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1 | Introduction |
2 | ============ | |
3 | ||
4 | This is the Gnu Readline library, version 2.2 | |
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 | ||
37 | The file rlconf.h contains defines that enable and disable certain | |
38 | Readline features. | |
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 | |
52 | Readline and History libraries. | |
53 | ||
54 | Typing `make shared' will cause shared versions of the Readline and | |
55 | History libraries to be built on SunOS 4.1.x. For versions of Unix | |
56 | other than SunOS, you will have to make some changes to Makefile.in. | |
57 | The relevant variables are: | |
58 | ||
59 | PICFLAG Options to give to the compiler to produce position-independent | |
60 | code. The value `-fpic' works for most versions of gcc. | |
61 | SHLIB_OPTS Options to give to the linker to produce a shared library. | |
62 | The value `-assert pure-text -ldl' works on SunOS 4.1.x. | |
63 | The value `-Bshareable' works for some versions of GNU ld. | |
64 | ||
65 | MAJOR The major version number of the shared library. You should | |
66 | not need to change this. | |
67 | MINOR The minor version number of the shared library. Some systems, | |
68 | such as SVR4 and its descendents (e.g., Solaris, Unixware), | |
69 | do not use minor version numbers. For those systems, this | |
70 | variable should be left unset. | |
71 | ||
72 | LD The linker. The value of `ld' is correct for SunOS 4.1.x. | |
73 | You may need to change it to `gcc'; make sure to change | |
74 | SHLIB_OPTS if you do so. | |
75 | ||
76 | Once you have edited Makefile.in, type `make Makefile' to rebuild the | |
77 | Makefile, then `make shared' to build the shared libraries. | |
78 | ||
79 | Documentation | |
80 | ============= | |
81 | ||
82 | The documentation for the Readline and History libraries appears in the | |
83 | `doc' subdirectory. There are two texinfo files and a Unix-style manual | |
84 | page describing the programming facilities available in the Readline | |
85 | library. The texinfo files include both user and programmer's manuals. | |
86 | ||
87 | Reporting Bugs | |
88 | ============== | |
89 | ||
90 | Bug reports for Readline should be sent to: | |
91 | ||
92 | bug-readline@gnu.org | |
93 | ||
94 | When reporting a bug, please include the following information: | |
95 | ||
96 | * the version number and release status of Readline (e.g., 2.2-release) | |
97 | * the machine and OS that it is running on | |
98 | * a list of the compilation flags or the contents of `config.h', if | |
99 | appropriate | |
100 | * a description of the bug | |
101 | * a recipe for recreating the bug reliably | |
102 | * a fix for the bug if you have one! | |
103 | ||
104 | If you would like to contact the Readline maintainer directly, send mail | |
105 | to bash-maintainers@gnu.org. | |
106 | ||
107 | Since Readline is developed along with bash, the bug-bash@gnu.org mailing | |
108 | list (mirrored to the Usenet newsgroup gnu.bash.bug) often contains | |
109 | Readline bug reports and fixes. | |
110 | ||
111 | Chet Ramey | |
112 | chet@po.cwru.edu |