Ralph Mitchell wrote:

> When you install curl from the original tar, you're installing both
> bits simultaneously. I think RedHat splits them to reduce overhead in
> an end-user system that won't have any compilation going on.

Thanks Ralph. To quote the movie RISKY BUSINESS. "Sometimes you've got
to say WTF." I deleted the curl RPMs and PHP configure found the newly
installed version of curl. That permitted the process to complete and
allowed for a successful recompilation of PHP.

A guy on the PHP install list, Christopher Chan, pointed out that the
PHP install script validates curl's existence thusly,

$PHP_CURL/include/curl/easy.h
or
/usr/include/curl/easy.h
or
/usr/local/include/curl/easy.h

My guess is that when the install script found the curl header file in
/include/curl, it ignored the directory argument placed in the
./configure statement and went on its merry way.

Removing the curl RPM eliminated the problem in that there was no
/include/curl/eash.h. That forced the PHP install script to look
elsewhere. Thanks for all your help. Likewise thanks to everyone else.

-- 
Bob Cohen
Principal MojoTools and b.p.e.Creative
http://www.mojotools.com
bob -at- mojotools.com
508.384.0405
Yahoo IM bob_j_cohen