[GHC] #4252: "perl boot" fails with "error: FP_CHECK_ALIGNMENT: requires literal arguments"

[GHC]

#4252: "perl boot" fails with "error: FP_CHECK_ALIGNMENT: requires literal
arguments"
-----------------------+----------------------------------------------------
    Reporter:  guest   |       Owner:                     
        Type:  bug     |      Status:  new                
    Priority:  normal  |   Component:  Build System       
     Version:  6.12.3  |    Keywords:                     
    Testcase:          |   Blockedby:                     
          Os:  Linux   |    Blocking:                     
Architecture:  x86     |     Failure:  Building GHC failed
-----------------------+----------------------------------------------------
 When executing 'perl boot' as indicated in the build guide it fails with
 the following output:

 {{{
 Creating libraries/array/ghc.mk
 ...

 Creating libraries/xhtml/GNUmakefile
 Booting .
 configure.ac:715: error: FP_CHECK_ALIGNMENT: requires literal arguments
 aclocal.m4:143: FP_CHECK_ALIGNMENT is expanded from...
 configure.ac:715: the top level
 autom4te: /usr/bin/m4 failed with exit status: 1
 configure.ac:715: error: FP_CHECK_ALIGNMENT: requires literal arguments
 aclocal.m4:143: FP_CHECK_ALIGNMENT is expanded from...
 configure.ac:715: the top level
 autom4te: /usr/bin/m4 failed with exit status: 1
 autoreconf: /usr/bin/autoconf failed with exit status: 1
 Running autoreconf failed with exitcode 256 on dir . at boot line 50.
 }}}

 Searching the internet I could only find build failures by merehap:
 http://markmail.org/message/vqyub65wxjykbup4
 and a similar error in MacPorts
 http://trac.macports.org/ticket/25520

 Line 715 of configure.ac reads:
 {{{ FP_CHECK_ALIGNMENT(void *) }}}

 The problem seems to be with autoconf. AS_LITERAL_IF macro (used by
 FP_CHECK_ALIGNMENT) seems to have changed it's behaviour in version 2.66
 to be more conservative with regard to shell indirection.

 I don't have any experience with autoconf, but it seems that the problem
 could be that the asterisk is interpreted as a shell indirection.

 I have tried with versions 2.66 and 2.67 of autoconf.

-- 
Ticket URL: <http://hackage.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/4252>
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