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* Makefile.am (HELP2MAN): New macro. (dist_man_MANS, doc/m4.1): Fix rules for building m4.1 into srcdir. * README: Update copyright. * HACKING: Mention help2man and makeinfo dependencies. Signed-off-by: Eric Blake <ebb9@byu.net>
90 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
90 lines
4.3 KiB
Plaintext
GNU `m4' is an implementation of the traditional Unix macro
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processor. It is mostly SVR4 compatible, although it has some
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extensions (for example, handling more than 9 positional parameters
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to macros). `m4' also has builtin functions for including files,
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running shell commands, doing arithmetic, etc. Autoconf needs GNU
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`m4' for generating `configure' scripts, but not for running them.
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GNU `m4' was originally written by Rene' Seindal, from Denmark.
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GNU `m4' has a web site at http://www.gnu.org/software/m4/.
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If GNU `m4' is meant to serve GNU `autoconf', beware that `m4'
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should be fully installed *prior to* configuring `autoconf' itself.
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Likewise, if you intend on hacking GNU `m4' from git, the bootstrap
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process requires that you first install a released copy of GNU `m4'.
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If you are just trying to build `m4' from a released tarball, you
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should not normally need to run `./bootstrap' or `autoreconf'; just go
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ahead and start with `./configure'. If you are trying to build `m4'
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from git or CVS, more information can be found in the file HACKING,
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only found in a version control checkout.
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In the subdirectories `tests' and `examples' you will find various m4
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files, ranging from trivial test files to rather advanced macros. If
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you intend to use m4 seriously, you might find useful material down
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there.
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See file `COPYING' for copying conditions.
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See file `INSTALL' for compilation and installation instructions.
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See file `ABOUT-NLS' for how to customize this program to your language.
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See file `NEWS' for a list of major changes in the current release.
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See file `AUTHORS' for the names of maintainers.
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See file `THANKS' for a list of contributors.
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By using `./configure --with-gmp, you get multiple precision integral
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and rational arithmetic using mpeval. The implementation depends on the
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GNU gmp v2 library.
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By using `./configure --with-modules=`foo bar baz', you get an m4 with only
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the named modules preloaded. The default modules (preloaded if you do not
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use this option) are sufficient to do the job of GNU m4-1.4. Additional
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modules may be desirable, or necessary if libltdl does not support your
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host architecture. The implementation uses libltdl interface, details of
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which are in the libtool manual. See file `modules/README' for a more
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detailed description.
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By using `./configure --with-dmalloc', GNU m4 is linked with Gray
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Watson's dmalloc package. It is a debugging option for finding memory
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management problems. Gray Watson's dmalloc package is available at
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ftp://ftp.letters.com/src/dmalloc/dmalloc.tar.gz.
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GNU M4 uses GNU Libtool in order to build shared libraries on a
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variety of systems. While this is very nice for making usable
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binaries, it can be a pain when trying to debug a program. For that
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reason, compilation of shared libraries can be turned off by
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specifying the `--disable-shared' option to `configure'. However,
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without shared libraries, modules that are not preloaded will not be
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available for use.
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Send bug reports, comments or ideas to `bug-m4@gnu.org'. A bug report
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is an adequate description of the problem: your input, what you
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expected, what you got, and why this is wrong. Diffs are welcome, but
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they only describe a solution, from which the problem might be uneasy to
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infer. Don't forget all relevant information about your operating
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system, compiler, libraries, ...
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The easiest way to remember this information is by using the
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testsuite. Any test failures are automatically logged, along with
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lots of useful information about your setup; simply mailing
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tests/testsuite.log to `bug-m4@gnu.org' is a good start. If you want
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to dive in and debug a failure, you may find it useful to fine-tune
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the execution of the testsuite. For example, running test 12 in
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verbose mode can be done with:
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make check TESTSUITEFLAGS='-v -d -x 12'
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The testsuite understands --help to tell you more about the current
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set of tests.
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========================================================================
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Copyright (C) 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
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under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
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any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
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Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover
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Texts. A copy of the license is included in the ``GNU Free
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Documentation License'' file as part of this distribution.
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