[uClibc] Build uClibc in a different directory from the source tree?

[Carl Miller]

Does anyone have any interest in being able to build uClibc in a separate
directory tree (i.e. not share source and object files in a single tree)?
Something like what you can do with packages which use autoconf:
    ../../source/package-0.1.2/configure
    make all
    make install
where ../../source/package-0.1.2 contains the freshly untarred source
distribution, and the current directory is bare until configure populates
it with makefiles and such.

I have a pretty significant need for this capability, both for my own
project internal reasons, and also because crosstool wants to build that
way, and we've settled on using crosstool rather than buildroot.  So I
made it happen.  The patch is attached below.

I expect this may be a rather controversial patch, as a) it's not a bugfix
but more of a strategic direction change, and b) it touches almost every
Makefile in the entire uClibc tree.  I'm willing to work with the
maintainers to address their concerns, and try to turn this into something
appreciated and incorporated into the main tree.  I expect that may take
some back-and-forth.  Please let me know what you think of this patch, and
your specific concerns.

I think there's a fairly significant subset of developers out there who
want uClibc to have this capability.  Whether you decide this is the way
to execute it or not is up to you.  I agree it's rather hack-ish, as I
was trying to solve the problem at hand fully while expending as little
time and effort as I could get away with.  If you see a cleaner path to
the desired outcome, I'm all for going your way instead.

Also, please excuse me if you find some configurations in which this does
not work on the first try.  Due to boss-imposed constraints, I was only
able to test it with a narrow subset of uClibc configurations.  There are
likely little gotchas left here and there that never jumped out at me
because I just didn't explore far enough.  If you find one, let me know,
and I'll try to address it.  Otherwise, happy relocated uClibc-ing!


                          ------Carl

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