Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!actnyc!rmf
From: rmf@actnyc.UUCP (Robert M. Fuhrer)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: What is temacs doing?
Summary: corrupted temacs?
Keywords: gnu-emacs, build, porting, gould, NP1
Message-ID: <988@actnyc.UUCP>
Date: 29 Jun 88 15:12:47 GMT
References: <67@gara.une.oz>
Reply-To: rmf@actnyc.UUCP (Robert M. Fuhrer)
Organization: InterACT Corporation
Lines: 20

In article <67@gara.une.oz> mbroadbe@gara.une.oz (Mark Broadbent ) writes:
>
>executable called src/temacs. However, "temacs" then fails to build "xemacs".
>
>./temacs -batch -l inc-vers
>./temacs: syntax error at line 3: `(' unexpected
>*** Exit 2

Looks similar to what you get when you try to run a corrupted executable
(e.g., one with a bad magic number), or an executable built for the wrong
type of machine (e.g., running a Pyramid executable on a Sun :^).  The
exec(2) call that make uses which actually tries to run temacs finds a
wierd magic number (which should by all rights indicate a binary executable),
and assumes that it's a shell script.  Hence the 'syntax error'.  This
happens particularly on machines such as Pyramids (I believe), which don't
know enough to distinguish binaries for other machines from command scripts.
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The Foundation for Unmitigated Sillyness		uunet!actnyc!rmf
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