[m-rev.] for review: Add a `pregen' grade component.

[Paul Bone]

On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 11:19:42AM +1100, Julien Fischer wrote:
> On Tue, Mar 19, 2013 at 3:16 PM, Peter Wang <novalazy at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> >> > During installation, if required, the pre-generated C source files are
> >> > used to build and install a Mercury compiler _in a .pregen grade_.
> >> > Then it is used to install the libraries _in non-.pregen grades_,
> >> > so that configured settings have their usual effect.
> >>
> >> That of course presupposes that the pregen version of the compiler is
> >> statically linked against the Mercury libraries (i.e.
> >> --mercury-linkage=static).  It's probably not worth supporting a pregen version
> >> of the Mercury compiler that is linked against the shared version of the Mercury
> >> libraries.
> >
> > This change doesn't yet block installation of the .pregen grade,
> > so that should actually work for now.
> 
> Could we install just the pregen version of the library with
> --enable-minimal-install?
> It's not as though you actually use a --enable-minimal-install version
> of the compiler
> for anything other than bootstrapping a new Mercury anyway.
> 

Not true.  Our users are interested in 'just trying Mercury'.  If they can
get installed quickly via --enable-minimal-install then they'll do this just
so they can try Mercury.  Micheal Richter spoke about reducing the Time
To Hello World (TTH), and a minimal install option definitly does this.

I'm not saying that installing the pregen version with
--enable-minimal-install is bad, in fact it's good.  I'm just saying that
--enable-minimal-install will be used for more than bootstrapping.

As an asside, the best way to reduce TTH would be to provide binaries and
include Mercury in OS distributions.  (Yes. I'll do this some-day).

Thanks.


-- 
Paul Bone
http://www.bone.id.au