[MPlayer-users] compilation problem with --disable-libswscale_a

[Zeev Tarantov]

Thank you for the reply. Indeed, a search on Google has turned up previous
reports of this error.
This problem being known is more puzzling than enlightening, because obviously
if nothing changes you will keep seeing new posts about this every now and
then.

In http://lists.mplayerhq.hu/pipermail/mplayer-users/2010-February/079283.html
Carl Eugen Hoyos wrote:

"I wonder if you should carefully scan configure's output for relevant
 remarks..."

My configure.log says:
"libavcodec.so is discouraged over static libavcodec"
"using libpostproc.so, but static libpostproc is recommended"
"using libswscale.so, but static libswscale is recommended"

This is disingenuous. Using weasel words this way in not nice.

How about either:
A. Making, announcing and documenting a technical decision:
   Building mplayer against ffmpeg built as a shared library is unsupported
   for the following valid technical reasons (here I guess):
   1. The API and ABI are unstable and the mplayer development team wishes
      you to use a known good combination.
   2. The performance cost of PIC code is too high to be allowed in the
      recommended configuration.
   3. Another valid reason.
or
B. Patching configure to check whether all required symbols are present in
   swscale.so, probably depending on which configure options were chosen, and
   correctly declaring a configuration unbuildable if required symbols for
   chosen modules are not present.
   Then the user will not have to waste their time and yours by first waiting
   for a build to fail and then puzzling over the error and then reporting it.
   Instead they can go fix their ffmpeg or build against the bundled ffmpeg,
   without bothering you with bug reports you do not intend to fix.

I am willing to work on a patch for option B if there is a chance it will be
accepted after proper review.

-Zeev