can't install fontconfig

[Ryan Schmidt]

On Dec 9, 2007, at 16:05, Tom McDonough wrote:

[snip]
>> There's one other result for this error message on Google now, from
>> just a week and a half ago:
>>
>> http://www.ghostwheel.com/merlin/Personal/notes/2007/11/28/os-x-unix-
>> and-dont-you-forget-it/
>>
>> It suggests that fontconfig's build process is trying to run the
>> "head" command (used for getting the first few lines of something)
>> but is instead finding the "HEAD" command (part of libwww-perl, which
>> retrieves the headers of a web page). Since the Mac's HFS+ filesystem
>> is case-insensitive, it treats these different scripts the same. Have
>> you installed libwww-perl through MacPorts (port name: p5-libwww-
>> perl), or perhaps manually e.g. using CPAN? Use "which head" to see
>> which head program is being used, and then prod it for some more
>> information. On my system, "which head" produces "/usr/bin/head" and
>> "file /usr/bin/head" says this:
>>
>> /usr/bin/head: Mach-O universal binary with 2 architectures
>> /usr/bin/head (for architecture i386): Mach-O executable i386
>> /usr/bin/head (for architecture ppc): Mach-O executable ppc
>>
>> This is what I expected: it's a universal binary, as it should be on
>> an Intel Mac. (If you have a PowerPC Mac, it should just be a ppc
>> executable.) If however it is reported to be a text file, then you
>> have a problem:
>>
>> - If "which head" says it's in /usr/bin and it's a text file, then
>> you have the problem that you have manually installed libwww-perl and
>> it has overwritten your system's "head" command with its own "HEAD"
>> script, and you will need to restore the OS's "head" command from
>> your system DVD. I remember this very thing happening to me in the
>> early days of Mac OS X, back when I was still using Perl. :-)
> [snip]
>
> % file /usr/bin/head
> /usr/bin/head: perl script text executable

So that means you have (perhaps inadvertently) installed libwww-perl,  
a.k.a. LWP, perhaps using CPAN, perhaps as a dependency of some other  
software you installed using CPAN, and it has overwritten your  
system's "head" command (which is a vital utility) with an unrelated  
and probably seldom-used perl script called "HEAD". I believe during  
CPAN installation of libwww-perl, it asks if you would like to have  
"HEAD" and other similar utility programs. I remember being  
completely overwhelmed with all the questions CPAN would ask during  
many of its installations, to the point that I would just answer each  
question with the default (without really understanding them) until  
the questions went away. Perhaps installation of these utility  
scripts is the default, which would be bad on Mac OS X's case- 
insensitive HFS+, as you can see.

> However, I got my perl directly from the Apple install disk.  Never  
> fooled around with it myself, unless the installation of some other  
> software changed it.  Anyway, I can't live without perl.  Are you  
> suggesting downloading perl from MacPorts as the best alternative?


You don't need to live without perl, you just need to live without  
the "HEAD" script installed by the libwww-perl module, or if you do  
need it, move it out of /usr/bin or rename it so that it does not  
conflict with the system's "head" program. And be careful if you ever  
need to upgrade libwww-perl that it doesn't go and overwrite "head"  
again.

I have p5-libwww-perl installed through MacPorts (not sure why, must  
be a dependency of something) and according to "port contents" it  
does not include the HEAD script. So installing libwww-perl and  
whatever other perl modules you need via MacPorts might be a safer  
alternative to CPAN.

You can fix this problem now by inserting your Mac OS X DVD and  
copying the correct "head" command from its /usr/bin to your hard  
drive's /usr/bin. You may also want to copy over a backup copy (say, / 
usr/bin/head-saved) in case you find yourself in this situation again  
in the future and perhaps don't have your Mac OS X DVD handy.