xref: /freebsd/contrib/file/INSTALL (revision 0b3105a37d7adcadcb720112fed4dc4e8040be99)
1Installation Instructions
2*************************
3
4Copyright (C) 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005,
52006, 2007, 2008, 2009 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
6
7   Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
8are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
9notice and this notice are preserved.  This file is offered as-is,
10without warranty of any kind.
11
12Basic Installation
13==================
14
15   Briefly, the shell commands `./configure; make; make install' should
16configure, build, and install this package.  The following
17more-detailed instructions are generic; see the `README' file for
18instructions specific to this package.  Some packages provide this
19`INSTALL' file but do not implement all of the features documented
20below.  The lack of an optional feature in a given package is not
21necessarily a bug.  More recommendations for GNU packages can be found
22in *note Makefile Conventions: (standards)Makefile Conventions.
23
24   The `configure' shell script attempts to guess correct values for
25various system-dependent variables used during compilation.  It uses
26those values to create a `Makefile' in each directory of the package.
27It may also create one or more `.h' files containing system-dependent
28definitions.  Finally, it creates a shell script `config.status' that
29you can run in the future to recreate the current configuration, and a
30file `config.log' containing compiler output (useful mainly for
31debugging `configure').
32
33   It can also use an optional file (typically called `config.cache'
34and enabled with `--cache-file=config.cache' or simply `-C') that saves
35the results of its tests to speed up reconfiguring.  Caching is
36disabled by default to prevent problems with accidental use of stale
37cache files.
38
39   If you need to do unusual things to compile the package, please try
40to figure out how `configure' could check whether to do them, and mail
41diffs or instructions to the address given in the `README' so they can
42be considered for the next release.  If you are using the cache, and at
43some point `config.cache' contains results you don't want to keep, you
44may remove or edit it.
45
46   The file `configure.ac' (or `configure.in') is used to create
47`configure' by a program called `autoconf'.  You need `configure.ac' if
48you want to change it or regenerate `configure' using a newer version
49of `autoconf'.
50
51   The simplest way to compile this package is:
52
53  1. `cd' to the directory containing the package's source code and type
54     `./configure' to configure the package for your system.
55
56     Running `configure' might take a while.  While running, it prints
57     some messages telling which features it is checking for.
58
59  2. Type `make' to compile the package.
60
61  3. Optionally, type `make check' to run any self-tests that come with
62     the package, generally using the just-built uninstalled binaries.
63
64  4. Type `make install' to install the programs and any data files and
65     documentation.  When installing into a prefix owned by root, it is
66     recommended that the package be configured and built as a regular
67     user, and only the `make install' phase executed with root
68     privileges.
69
70  5. Optionally, type `make installcheck' to repeat any self-tests, but
71     this time using the binaries in their final installed location.
72     This target does not install anything.  Running this target as a
73     regular user, particularly if the prior `make install' required
74     root privileges, verifies that the installation completed
75     correctly.
76
77  6. You can remove the program binaries and object files from the
78     source code directory by typing `make clean'.  To also remove the
79     files that `configure' created (so you can compile the package for
80     a different kind of computer), type `make distclean'.  There is
81     also a `make maintainer-clean' target, but that is intended mainly
82     for the package's developers.  If you use it, you may have to get
83     all sorts of other programs in order to regenerate files that came
84     with the distribution.
85
86  7. Often, you can also type `make uninstall' to remove the installed
87     files again.  In practice, not all packages have tested that
88     uninstallation works correctly, even though it is required by the
89     GNU Coding Standards.
90
91  8. Some packages, particularly those that use Automake, provide `make
92     distcheck', which can by used by developers to test that all other
93     targets like `make install' and `make uninstall' work correctly.
94     This target is generally not run by end users.
95
96Compilers and Options
97=====================
98
99   Some systems require unusual options for compilation or linking that
100the `configure' script does not know about.  Run `./configure --help'
101for details on some of the pertinent environment variables.
102
103   You can give `configure' initial values for configuration parameters
104by setting variables in the command line or in the environment.  Here
105is an example:
106
107     ./configure CC=c99 CFLAGS=-g LIBS=-lposix
108
109   *Note Defining Variables::, for more details.
110
111Compiling For Multiple Architectures
112====================================
113
114   You can compile the package for more than one kind of computer at the
115same time, by placing the object files for each architecture in their
116own directory.  To do this, you can use GNU `make'.  `cd' to the
117directory where you want the object files and executables to go and run
118the `configure' script.  `configure' automatically checks for the
119source code in the directory that `configure' is in and in `..'.  This
120is known as a "VPATH" build.
121
122   With a non-GNU `make', it is safer to compile the package for one
123architecture at a time in the source code directory.  After you have
124installed the package for one architecture, use `make distclean' before
125reconfiguring for another architecture.
126
127   On MacOS X 10.5 and later systems, you can create libraries and
128executables that work on multiple system types--known as "fat" or
129"universal" binaries--by specifying multiple `-arch' options to the
130compiler but only a single `-arch' option to the preprocessor.  Like
131this:
132
133     ./configure CC="gcc -arch i386 -arch x86_64 -arch ppc -arch ppc64" \
134                 CXX="g++ -arch i386 -arch x86_64 -arch ppc -arch ppc64" \
135                 CPP="gcc -E" CXXCPP="g++ -E"
136
137   This is not guaranteed to produce working output in all cases, you
138may have to build one architecture at a time and combine the results
139using the `lipo' tool if you have problems.
140
141Installation Names
142==================
143
144   By default, `make install' installs the package's commands under
145`/usr/local/bin', include files under `/usr/local/include', etc.  You
146can specify an installation prefix other than `/usr/local' by giving
147`configure' the option `--prefix=PREFIX', where PREFIX must be an
148absolute file name.
149
150   You can specify separate installation prefixes for
151architecture-specific files and architecture-independent files.  If you
152pass the option `--exec-prefix=PREFIX' to `configure', the package uses
153PREFIX as the prefix for installing programs and libraries.
154Documentation and other data files still use the regular prefix.
155
156   In addition, if you use an unusual directory layout you can give
157options like `--bindir=DIR' to specify different values for particular
158kinds of files.  Run `configure --help' for a list of the directories
159you can set and what kinds of files go in them.  In general, the
160default for these options is expressed in terms of `${prefix}', so that
161specifying just `--prefix' will affect all of the other directory
162specifications that were not explicitly provided.
163
164   The most portable way to affect installation locations is to pass the
165correct locations to `configure'; however, many packages provide one or
166both of the following shortcuts of passing variable assignments to the
167`make install' command line to change installation locations without
168having to reconfigure or recompile.
169
170   The first method involves providing an override variable for each
171affected directory.  For example, `make install
172prefix=/alternate/directory' will choose an alternate location for all
173directory configuration variables that were expressed in terms of
174`${prefix}'.  Any directories that were specified during `configure',
175but not in terms of `${prefix}', must each be overridden at install
176time for the entire installation to be relocated.  The approach of
177makefile variable overrides for each directory variable is required by
178the GNU Coding Standards, and ideally causes no recompilation.
179However, some platforms have known limitations with the semantics of
180shared libraries that end up requiring recompilation when using this
181method, particularly noticeable in packages that use GNU Libtool.
182
183   The second method involves providing the `DESTDIR' variable.  For
184example, `make install DESTDIR=/alternate/directory' will prepend
185`/alternate/directory' before all installation names.  The approach of
186`DESTDIR' overrides is not required by the GNU Coding Standards, and
187does not work on platforms that have drive letters.  On the other hand,
188it does better at avoiding recompilation issues, and works well even
189when some directory options were not specified in terms of `${prefix}'
190at `configure' time.
191
192Optional Features
193=================
194
195   If the package supports it, you can cause programs to be installed
196with an extra prefix or suffix on their names by giving `configure' the
197option `--program-prefix=PREFIX' or `--program-suffix=SUFFIX'.
198
199   Some packages pay attention to `--enable-FEATURE' options to
200`configure', where FEATURE indicates an optional part of the package.
201They may also pay attention to `--with-PACKAGE' options, where PACKAGE
202is something like `gnu-as' or `x' (for the X Window System).  The
203`README' should mention any `--enable-' and `--with-' options that the
204package recognizes.
205
206   For packages that use the X Window System, `configure' can usually
207find the X include and library files automatically, but if it doesn't,
208you can use the `configure' options `--x-includes=DIR' and
209`--x-libraries=DIR' to specify their locations.
210
211   Some packages offer the ability to configure how verbose the
212execution of `make' will be.  For these packages, running `./configure
213--enable-silent-rules' sets the default to minimal output, which can be
214overridden with `make V=1'; while running `./configure
215--disable-silent-rules' sets the default to verbose, which can be
216overridden with `make V=0'.
217
218Particular systems
219==================
220
221   On HP-UX, the default C compiler is not ANSI C compatible.  If GNU
222CC is not installed, it is recommended to use the following options in
223order to use an ANSI C compiler:
224
225     ./configure CC="cc -Ae -D_XOPEN_SOURCE=500"
226
227and if that doesn't work, install pre-built binaries of GCC for HP-UX.
228
229   On OSF/1 a.k.a. Tru64, some versions of the default C compiler cannot
230parse its `<wchar.h>' header file.  The option `-nodtk' can be used as
231a workaround.  If GNU CC is not installed, it is therefore recommended
232to try
233
234     ./configure CC="cc"
235
236and if that doesn't work, try
237
238     ./configure CC="cc -nodtk"
239
240   On Solaris, don't put `/usr/ucb' early in your `PATH'.  This
241directory contains several dysfunctional programs; working variants of
242these programs are available in `/usr/bin'.  So, if you need `/usr/ucb'
243in your `PATH', put it _after_ `/usr/bin'.
244
245   On Haiku, software installed for all users goes in `/boot/common',
246not `/usr/local'.  It is recommended to use the following options:
247
248     ./configure --prefix=/boot/common
249
250Specifying the System Type
251==========================
252
253   There may be some features `configure' cannot figure out
254automatically, but needs to determine by the type of machine the package
255will run on.  Usually, assuming the package is built to be run on the
256_same_ architectures, `configure' can figure that out, but if it prints
257a message saying it cannot guess the machine type, give it the
258`--build=TYPE' option.  TYPE can either be a short name for the system
259type, such as `sun4', or a canonical name which has the form:
260
261     CPU-COMPANY-SYSTEM
262
263where SYSTEM can have one of these forms:
264
265     OS
266     KERNEL-OS
267
268   See the file `config.sub' for the possible values of each field.  If
269`config.sub' isn't included in this package, then this package doesn't
270need to know the machine type.
271
272   If you are _building_ compiler tools for cross-compiling, you should
273use the option `--target=TYPE' to select the type of system they will
274produce code for.
275
276   If you want to _use_ a cross compiler, that generates code for a
277platform different from the build platform, you should specify the
278"host" platform (i.e., that on which the generated programs will
279eventually be run) with `--host=TYPE'.
280
281Sharing Defaults
282================
283
284   If you want to set default values for `configure' scripts to share,
285you can create a site shell script called `config.site' that gives
286default values for variables like `CC', `cache_file', and `prefix'.
287`configure' looks for `PREFIX/share/config.site' if it exists, then
288`PREFIX/etc/config.site' if it exists.  Or, you can set the
289`CONFIG_SITE' environment variable to the location of the site script.
290A warning: not all `configure' scripts look for a site script.
291
292Defining Variables
293==================
294
295   Variables not defined in a site shell script can be set in the
296environment passed to `configure'.  However, some packages may run
297configure again during the build, and the customized values of these
298variables may be lost.  In order to avoid this problem, you should set
299them in the `configure' command line, using `VAR=value'.  For example:
300
301     ./configure CC=/usr/local2/bin/gcc
302
303causes the specified `gcc' to be used as the C compiler (unless it is
304overridden in the site shell script).
305
306Unfortunately, this technique does not work for `CONFIG_SHELL' due to
307an Autoconf bug.  Until the bug is fixed you can use this workaround:
308
309     CONFIG_SHELL=/bin/bash /bin/bash ./configure CONFIG_SHELL=/bin/bash
310
311`configure' Invocation
312======================
313
314   `configure' recognizes the following options to control how it
315operates.
316
317`--help'
318`-h'
319     Print a summary of all of the options to `configure', and exit.
320
321`--help=short'
322`--help=recursive'
323     Print a summary of the options unique to this package's
324     `configure', and exit.  The `short' variant lists options used
325     only in the top level, while the `recursive' variant lists options
326     also present in any nested packages.
327
328`--version'
329`-V'
330     Print the version of Autoconf used to generate the `configure'
331     script, and exit.
332
333`--cache-file=FILE'
334     Enable the cache: use and save the results of the tests in FILE,
335     traditionally `config.cache'.  FILE defaults to `/dev/null' to
336     disable caching.
337
338`--config-cache'
339`-C'
340     Alias for `--cache-file=config.cache'.
341
342`--quiet'
343`--silent'
344`-q'
345     Do not print messages saying which checks are being made.  To
346     suppress all normal output, redirect it to `/dev/null' (any error
347     messages will still be shown).
348
349`--srcdir=DIR'
350     Look for the package's source code in directory DIR.  Usually
351     `configure' can determine that directory automatically.
352
353`--prefix=DIR'
354     Use DIR as the installation prefix.  *note Installation Names::
355     for more details, including other options available for fine-tuning
356     the installation locations.
357
358`--no-create'
359`-n'
360     Run the configure checks, but stop before creating any output
361     files.
362
363`configure' also accepts some other, not widely useful, options.  Run
364`configure --help' for more details.
365
366