Warning: .la files considered harmful

[Auke Kok]

Everyone,

for a long time now lunar has silently allowed applications to install 
.la files in /usr/lib etc. This is pretty bad, as these files are 
re-generated using old information and can get outdated. This results in 
random libtool compile errors such as this:

libtool: link: cannot find the library `/usr/lib/libpixman-1.la' or 
unhandled argument `/usr/lib/libpixman-1.la'
make[2]: *** [clip-test] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/pixman-0.18.4/test'

In order to fix this issue, please do the following:

1) update moonbase and re-lin libtool

   # lin moonbase
   # lin -c libtool

this will get a new lunar plugin on your system that stops new libtool 
.la files from getting installed on your system

2) remove the current libtool .la files:

   # rm /usr/lib/*.la /lib/*.la

this should fix any compilation issue you might have if .la files are 
the cause

as a result of step #2, lunar fix may attempt to recompile a lot of 
packages. This should not be an issue but may cause your system to be 
toasty warm for the rest of the evening.

Auke