[deliverable/binutils-gdb.git] / readline / README

Introduction
============

This is the Gnu Readline library, version 4.1.

The Readline library provides a set of functions for use by applications
that allow users to edit command lines as they are typed in.  Both
Emacs and vi editing modes are available.  The Readline library includes
additional functions to maintain a list of previously-entered command
lines, to recall and perhaps reedit those lines, and perform csh-like
history expansion on previous commands.

The history facilites are also placed into a separate library, the
History library, as part of the build process.  The History library
may be used without Readline in applications which desire its
capabilities.

The Readline library is free software, distributed under the terms of
the GNU Public License, version 2.  For more information, see the file
COPYING.

To build the library, try typing `./configure', then `make'.  The
configuration process is automated, so no further intervention should
be necessary.  Readline builds with `gcc' by default if it is
available.  If you want to use `cc' instead, type

        CC=cc ./configure

if you are using a Bourne-style shell.  If you are not, the following
may work:

        env CC=cc ./configure

Read the file INSTALL in this directory for more information about how
to customize and control the build process.

The file rlconf.h contains C preprocessor defines that enable and disable
certain Readline features.

Examples
========

There are several example programs that use Readline features in the
examples directory.  The `rl' program is of particular interest.  It
is a command-line interface to Readline, suitable for use in shell
scripts in place of `read'.

Shared Libraries
================

There is skeletal support for building shared versions of the
Readline and History libraries.  The configure script creates
a Makefile in the `shlib' subdirectory, and typing `make shared'
will cause shared versions of the Readline and History libraries
to be built on supported platforms.

Configure calls the script support/shobj-conf to test whether or
not shared library creation is supported and to generate the values
of variables that are substituted into shlib/Makefile.  If you
try to build shared libraries on an unsupported platform, `make'
will display a message asking you to update support/shobj-conf for
your platform.

If you need to update support/shobj-conf, you will need to create
a `stanza' for your operating system and compiler.  The script uses
the value of host_os and ${CC} as determined by configure.  For
instance, FreeBSD 2.2.5 with any version of gcc is identified as
`freebsd2.2.5-gcc*'.

In the stanza for your operating system-compiler pair, you will need to
define several variables.  They are:

SHOBJ_CC	The C compiler used to compile source files into shareable
		object files.  This is normally set to the value of ${CC}
		by configure, and should not need to be changed.

SHOBJ_CFLAGS	Flags to pass to the C compiler ($SHOBJ_CC) to create
		position-independent code.  If you are using gcc, this
		should probably be set to `-fpic'.

SHOBJ_LD	The link editor to be used to create the shared library from
		the object files created by $SHOBJ_CC.  If you are using
		gcc, a value of `gcc' will probably work.

SHOBJ_LDFLAGS	Flags to pass to SHOBJ_LD to enable shared object creation.
		If you are using gcc, `-shared' may be all that is necessary.
		These should be the flags needed for generic shared object
		creation.

SHLIB_XLDFLAGS	Additional flags to pass to SHOBJ_LD for shared library
		creation.  Many systems use the -R option to the link
		editor to embed a path within the library for run-time
		library searches.  A reasonable value for such systems would
		be `-R$(libdir)'.

SHLIB_LIBS	Any additional libraries that shared libraries should be
		linked against when they are created.

SHLIB_LIBSUFF	The suffix to add to `libreadline' and `libhistory' when
		generating the filename of the shared library.  Many systems
		use `so'; HP-UX uses `sl'.

SHLIB_LIBVERSION The string to append to the filename to indicate the version
		of the shared library.  It should begin with $(SHLIB_LIBSUFF),
		and possibly include version information that allows the
		run-time loader to load the version of the shared library
		appropriate for a particular program.  Systems using shared
		libraries similar to SunOS 4.x use major and minor library
		version numbers; for those systems a value of
		`$(SHLIB_LIBSUFF).$(SHLIB_MAJOR)$(SHLIB_MINOR)' is appropriate.
		Systems based on System V Release 4 don't use minor version
		numbers; use `$(SHLIB_LIBSUFF).$(SHLIB_MAJOR)' on those systems.
		Other Unix versions use different schemes.

SHLIB_STATUS	Set this to `supported' when you have defined the other
		necessary variables.  Make uses this to determine whether
		or not shared library creation should be attempted.

You should look at the existing stanzas in support/shobj-conf for ideas.

Once you have updated support/shobj-conf, re-run configure and type
`make shared'.  The shared libraries will be created in the shlib
subdirectory.

Since shared libraries are not created on all platforms, `make install'
will not automatically install the shared libraries.  To install them,
change the current directory to shlib and type `make install'.  Running
`make install-shared' from the top-level build directory will also work.

Documentation
=============

The documentation for the Readline and History libraries appears in the
`doc' subdirectory.  There are two texinfo files and a Unix-style manual
page describing the programming facilities available in the Readline
library.  The texinfo files include both user and programmer's manuals.

Reporting Bugs
==============

Bug reports for Readline should be sent to:

        bug-readline@gnu.org

When reporting a bug, please include the following information:

        * the version number and release status of Readline (e.g., 4.0-release)
        * the machine and OS that it is running on
        * a list of the compilation flags or the contents of `config.h', if
          appropriate
        * a description of the bug
        * a recipe for recreating the bug reliably
        * a fix for the bug if you have one!

If you would like to contact the Readline maintainer directly, send mail
to bash-maintainers@gnu.org.

Since Readline is developed along with bash, the bug-bash@gnu.org mailing
list (mirrored to the Usenet newsgroup gnu.bash.bug) often contains
Readline bug reports and fixes. 

Chet Ramey
chet@po.cwru.edu
Commit	Line	Data
d60d9f65 SS	1	Introduction
	2	============
	3
1b17e766	4	This is the Gnu Readline library, version 4.1.
d60d9f65 SS	5
	6	The Readline library provides a set of functions for use by applications
	7	that allow users to edit command lines as they are typed in. Both
	8	Emacs and vi editing modes are available. The Readline library includes
	9	additional functions to maintain a list of previously-entered command
	10	lines, to recall and perhaps reedit those lines, and perform csh-like
	11	history expansion on previous commands.
	12
	13	The history facilites are also placed into a separate library, the
	14	History library, as part of the build process. The History library
	15	may be used without Readline in applications which desire its
	16	capabilities.
	17
	18	The Readline library is free software, distributed under the terms of
	19	the GNU Public License, version 2. For more information, see the file
	20	COPYING.
	21
	22	To build the library, try typing `./configure', then `make'. The
	23	configuration process is automated, so no further intervention should
	24	be necessary. Readline builds with `gcc' by default if it is
	25	available. If you want to use `cc' instead, type
	26
	27	CC=cc ./configure
	28
	29	if you are using a Bourne-style shell. If you are not, the following
	30	may work:
	31
	32	env CC=cc ./configure
	33
	34	Read the file INSTALL in this directory for more information about how
	35	to customize and control the build process.
	36
c862e87b JM	37	The file rlconf.h contains C preprocessor defines that enable and disable
c862e87b JM	38	certain Readline features.
d60d9f65 SS	39
	40	Examples
	41	========
	42
	43	There are several example programs that use Readline features in the
	44	examples directory. The `rl' program is of particular interest. It
	45	is a command-line interface to Readline, suitable for use in shell
	46	scripts in place of `read'.
	47
	48	Shared Libraries
	49	================
	50
	51	There is skeletal support for building shared versions of the
c862e87b JM	52	Readline and History libraries. The configure script creates
	53	a Makefile in the `shlib' subdirectory, and typing `make shared'
	54	will cause shared versions of the Readline and History libraries
	55	to be built on supported platforms.
	56
	57	Configure calls the script support/shobj-conf to test whether or
	58	not shared library creation is supported and to generate the values
	59	of variables that are substituted into shlib/Makefile. If you
	60	try to build shared libraries on an unsupported platform, `make'
	61	will display a message asking you to update support/shobj-conf for
	62	your platform.
	63
	64	If you need to update support/shobj-conf, you will need to create
	65	a `stanza' for your operating system and compiler. The script uses
	66	the value of host_os and ${CC} as determined by configure. For
	67	instance, FreeBSD 2.2.5 with any version of gcc is identified as
	68	`freebsd2.2.5-gcc*'.
	69
	70	In the stanza for your operating system-compiler pair, you will need to
	71	define several variables. They are:
	72
	73	SHOBJ_CC The C compiler used to compile source files into shareable
	74	object files. This is normally set to the value of ${CC}
	75	by configure, and should not need to be changed.
	76
	77	SHOBJ_CFLAGS Flags to pass to the C compiler ($SHOBJ_CC) to create
	78	position-independent code. If you are using gcc, this
	79	should probably be set to `-fpic'.
	80
	81	SHOBJ_LD The link editor to be used to create the shared library from
	82	the object files created by $SHOBJ_CC. If you are using
	83	gcc, a value of `gcc' will probably work.
	84
	85	SHOBJ_LDFLAGS Flags to pass to SHOBJ_LD to enable shared object creation.
	86	If you are using gcc, `-shared' may be all that is necessary.
	87	These should be the flags needed for generic shared object
	88	creation.
	89
	90	SHLIB_XLDFLAGS Additional flags to pass to SHOBJ_LD for shared library
	91	creation. Many systems use the -R option to the link
	92	editor to embed a path within the library for run-time
	93	library searches. A reasonable value for such systems would
	94	be `-R$(libdir)'.
	95
	96	SHLIB_LIBS Any additional libraries that shared libraries should be
	97	linked against when they are created.
	98
	99	SHLIB_LIBSUFF The suffix to add to `libreadline' and `libhistory' when
	100	generating the filename of the shared library. Many systems
	101	use `so'; HP-UX uses `sl'.
	102
	103	SHLIB_LIBVERSION The string to append to the filename to indicate the version
	104	of the shared library. It should begin with $(SHLIB_LIBSUFF),
	105	and possibly include version information that allows the
	106	run-time loader to load the version of the shared library
	107	appropriate for a particular program. Systems using shared
	108	libraries similar to SunOS 4.x use major and minor library
	109	version numbers; for those systems a value of
	110	`$(SHLIB_LIBSUFF).$(SHLIB_MAJOR)$(SHLIB_MINOR)' is appropriate.
	111	Systems based on System V Release 4 don't use minor version
	112	numbers; use `$(SHLIB_LIBSUFF).$(SHLIB_MAJOR)' on those systems.
	113	Other Unix versions use different schemes.
	114
	115	SHLIB_STATUS Set this to `supported' when you have defined the other
116	necessary variables. Make uses this to determine whether
117	or not shared library creation should be attempted.
118
119	You should look at the existing stanzas in support/shobj-conf for ideas.
120
121	Once you have updated support/shobj-conf, re-run configure and type
122	`make shared'. The shared libraries will be created in the shlib
123	subdirectory.
124
125	Since shared libraries are not created on all platforms, `make install'
126	will not automatically install the shared libraries. To install them,
127	change the current directory to shlib and type `make install'. Running
128	`make install-shared' from the top-level build directory will also work.
d60d9f65 SS	129
	130	Documentation
	131	=============
	132
	133	The documentation for the Readline and History libraries appears in the
	134	`doc' subdirectory. There are two texinfo files and a Unix-style manual
	135	page describing the programming facilities available in the Readline
	136	library. The texinfo files include both user and programmer's manuals.
	137
	138	Reporting Bugs
	139	==============
	140
	141	Bug reports for Readline should be sent to:
	142
	143	bug-readline@gnu.org
	144
	145	When reporting a bug, please include the following information:
	146
c862e87b	147	* the version number and release status of Readline (e.g., 4.0-release)
d60d9f65 SS	148	* the machine and OS that it is running on
	149	* a list of the compilation flags or the contents of `config.h', if
	150	appropriate
	151	* a description of the bug
	152	* a recipe for recreating the bug reliably
	153	* a fix for the bug if you have one!
	154
	155	If you would like to contact the Readline maintainer directly, send mail
	156	to bash-maintainers@gnu.org.
	157
	158	Since Readline is developed along with bash, the bug-bash@gnu.org mailing
	159	list (mirrored to the Usenet newsgroup gnu.bash.bug) often contains
	160	Readline bug reports and fixes.
	161
	162	Chet Ramey
	163	chet@po.cwru.edu