Re: [PROPOSAL] Builder, a build system integration for Emacs

[Yuri Khan]

On Sat, 27 May 2023 at 04:33, Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> wrote:

> So when you say to link a certain program, the library-choosing
> systems figures out which of the libraries in that collection provide
> symbols that the program needs.  And it links with them.

It does not work that way. No build system I have used recently, and
maybe ever, solves for you equations like “I want symbols x, y, and z,
find me a set of libraries to link with”.

The author of a program selects libraries to work with and specifies
them explicitly in the program build configuration. If those
libraries, in turn, depend on other libraries, a build system resolves
the full transitive closure of dependencies. If the program and each
library specify constraints on versions of their dependencies, the
build system is expected to validate that they are all satisfied,
and/or to find a set of versions that together satisfy all
constraints.

Checking library licenses for mutual compatibility and for
compatibility with the program’s intended license is solely the
programmer’s responsibility.