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JULY 29, 2026
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Fix pthread detection on Solaris 11.4 in ax_pthread.m4

Corrected autoconf macro to properly detect pthread support on modern Solaris systems.

This commit fixes an issue where autoconf’s AX_PTHREAD macro incorrectly reported a lack of pthread support on Solaris 11.4, preventing libraries like libcaf_shmem from being built. The fix adjusts the macro to only require the pre-XPG7 system header behavior for older Solaris versions, as newer versions no longer define _REENTRANT in the same way.

In Details

The AX_PTHREAD autoconf macro was updated to correctly handle Solaris 11.4 and later by conditionally checking for the presence of _REENTRANT. This addresses a regression where the macro incorrectly assumed its absence due to changes in system header definitions, impacting multi-threaded application builds.

For Context
_REENTRANT
A preprocessor macro historically used to indicate that a program is intended to be reentrant, meaning it can be safely interrupted and re-entered before it completes. Modern systems often handle reentrancy differently.
autoconf
A tool that automatically configures source code package builds for various Unix-like systems. It generates shell scripts to adapt software to local environment conditions.
AX_PTHREAD
An autoconf macro from the autoconf-archive that checks for POSIX Threads (pthreads) support on a system.
Filed Under: buildautoconfsolaristhreading