Meta-ticket: spkg-configure: Try to use as many system packages as possible

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#24919 implemented a mechanism for checking for checking for sagelib's direct and indirect dependencies at the time of running the main `./configure` script.  This was already done in an ad-hoc manner for a handful of packages (e.g. gcc, git, yasm, curl), but we wanted to be able to do the same for other packages, especially those that are common on Linux-like systems.

This has now been implemented for many other packages, or is in the process of being implemented.  Those packages are listed below.  However, there are many others yet to be done, and this ticket will attempt to list them in some rough order of priority.  

**For use of Python packages: See #29023 Meta-ticket: In a python 3 build, use system Python packages**

#### Already done

The following packages already have `spkg-configure.m4` checks that are working on most or all supported platforms:

* 4ti2 (#30887, optional package)
* arb (#27270)
* boost_cropped/boost (#29100) -- many systems have boost headers available
* brial (#29369) - see also #29490 - where it was disabled due to crashes on Fedora 30
* bzip2 (#27182)
* cbc (#28908)
* cddlib (#28905)
* cliquer (#28885)
* cmake (#27487)
* coxeter3 (#29721, optional)
* curl (#24919)
* eclib (#28333)
* ecl (#29617)
* ecm (#27271)
* fflas-ffpack (#29453)
* flint (#27264)  - merged by #27270
* flintqs (#29430)
* fplll (#29245)
* freetype (#27168)
* gc (#28991)
* gcc (#24919)
* gf2x (#27238)
* gfan (#28985)
* gfortran (#24919)
* giac (#29541)
* git (#24919)
* givaro (#28342)
* glpk (#28459)
* gmp (#27212)
* gp2c (#28242)
* gsl (#28879)
* igraph (#30899, optional package)
* iml (#27272)
* isl (#27864)
* iconv (#27823)
* lcalc (#28224)
* libatomic (#28045)
* libbraiding (#29458)
* libffi (#25900, #27114)
* libgd (#27825)
* libhomfly (#29630)
* libpng (#27186)
* linbox (#29631)
* lrcalc (#28231)
* lrslib (#27804, optional package)
* m4ri(e) (#28342)
* maxima (#32867)
* mpc (#27259)  - merged by #27822
* mpfi (#28295)
* mpfr (#27258) - merged by #27822
* mpir (#27212) - removed in #32549, #32727
* nauty (#28958)
* ncurses (#27277)
* ninja-build (#27801)
* ntl (#27265)  - merged by #27822
* openblas (#27870)
* openssl (#30557, #32580)
* palp (#29672)
* pari (#28242)
* pari's packages, apart from pari_jupyter (#28242)
* patch (#24919)
* pcre (#27284)
* perl_term_readline_gnu (#27795)
* pkgconf (#27827)
* planarity (#29063)
* polymake (#31527)
* ppl (#29454)
* primecount (#25009)
* primesieve (#25009)
* pynac (#29542)
* python3 (#27824) this one is of course a very special case; see the ticket for details.
* qepcad (#21783)
* qhull (#31161)
* r (#28884) (alternative view: getting R from the system has been desirable for a long time and will require more than just an `spkg-configure.m4`; see #25503)
* readline (#27277)
* rw (#27814)
* singular (#29024; dup: #29515)
* sqlite (#29002)
* suitesparse (#29502)
* symmetrica (#28208)
* sympow (#29673)
* tachyon (#28919)
* texlive (#31529) 
* tox (#30544)
* xz (#26286)
* yasm (#24919)
* zeromq (#26286)
* zlib (#26286)
* zn_poly (#29649)

#### In Progress

The following packages have in-progress tickets to provide configure-time detection on the system:

* bliss (#35830)
* fricas (#35837)



#### Have tickets

The following packages have tickets for their conversions, but don't have working prototypes (i.e. branches) yet:

* BLAS (atlas and other non-openblas): resolving how to handle
  finding a usable BLAS should be one of the highest priorities;
  it faces many of the same issues we faced with MPIR/GMP
  in #27212, but perhaps with even more complexity). One can
  already use system's openblas, though (#27870), and we
  removed ATLAS in #30350.
* csdp (#31145, optional package)
* gap (using system GAP is desirable, but non-trivial, 
  especially now that we need a working libgap) (#29644)
* jmol (#30316)
* lie (#32055, experimental package)
* mathjax (#30296)
* perl (#31839, script package)
* symengine (#32421, optional package)


#### No ticket yet


#### Use of  system Python packages

This will be be handled by #29023. Please do not add Python packages here.

The following are exceptions (because it does not run in the same Python as sage):

* notebook (#30124), rst2ipynb, and their dependencies

#### Testing infrastructure

- #29053: Add debian/fedora package information to build/pkgs, generate Dockerfiles and installation help
- #29060: Meta-ticket: Add Dockerfiles and CI scripts for integration testing of source and binary distributions and of downstream packages

#### Meta infrastructure

- #31114 Add one file `build/pkgs/*/repology.txt` per spkg

#### Documentation

Unfortunately there is still not good documentation for how to implement these configure-time dependency checks. 

- #26668: add documentation for implementing spkg-configure.m4 and distros/ for spkgs
- #29018: improve documentation of m4/spkg-configure.m4
- #30543: Document spkg-configure.m4 and distros directory

#### Bug-fixing

A number of bugs/deficiencies has been uncovered in spkg-configure.m4 files and related configuration, and a number of tickets opened/closed

* #26715: build/pkgs/gfortran/spkg-configure.m4 works incorrectly if CC and CXX are already there
* #27219: have bootstrap fail gracefully if no pkg-config is available
* #27373: some dummy packages must be only re-installable via ./configure --with-...
* #27567: Add --with-system-<spkg> options to configure
* #27641: SAGE_SPKG_CONFIGURE macro: Add new pre-check and post-check optional arguments
* #27642: Re-run configure+make after installing an SPKG with sage -i
* #27936: spkg-configure.m4 for pcre should test for UTF support etc
* #27941: R installation fails on macOS with libcurl from Anaconda
* #28095: Add --enable-OPTIONALSPKG options to configure
* #28317: Use -print-prog-name instead of -print-file-name in gcc spkg-configure.m4
* #28341: Allow doc to build with SAGE_PARI_CFG undefined
* #28380: bump up givaro version in spkg-configure.m4
* #28401: pass correct --with-flint to eclib's configure
* #28405: correct the test for galpol package in pari's spkg-configure.m4
* #28409: Flint configure fails when using system GMP in certain cases
* #28906: generate libpng.pc, zlib.pc if needed
* #28956: correct AC_CHECK_PROG call in spkg-configure for bzip2
* #29071: verify if cblas.pc and lapack.pc should be replaced by links to openblas.pc
* #30752: switch the default mp library to gmp
* #31348: build/pkgs/mpfr/spkg-configure.m4: Check pkg-config first
* #31358: python3 spkg-configure.m4: Do not reject python based on sysconfig LDFLAGS containing "-L."
* #31429: flint spkg-configure: Reject FLINT 2.7.x
* #31528: Cleanup spkg-configure.m4 files that mix tabs and spaces
* #31539: conda-forge-standard (linux): python3 spkg-configure.m4 rejects conda's python3
* #32789: Fix spkg-configure.m4 for singular
* #33042: givaro spkg-configure: Reject too new versions
* #33092: spkg-configure.m4 for ffmpeg/imagemagick need feature checks

CC:  @sagetrac-tmonteil @orlitzky @timokau @kiwifb @isuruf @mezzarobba @tobihan @tobiasdiez

Component: **build: configure**

Keywords: **sd111**

_Issue created by migration from https://trac.sagemath.org/ticket/27330_



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Meta-ticket: spkg-configure: Try to use as many system packages as possible #27330

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Meta-ticket: spkg-configure: Try to use as many system packages as possible #27330

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