Build error "source file newer than byte-compiled"

[jamshark70]

'make' just barfed on this:

Scanning dependencies of target compile_sclang-vars.elc
[ 94%] Creating byte-compiled Emacs lisp /home/dlm/share/supercollider/builddev/editors/sc-el/el/sclang-vars.elc
Loading /etc/emacs/site-start.d/00debian.el (source)...
Loading /etc/emacs/site-start.d/50autoconf.el (source)...
Loading /etc/emacs/site-start.d/50cmake-data.el (source)...
Loading /etc/emacs/site-start.d/50dictionaries-common.el (source)...
Loading debian-ispell...
Loading /var/cache/dictionaries-common/emacsen-ispell-default.el (source)...
Loading /var/cache/dictionaries-common/emacsen-ispell-dicts.el (source)...
Loading /etc/emacs/site-start.d/50lilypond-data.el (source)...
[ 94%] Built target compile_sclang-vars.elc
Scanning dependencies of target compile_sclang.elc
[ 94%] Creating byte-compiled Emacs lisp /home/dlm/share/supercollider/builddev/editors/sc-el/el/sclang.elc
Loading /etc/emacs/site-start.d/00debian.el (source)...
Loading /etc/emacs/site-start.d/50autoconf.el (source)...
Loading /etc/emacs/site-start.d/50cmake-data.el (source)...
Loading /etc/emacs/site-start.d/50dictionaries-common.el (source)...
Loading debian-ispell...
Loading /var/cache/dictionaries-common/emacsen-ispell-default.el (source)...
Loading /var/cache/dictionaries-common/emacsen-ispell-dicts.el (source)...
Loading /etc/emacs/site-start.d/50lilypond-data.el (source)...
Source file ‘/home/dlm/share/supercollider/builddev/editors/sc-el/el/sclang-util.el’ newer than byte-compiled file
Source file ‘/home/dlm/share/supercollider/builddev/editors/sc-el/el/sclang-interp.el’ newer than byte-compiled file
Source file ‘/home/dlm/share/supercollider/builddev/editors/sc-el/el/sclang-mode.el’ newer than byte-compiled file
Source file ‘/home/dlm/share/supercollider/builddev/editors/sc-el/el/sclang-dev.el’ newer than byte-compiled file
Source file ‘/home/dlm/share/supercollider/builddev/editors/sc-el/el/sclang-minor-mode.el’ newer than byte-compiled file
Source file ‘/home/dlm/share/supercollider/builddev/editors/sc-el/el/sclang-help.el’ newer than byte-compiled file

In toplevel form:
sclang.el:66:1:Error: Symbol’s value as variable is void: sclang-system-help-dir
make[2]: *** [editors/sc-el/el/CMakeFiles/compile_sclang.elc.dir/build.make:61: editors/sc-el/el/sclang.elc] Error 1
make[1]: *** [CMakeFiles/Makefile2:3557: editors/sc-el/el/CMakeFiles/compile_sclang.elc.dir/all] Error 2
make: *** [Makefile:163: all] Error 2

I thought the whole point of building was that the source files should be newer and it should recompile them! Why is it an error to want to update the byte-compiled files?

So I'm turning off sc-el and getting on with life, but, what's going on here?

[zzkt]

Looks like it's failing to work out the location of the help directory...

sclang.el:66:1:Error: Symbol’s value as variable is void: sclang-system-help-dir

The .el files don't necessarily need to be compiled at build time since emacs will compile them on the fly and can work out the location of the help files at run time.