Re: libgcj-java-placeholder.sh problem with db4 and gettext packages

[Michael Chastain]

I ran into the same problem building gettext 0.14.1 on these platforms:

  i686-pc-linux-gnu + redhat-3AS
  i686-pc-linux-gnu + redhat-3ES
  ia64-unknown-linux-gnu + redhat-3AS
  x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu + redhat-3AS

/usr/bin/javac is a symlink to /etc/alternatives/javac, which is a
symlink to /usr/share/java/libgcj-java-placeholder.sh .

gettext probes for javac, finds the placeholder script, tries to use it,
and bombs out of the build.

These machines are in the HP Test Drive cluster so I can't change
the software installed on them.

I looked carefully at gettext-runtime/configure and did not see
any obvious way to disable Java support.  But I found a sneaky way:

  ac_cv_prog_HAVA_JAVAC_IN_PATH=
  export ac_cv_prog_HAVE_JAVAC_IN_PATH

The workaround from Jos Vos with JAVAC="gcj -C" JAVA="gcj"
also works on these machines.

I think this is a bug in gettext-runtime/configure.  It should
either understand that "javac" might be a non-functional placeholder,
or it should have some easy way for the user to disable java support.

Michael Chastain