We used 'ar -V' to check whether we are using GNU ar and add the T (thin archive) flag if GNU ar is used when we still had autotools build. It was added in https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=128596. However, autotools build was removed, and we use '${CMAKE_SYSTEM_NAME} STREQUAL "Linux"' to do the GNU ar check instead in cmake build, which means all non-Linux systems cannot use GNU ar thin archive feature. This means getting debug build of WebKit on *BSD or other non-Linux systems can be hard because WebCore static archive can be larger than 4 GiB and cause error: https://bugs.webkit.org/show_bug.cgi?id=140384. GNU ar thin archive feature is really needed to prevent the error. After applying the attached patch and modifying some environment variables, I can get a debug build of WebKitGTK+ on FreeBSD now.
Created attachment 256296 [details] Patch
Created attachment 256895 [details] Patch
Comment on attachment 256895 [details] Patch Clearing flags on attachment: 256895 Committed r186987: <http://trac.webkit.org/changeset/186987>
All reviewed patches have been landed. Closing bug.