--with-boost=no requires boost

[janstary]

This is 0.14.2 being built on OpenBSD 6.1-current.
If I don't mention boost at all in ./configure, it gets detected and compiled in.
Strangely, ./configure --with-boost=no fails and complains boost was not found.

 env AUTOCONF_VERSION=2.69  AUTOMAKE_VERSION=1.15 sh autogen.sh
./configure --prefix=$HOME --mandir=$HOME/man --disable-tests --disable-gui-tests --disable-wallet --with-gui=no --with-boost=no CC=egcc CXX=eg++

...
checking whether the Boost::System library is available... yes
configure: error: Could not find a version of the boost_system library!

Even more confusingly, it reports Boost::System as available,
only to complain it could not find it a line later.

[TheBlueMatt]

We don't support building without boost, so I'd say this may be the expected outcome (you specified we should build without boost).

…

On July 14, 2017 12:03:51 PM EDT, janstary ***@***.***> wrote: This is 0.14.2 being built on OpenBSD 6.1-current. If I don't mention boost at all in ./configure, it gets detected and compiled in. Strangely, `./configure --with-boost=no ` fails and complains boost was not found. ``` env AUTOCONF_VERSION=2.69 AUTOMAKE_VERSION=1.15 sh autogen.sh ./configure --prefix=$HOME --mandir=$HOME/man --disable-tests --disable-gui-tests --disable-wallet --with-gui=no --with-boost=no CC=egcc CXX=eg++ ... checking whether the Boost::System library is available... yes configure: error: Could not find a version of the boost_system library! ``` Even more confusingly, it reports Boost::System as available, only to complain it could not find it a line later.

[janstary]

If building without boost is not supported, then --with-boost=no
shouldn't even exist as a documented option in ./configure

[theuni]

boost isn't needed for building libbitcoinconsensus. The issue here is that we don't fail if --without-boost is specified but something needs it.

[theuni]

potential fix, though I'm not sure how to make the error any less cryptic. I'd rather not copy/paste all of the things that do require boost.

diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index a90063d..02379df 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -691,6 +691,11 @@ define(MINIMUM_REQUIRED_BOOST, 1.47.0)
 
 dnl Check for boost libs
 AX_BOOST_BASE([MINIMUM_REQUIRED_BOOST])
+
+if test x$want_boost = xno; then
+    AC_MSG_ERROR([[only libbitcoinconsensus can be built without boost]])
+fi
+
 AX_BOOST_SYSTEM
 AX_BOOST_FILESYSTEM
 AX_BOOST_PROGRAM_OPTIONS

[janstary]

It would be IMHO less confusing to just require boost in any case.