Problems with ./configure

[Badlok]

I am a complete linux newbie, and I am having trouble executing './configure'. I am trying to install automake-1.4 (among other things).

When in the correct directory I type './configure' and get this as output:
bash: ./configure: No such file or directory

The configure file is there, confirmed with 'ls'.

If I type 'sh ./configure' I get this as output:
: command not found
: command not found
: command not found
: command not found
'/configure: line 58: syntax error near expected token 'do
'/configure: line 58: 'do

I suspect I am missing some key binaries as the 'man' command is also not recognized.

Can anyone help?

[Malakin]

What distro are you using?

If you're new to linux you might try one of the easier to use distros like Mandrake or Red Hat.

[chikn]

Are you sure the case of the letters is the same, Most of the time they are all lower but I have seen quite a few that are Configure.

[Badlok]

How do I find out which Distro I am using?
In any case, I can't change it.

The machine I am using was configured by another person at my company who doesn't like to be bothered, so I am on my own. I have to figure out how to use linux, especially the compiler. So far I am doing ok, with the internet and a few books I am making good progress. This was my first stumbling block as no documentation I could find dealt with './configure' not running at all.

[Badlok]

To chikn: I am aware that linux is case sensitive, and I double-checked to make sure I had not made any mistakes with the capitalization.

Any other ideas?

[X_console]

Does the install file tell you to run ./configure? Can you do an "ls" and post the output here? Also, do an "ls -l ./configure" and post the result.

[slayer17]

is there a configure file in the directoy? It may be autogen-sh or you may just need to make and make install. Let us know what you have.

[Badlok]

OK, here is the output from the 'ls -l' command, below that are the beginning contents of the 'configure' file.

drwxrwxrwx 3 root root 1024 Sep 26 10:01 share
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 921 Sep 26 16:08 acinstall
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 10642 Sep 26 16:08 aclocal.in
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 3643 Sep 26 16:08 aclocal.m4
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1565 Sep 26 16:08 ansi2knr.1
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 17401 Sep 26 16:08 ansi2knr.c
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 178 Sep 26 16:08 AUTHORS
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 202996 Sep 26 16:08 automake.in
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 2964 Sep 26 16:08 automake.info
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 51282 Sep 26 16:08 automake.info-1
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 50810 Sep 26 16:08 automake.info-2
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 33592 Sep 26 16:08 automake.info-3
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 124724 Sep 26 16:08 automake.texi
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 197862 Sep 26 16:08 ChangeLog
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 929 Sep 26 16:08 clean-hdr.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 922 Sep 26 16:08 clean-kr.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1479 Sep 26 16:08 clean.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 951 Sep 26 16:08 comp-vars.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1374 Sep 26 16:08 compile.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 28317 Sep 26 16:08 config.guess
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 20805 Sep 26 16:08 config.sub
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 39420 Sep 26 16:08 configure
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 635 Sep 26 16:08 configure.in
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 18332 Sep 26 16:08 COPYING
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 889 Sep 26 16:08 data-clean.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1563 Sep 26 16:08 data.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1882 Sep 26 16:08 dejagnu.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1434 Sep 26 16:08 depend.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 2815 Sep 26 16:08 depend2.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1022 Sep 26 16:08 dist-vars.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1747 Sep 26 16:08 elisp-comp
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 978 Sep 26 16:08 footer.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 2244 Sep 26 16:08 header-vars.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1491 Sep 26 16:08 header.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 8013 Sep 26 16:08 INSTALL
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 5849 Sep 26 16:08 install-sh
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 949 Sep 26 16:08 java-clean.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1386 Sep 26 16:08 java.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1318 Sep 26 16:08 kr-extra.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 998 Sep 26 16:08 library.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1010 Sep 26 16:08 libs-clean.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 2021 Sep 26 16:08 libs.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1372 Sep 26 16:08 libtool.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 944 Sep 26 16:08 lisp-clean.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1715 Sep 26 16:08 lisp.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1010 Sep 26 16:08 ltlib-clean.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1723 Sep 26 16:08 ltlib.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 998 Sep 26 16:08 ltlibrary.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 5242 Sep 26 16:08 Makefile.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 2485 Sep 26 16:08 mans.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 21302 Sep 26 16:08 Makefile.in
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 846 Sep 26 16:08 mans-vars.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 2771 Sep 26 16:08 mdate-sh
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 6473 Sep 26 16:08 missing
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 762 Sep 26 16:08 mkinstalldirs
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1640 Sep 26 16:08 multilib.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 6900 Sep 26 16:08 NEWS
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1308 Sep 26 16:08 program.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1010 Sep 26 16:08 progs-clean.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1827 Sep 26 16:08 progs.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1306 Sep 26 16:08 README
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1966 Sep 26 16:08 remake-hdr.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1205 Sep 26 16:08 remake.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 2328 Sep 26 16:08 scripts.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 66 Sep 26 16:08 stamp-vti
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 3433 Sep 26 16:08 subdirs.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1311 Sep 26 16:08 tags-clean.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1953 Sep 26 16:08 tags.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 1720 Sep 26 16:08 texi-vers.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 188595 Sep 26 16:08 texinfo.tex
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 9029 Sep 26 16:08 texinfos.am
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 3283 Sep 26 16:08 THANKS
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 24098 Sep 26 16:08 TODO
-rw-rw-rw- 1 root root 66 Sep 26 16:08 version.texi
-rwxrwxrwx 1 root root 3397 Sep 26 16:08 ylwrap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 4096 Sep 27 06:37 output

'./configure'
#! /bin/sh

# Guess values for system-dependent variables and create Makefiles.
# Generated automatically using autoconf version 2.12.2
# Copyright (C) 1992, 93, 94, 95, 96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
#
# This configure script is free software; the Free Software Foundation
# gives unlimited permission to copy, distribute and modify it.

# Defaults:
ac_help=
ac_default_prefix=/usr/local
# Any additions from configure.in:

# Initialize some variables set by options.
# The variables have the same names as the options, with
# dashes changed to underlines.
build=NONE
cache_file=./config.cache
exec_prefix=NONE
host=NONE
no_create=
nonopt=NONE
no_recursion=
prefix=NONE
program_prefix=NONE
program_suffix=NONE
program_transform_name=s,x,x,
silent=
site=
srcdir=
target=NONE
verbose=
x_includes=NONE
x_libraries=NONE
bindir='${exec_prefix}/bin'
sbindir='${exec_prefix}/sbin'
libexecdir='${exec_prefix}/libexec'
datadir='${prefix}/share'
sysconfdir='${prefix}/etc'
sharedstatedir='${prefix}/com'
localstatedir='${prefix}/var'
libdir='${exec_prefix}/lib'
includedir='${prefix}/include'
oldincludedir='/usr/include'
infodir='${prefix}/info'
mandir='${prefix}/man'

# Initialize some other variables.
subdirs=
MFLAGS= MAKEFLAGS=
SHELL=${CONFIG_SHELL-/bin/sh}
# Maximum number of lines to put in a shell here document.
ac_max_here_lines=12

ac_prev=
for ac_option
do

# If the previous option needs an argument, assign it.
if test -n "$ac_prev"; then
eval "$ac_prev=\$ac_option"
ac_prev=
continue
fi

case "$ac_option" in
-*=*) ac_optarg=`echo "$ac_option" | sed 's/[-_a-zA-Z0-9]*=//'` ;;
*) ac_optarg= ;;
esac

# Accept the important Cygnus configure options, so we can diagnose typos.

case "$ac_option" in

...file continues from here, but its very long, so I didn't post it...

[ 27 September 2001: Message edited by: Badlok ]

[ 27 September 2001: Message edited by: Badlok ]

[Badlok]

Just e-mailed the guy who setup my machine and the distro on it is a custom one with a few tools from busybox. The machine also contains an emulator for an upcoming hardware product, and I get the feeling they thought I wouldn't need all the linux tools... arg!!

Anyhoot, if anyone<s got any more suggestions, they are welcome!

[camelrider]

Are you root when running ./configure? The output from ls -l shows that root owns the files. Appearently you were root when you untarred and unipped them so they ended up owned by root. Just a thought. :)

Edit: Oops, upon closer reading I see that configure has global execute permission so that's not the problem. Sorry for jumping the gun.
:o

[ 27 September 2001: Message edited by: camelrider ]

[Badlok]

Yeah, I am logged in as root most of the time, including when I was trying to access 'configure'.

I also set up another user so I could fiddle around without damaging the system.