Build problems with git clone: autoreconf -i / broken configure script / syntax errors

[martinneustein]

• I use Zeus
• Zeus needs CLN 23.05.x or channel balances just display "NaN"
• clboss (0.12 or 0.13) does not work with CLN v23.05.*, because of #164

So clboss needs #162 to work with a v.23.05.x, as far as I understand. All channels are closed,I just have some on-chain balance and would love to start from scratch.

I can't compile neither 0.12 nor 0.13 git clones on my Raspiblitz, with our without PR. The tar.gz works, but it doesn't have #162. There seem to be some missing quotes somewhere or so, I don't know (yet) about this stuff, so please help.

bitcoin@raspberrypi:~ $ git clone https://github.com/ZmnSCPxj/clboss.git clboss-git
bitcoin@raspberrypi:~ $ cd clboss-git/

When I run autoreconf, it throws warnings at the beginning and fails later.

bitcoin@raspberrypi:~/clboss-git $ autoreconf -i
aclocal: warning: couldn't open directory 'm4': No such file or directory
aclocal: warning: couldn't open directory 'm4': No such file or directory
libtoolize: putting auxiliary files in AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR, 'auxdir'.
libtoolize: copying file 'auxdir/ltmain.sh'
libtoolize: putting macros in AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIRS, 'm4'.
libtoolize: copying file 'm4/libtool.m4'
libtoolize: copying file 'm4/ltoptions.m4'
libtoolize: copying file 'm4/ltsugar.m4'
libtoolize: copying file 'm4/ltversion.m4'
libtoolize: copying file 'm4/lt~obsolete.m4'
configure.ac:11: installing 'auxdir/compile'
configure.ac:11: installing 'auxdir/config.guess'
configure.ac:11: installing 'auxdir/config.sub'
configure.ac:7: installing 'auxdir/install-sh'
configure.ac:7: installing 'auxdir/missing'
Makefile.am: installing 'auxdir/depcomp'
parallel-tests: installing 'auxdir/test-driver'
libtoolize: putting auxiliary files in AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR, 'build-aux'.
libtoolize: copying file 'build-aux/ltmain.sh'
libtoolize: putting macros in AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIRS, 'build-aux/m4'.
libtoolize: copying file 'build-aux/m4/libtool.m4'
libtoolize: copying file 'build-aux/m4/ltoptions.m4'
libtoolize: copying file 'build-aux/m4/ltsugar.m4'
libtoolize: copying file 'build-aux/m4/ltversion.m4'
libtoolize: copying file 'build-aux/m4/lt~obsolete.m4'
configure.ac:15: installing 'build-aux/compile'
configure.ac:5: installing 'build-aux/config.guess'
configure.ac:5: installing 'build-aux/config.sub'
configure.ac:9: installing 'build-aux/install-sh'
configure.ac:9: installing 'build-aux/missing'
Makefile.am: installing 'build-aux/depcomp'
parallel-tests: installing 'build-aux/test-driver'
libtoolize: putting auxiliary files in AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR, 'auxdir'.
libtoolize: copying file 'auxdir/ltmain.sh'
libtoolize: putting macros in AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIRS, 'm4'.
libtoolize: copying file 'm4/libtool.m4'
libtoolize: copying file 'm4/ltoptions.m4'
libtoolize: copying file 'm4/ltsugar.m4'
libtoolize: copying file 'm4/ltversion.m4'
libtoolize: copying file 'm4/lt~obsolete.m4'
configure.ac:45: error: possibly undefined macro: AC_MSG_ERROR
      If this token and others are legitimate, please use m4_pattern_allow.
      See the Autoconf documentation.
autoreconf: /usr/bin/autoconf failed with exit status: 1

When I run it a second time, it works:

bitcoin@raspberrypi:~/clboss-git $ autoreconf -i
configure.ac:11: installing 'auxdir/compile'
configure.ac:11: installing 'auxdir/config.guess'
configure.ac:11: installing 'auxdir/config.sub'
configure.ac:7: installing 'auxdir/install-sh'
configure.ac:7: installing 'auxdir/missing'
Makefile.am: installing './INSTALL'
Makefile.am: installing 'auxdir/depcomp'
parallel-tests: installing 'auxdir/test-driver'
bitcoin@raspberrypi:~/clboss-git $

Then, configure fails:

bitcoin@raspberrypi:~/clboss-git $ ./configure
checking for a BSD-compatible install... /usr/bin/install -c
checking whether build environment is sane... yes
[...]
checking how to hardcode library paths into programs... immediate
./configure: line 15886: AX_CXX_COMPILE_STDCXX_11: command not found
checking for gawk... (cached) gawk
checking whether ln -s works... yes
checking whether make sets $(MAKE)... (cached) yes
./configure: line 15991: syntax error near unexpected token `:,'
./configure: line 15991: `AX_PTHREAD(:,'

The code in the configure script:

# Checks for libraries.
AX_PTHREAD(:,
        AC_MSG_ERROR([Need pthread.])
)
AX_LIB_EV

Commenting all these lines out (AX_LIB_EV also throws an error) fixes the problem only for the moment (and at the other 2 or 3 places), but later compilation fails "somewhere in the pthread area", so I stopped digging deeper here. I guess the configure script needs to be fixed, or whatever comes out of autoreconf -i seems to be incorrect, also having to run it twice is somehow suspicious.

[Deleted user]

Solved with autoconf update.

[chrisguida]

i fixed this with sudo apt install autoconf-archive