Thursday, October 7, 2010

configure: error: no termcap library found

Recently when I was trying to build gdbserver for embedded Linux running on MIPS target, I kept running in to this error.
configure: error: no termcap library found
I tried compiling and installing termcap to my cross-compiling tools but this error kept appearing. I tried copying the termpcap.a file to cross-compilers lib directory and setting environment variables so that the compiler can find it but it didnt work. Then I found a post on internet telling that although the error says termcap library, what the compiler is actually looking for is ncurses library and compiling ncurses for Mips and copying ncurses lib to my cross compiling tools did the trick for me but it really made me angry. Why cant the error say
configure: error: no ncurses library found
It wasted more than half of my workday :(. As a developer it made me learn that it is important to display correct and precise error messages.