Depending on system install scripts (was Re: COBOL)

Jarom Hagen <jhagen(at)telematch(dot)com> writes:
> Yes, we have an evil COBOL compiler from MicroFocus that put that install
> script there. I was really confused why postgres wanted a COBOL system. :-)

I've suggested a couple of times that since we include install-sh in our
distro anyway, it's pointless and unnecessarily risky to go looking for
a platform-supplied install program. However, I could never quite get
anyone else to see the reasoning. Now that I have this sterling example
to point to, I'm going to start rattling the cage again. Why don't we
get rid of the configure-time search for 'install', and just always use
our own script?

regards, tom lane

> On Wed, Mar 07, 2001 at 07:38:30PM -0500, Tom Lane wrote:
>> Jarom Hagen <jhagen(at)telematch(dot)com> writes:
>>> /usr/local/bin/install -c -m 555 postgres /usr/local/pgsql/bin/postgres
>>> You must have a COBOL system present to install this product
>>
>> Weird. It looks like you have some exceedingly nonstandard program
>> in /usr/local/bin/install --- certainly not what configure thought that
>> that program would do, anyway. Do you know where that program came from
>> (perhaps a Sun COBOL package)?
>>
>> A nondestructive workaround would be to hand-edit src/Makefile.global's
>> INSTALL variable to refer to our install-sh script (also in src/) rather
>> than /usr/local/bin/install. However, that install is going to bite a
>> lot of other open-source packages that expect to find a standard-ish
>> install script available, so I'd suggest deleting or at least renaming
>> it...