed:

  The problem is that by default Automake adds "." to the include path
  (which is a pretty dumb idea IMO), and that msort has a header named
  "limits.h". So now when GMP requests <limits.h>, the msort's one gets
  included, instead of the system-wide one. Of course, the msort's header
  doesn't define UINT_MAX and friends, hence the error.
  

  Adding "nostdinc" to AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS in Makefile.am and then
  regenerating Makefile.in should fix the bug.
  

  --
  Jakub Wilk

  Before seeing this, having (daftly) tried to patch msort-*/info.c with an #include <limits.h>,
  and having also seen -I. -I. -I. in the make output of the clang runs,
  I'm realizing this could be the solution:

  (k=1 && p=msort && d=$p-8.53 && s=sudo\ -u\ macports && sp=sudo\ port &&
   (((!k))||($sp clean $p && $sp extract $p)) &&
   cd $($sp work $p)/$d &&
   $s perl -i -pe$'s/^(AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS =.*?)( nostdinc)?(.*?)$/\\1 nostdinc\\3/' Makefile.am &&
   $s automake) # automake is macports'
  

  (I'm working in a ​local repo) Getting given a tertiary error:

  ...
  configure.ac:4: error: version mismatch.  This is Automake 1.16.3,
  configure.ac:4: but the definition used by this AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE
  configure.ac:4: comes from Automake 1.9.6.  You should recreate
  configure.ac:4: aclocal.m4 with aclocal and run automake again.
  ...
  

  Noting the error: version mismatch.

• Following ​a superuser.com/questions/383580/how-to-install-autoconf-automake... (cause a websearch didn't give me whether/how I could use something other than the intuitive port install automake @1.9.6 for that older version)

  (b=automake && v=1.9.6 && n="$b"-"$v" && a=$n.tar.gz &&
   cd /tmp && ([[ -a $a ]]||curl -OL http://ftpmirror.gnu.org/"$b"/"$a") &&
   rm -rf "$n" && tar -xzf "$a" &&
   cd "$n" && ./configure && make && sudo make install)
  

  Unknown if needed but I got this all working with it installed as well:

  (b=autoconf && v=2.59 && n="$b"-"$v" && a=$n.tar.gz &&
   cd /tmp && ([[ -a $a ]]||curl -OL http://ftpmirror.gnu.org/"$b"/"$a") &&
   rm -rf "$n" && tar -xzf "$a" &&
   cd "$n" && ./configure && make && sudo make install)
  

• Finalizing, I can do a stream-patched variant of port install msort

  (k=1 && p=msort && d=$p-8.53 && s=sudo\ -u\ macports && sp=sudo\ port &&
   (((!k))||($sp clean $p && $sp extract $p)) &&
   cd $($sp work $p)/$d &&
   $s perl -i -pe$'s/^(AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS =.*?)( nostdinc)?(.*?)$/\\1 nostdinc\\3/' Makefile.am &&
   $s /usr/local/bin/automake &&
   $sp install $p)
  

  Some warnings can be fixed by also running autoconf, but this is not needed for install

  (k=1 && p=msort && d=$p-8.53 && s=sudo\ -u\ macports && sp=sudo\ port &&
   (((!k))||($sp clean $p && $sp extract $p)) &&
   cd $($sp work $p)/$d &&
   $s perl -i -pe$'s/^(AUTOMAKE_OPTIONS =.*?)( nostdinc)?(.*?)$/\\1 nostdinc\\3/' Makefile.am &&
   $s /usr/local/bin/autoupdate &&
   $s /usr/local/bin/aclocal &&
   $s /usr/local/bin/autoconf &&
   $s /usr/local/bin/automake &&
   $sp install $p)
  

• Making use of the custom-installed (above) /usr/local/bin/automake (old version 1.9.6)
  I doubt any effort on my side to take this all the way through into the macports-ports repo will be fruitful.

I have only used this install of msort for something equivalent to ...|msort -qjl -ta -o= -cN -tz -o= -cN|....
Also please note that I haven't run any further testing on the implications on removing the iwidgets dep on itcl.

Btw:

port version
uname -a

Version: 2.6.2
Darwin [redacted] 17.7.0 Darwin Kernel Version 17.7.0: Mon Aug 31 22:11:23 PDT 2020; root:xnu-4570.71.82.6~1/RELEASE_X86_64 x86_64

(I have now done port selfupdate for Version: 2.7.1)

Hope I haven't overlooked anything.
Thanks to any linked resources, anyone who takes interest in this and of course the MacPorts project in general.

Peace,
vike