Editing 371: Compiler Complaint

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In reality, segfaults occur at runtime, after the compiler has produced an executable. While Randall refers to a "compiler complaint," it is more probable that the operating system or other supervisor program would have such a complaint.  
 
In reality, segfaults occur at runtime, after the compiler has produced an executable. While Randall refers to a "compiler complaint," it is more probable that the operating system or other supervisor program would have such a complaint.  
  
βˆ’
The title-text references GNU-style {{w|autoconf}} configuration scripts. These scripts check certain features of the system they're running on in order to build a program correctly; for example, certain systems expect system calls to occur in a specific way, and the autoconf script will detect this and alter the program to match the expectation. Invariably (and memetically), these scripts include a check to determine "whether the build environment is sane." This actually checks whether the path to the current folder has "unsafe" characters, and whether a newly created file is older than the script itself, which could indicate a very esoteric filesystem, a corrupted source archive, or just a system clock that's set incorrectly; however, since these file modification dates are an important part of how the autoconf script does its work, it can't go any further in an "insane" environment. In any case, the joke is that an insane build environment is nothing like an insane person, yet Randall is equating the two.
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The title-text references GNU-style {{w|autoconf}} configuration scripts. These scripts check certain features of the system they're running on in order to build a program correctly; for example, certain systems expect system calls to occur in a specific way, and the autoconf script will detect this and alter the program to match the expectation. Invariably (and memetically), these scripts include a check to determine "whether the build environment is sane." This actually checks whether a newly created file is older than the script itself, which could indicate a very esoteric filesystem, a corrupted source archive, or just a system clock that's set incorrectly; however, since these file modification dates are an important part of how the autoconf script does its work, it can't go any further in an "insane" environment. In any case, the joke is that an insane build environment is nothing like an insane person, yet Randall is equating the two.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==

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