Re: How to fix 'Could not locate executable on path: gnatmake'

[resander <kresander@gmail.com>]

On May 8, 8:55 pm, Ludovic Brenta <ludo...@ludovic-brenta.org> wrote:
> resander <kresan...@yahoo.com> writes:
> > Yesterday afternoon I installed into /usr/local and found that GPS
> > could be invoked from the GUI menu on Ubuntu 10.04. I then closed the
> > system.
> > This morning (Saturday) I found that about half the functions on the
> > Ubuntu menu had stopped working, for example all items on the Places
> > menu (generally file and directory inspection functions), Software
> > Sources, Synaptic Manager, Update Manager, system Monitor and more. I
> > invoked some of these from the command line and always got error
> > 'cannot find libstdc.6.so version so-and-so in usr/local/lib'.
> > Even the apt functions got clobbered by the same condition, so I had
> > no way of reinstalling any package. Had to reinstall Ubuntu 10.04.
> > The install of GNAT GPL into a /usr/local that I did as last thing
> > yesterday is a likely culprit. but I am not pointing a finger.
>
> I'm quite certain there was a simpler way to address the problem.  I do
> not think that installing GNAT in /usr/local was the culprit; rather,
> the culprit might have been a clobbered system-wide LD_LIBRARY_PATH (as
> opposed to a user-specific one) containing an old version of
> libstdc++.so.6.
>
> > I am using the codeblocks IDE (C/C++, but no Ada) which provides
> > updates via the Universe repositories in Ubuntu. To get updates a user
> > only puts repository details into etc/apt/source.list and sets
> > authentication data in a keyring. Then the updates arrive as normal
> > Ubuntu updates. An update takes a minute or two and then a user can
> > reenter the updated codeblocks IDE without having to lift a finger.
> > Very simple, convenient and foolproof.
>
> > Can GNAT GPL with GPS be updated in a similar fashion for Ubuntu (and
> > maybe others too)? Most users from the Windows world, myself included,
> > expect this operation to be simple.
>
> You are getting near the conclusion and solution that I gave you
> already.  If you can reinstall Ubuntu, you might as well install Debian
> which is the source of Ubuntu.  Then install the package gnat-gps and
> there you go.  As I said earlier: no fuss, no muss.  It works right out
> of the box.
>
> --
> Ludovic Brenta.




The damaged Ubuntu 10.04 was a brand new install. It only had the
codeblocks IDE present when I installed GNAT GPL into /usr/local.

The current Ubuntu reinstall has codeblocks and GNAT GPL (installed
into /usr/gnat) and only those as user-installed packages. Ubuntu
remains alive.

I checked echo $LD_LIBRARY_PATH from from superuser and normal user.
LD_LIBRARY_PATH is not set. I have looked in /etc/profile and /etc/
bash.bashrc. None of these set LD_LIBRARY_PATH. I don't know any other
places where to look for it.

It has been mentioned that installing Debian will solve the problem. I
have seen instructions in http://lists.debian.org/debian-ada/2010/02/msg00003.html.
Assuming these are the ones that apply the task is way too complicated
and require in-depth knowledge of package management. Even after two
years of daily use of Ubuntu I don't have this level of knowledge and
have never needed it.

As a fairly-normal user I expect to be able to install GPS with a
single click and to be able to run it from a GUI menu. Installing
into /usr/gnat is coming near, but the end product only runs from the
command line. If there is a simpler way please let me know and I may
be able to do it.

Here are the instructions for getting automatic updates for
codeblocks:

 deb http://apt.jenslody.de/ any main       to /etc/apt/sources.list
 sudo apt-get install jens-lody-debian-keyring

Two lines only - that is simple for a user, no fuss, no muss here too!


As far as I understand GNAT GPL fetches the install directory from the
PATH and this is in scope only if GPS is invoked from the command
line. The doinstall script asks for the install path (and encourages
use of /usr/gnat) and reminds the user to add /usr/gnat/bin to the
path at the end of installation.
I think the installer could put the install path collected into a file
that is internal to GNAT GPL and let GNAT/GPL use that instead of a
PATH variable. On startup GPS/GNAT would fetch the path from the file
and just use it. Command line users can add the install path to the
PATH to reduce the amount of typing. GUI users can add and configure a
menuitem with the command set to /usr/gnat/bin/gps, for example.