make --with-pic default for autoconf

[plicease]

Add --with-pic to the default autoconf build.

This enables position independent code to be generated, which is necessary when using static libraries to build Foo.so (for Alien::Foo). At the moment this is only useful if the packages does not build a dynamic library by default, but it may also be necessary if the static libs become the default (see #11). I am creating this as a PR to open discussion on this specific part of #11.

Note that this conflicts with #46, and I will adjust this PR if both are accepted.

[plicease]

It may also make more sense to add --with-pic to %c (assuming #46 goes). ie %c = ./configure --with-pic. It makes it hard to turn off of course if you really need to.

[mohawk2]

If you doc that it's a platform-suitable way of running configure, and it works, that seems like a win. (You're going to need to update with the #46 merge)

[plicease]

I think it requires that libtool being used:

http://www.gnu.org/software/libtool/manual/html_node/LT_005fINIT.html

However, I believe this like all other options gets silently ignored if they aren't supported.

[mohawk2]

I'm keen to see some sort of test that can be exercised in the next dev release across the smoke-test network.

[jberger]

Most of the actual use-case testing is done via two Acme distros I that I have for this purpose. Acme::Alien::DontPanic and Acme::Ford::Prefect, which are both in the extras repo.

[plicease]

Updated this PR to work with the current version of AB

[mohawk2]

I vote "aye". Does Travis testing imply we ought to re-incorporate the Acme test modules, or am I missing the point of splitting it out?

[plicease]

I am sort of okay leaving them separate?

The way I set it up is push to Alien-Base-Extras tests the dontpanic stuff with cpan version of Alien::Base and pushing to Alien-Base tests Alien-Base with the versions of dontpanic from git.

I am open to doing things differently if it makes sense.

[mohawk2]

If the Travis testing "just works", I see no reason to change it.

[zmughal]

Hmm, why not add another property like: autoconf_with_pic which modifies the meaning of %c (defaults to true).

I note this because there are some libraries out there that use the same convention of using a configure script, but don't use autoconf (one example that I've seen is WFDB which has a custom configure script). Passing it --with-pic causes the configure script to print a usage message. %c is still useful there.

[mohawk2]

Once @zmughal is happy with this, I will be too.

[plicease]

I agree that makes it better. And I am glad to make it the default. @zmughal if you are good with this we can merge it.

[zmughal]

Looks good.

Merge: Aye