Also test compiling packages?

[fingolfin]

For packages that contain a configure script, perhaps we can also test compiling them (again): because that might fail, too, in interesting ways, e.g. caused by a change in the GAP kernel.

Right now, I believe compilation is done when the GAP Docker container is built, which is fine and useful (when testing package A, it's good to be able to assume that all other packages were built already).

But in general, it means that compile issues are not visible to the GAP team.

[wilfwilson]

Yes.

Is there an easy way of detecting which packages require/offer compilation? Looking for a Makefile helps, but some packages have a Makefile just to compile their manuals (we should not try to 'compile' such packages).

A workflow could download the relevant GAP container, dynamically detect which ones can be compiled, and then constructs a matrix containing only those packages. It would then run a subsequent job using this matrix, which runs the necessary tests (re-compilation, probably followed by an attempt to load the package).