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User's Guide to the GNU Objective-C Class Library

1. Installing GNU Objective-C Class Library

To compile and install `libobjects':

Here is a quick-and-dirty example of installation commands:

./configure --prefix=/usr/local make make install

If you are running GNU/Linux and have an older version of libc, then the Objective C runtime will not work unless you pass `-lieee' to the linker. You can do that like this:

LIBS=-lieee ./configure --prefix=/usr/local make make install

Here are more detailed instructions.

1. Install `gcc'. The library requires gcc version or later.

2. Configure the package for your system. In the directory that this file is in, type `./configure'. If you're using `csh' on an old version of System V, you might need to type `sh configure' instead to prevent `csh' from trying to execute `configure' itself.

   If you are compiling the library for a NeXT machine, you have the choice of using either the GNU or the NeXT Objective C runtime. You can specify this by setting CFLAGS. For example:

   CFLAGS=-fgnu-runtime ./configure

   If your system supports dynamically loaded shared libraries, you can request the building and installation of a `.so' version of the library by passing `--enable-shared' to `configure'. If in doubt, do not include this option. In order to the build to be successful, your version of `make' must support `percent'-style pattern rules; if you have trouble, use GNU make.

   The `configure' shell script attempts to guess correct values for various system-dependent variables used during compilation, and creates the Makefile(s) (one in each subdirectory of the source directory). In some packages it creates a C header file containing system-dependent definitions. It also creates a file `config.status' that you can run in the future to recreate the current configuration.

   Running `configure' takes less than a minute or two. While it is running, it prints some messages that tell what it is doing. If you don't want to see the messages, run `configure' with its standard output redirected to `/dev/null'; for example:

   ./configure >/dev/null

   To compile the package in a different directory from the one containing the source code, you must use a version of make that supports the VPATH variable, such as GNU make. `cd' to the directory where you want the object files and executables to go and run `configure'. `configure' automatically checks for the source code in the directory that `configure' is in and in `..'. If for some reason `configure' is not in the source code directory that you are configuring, then it will report that it can't find the source code. In that case, run `configure' with the option `--srcdir=DIR', where DIR is the directory that contains the source code.

   By default, `make install' will install the package's files in /usr/local/bin, /usr/local/lib, /usr/local/man, etc. You can specify an installation prefix other than /usr/local by giving `configure' the option `--prefix=PATH'. Alternately, you can do so by giving a value for the `prefix' variable when you run `make', e.g.,

   make prefix=/usr/gnu

   You can specify separate installation prefixes for architecture-specific files and architecture-independent files. If you give `configure' the option `--exec_prefix=PATH' or set the `make' variable `exec_prefix' to PATH, the package will use PATH as the prefix for installing programs and libraries. Data files and documentation will still use the regular prefix. Normally, all files are installed using the regular prefix.

   You can tell `configure' to figure out the configuration for your system, and record it in `config.status', without actually configuring the package (creating `Makefile's and perhaps a configuration header file). To do this, give `configure' the `--no-create' option. Later, you can run `./config.status' to actually configure the package. This option is useful mainly in `Makefile' rules for updating `config.status' and `Makefile'. You can also give `config.status' the `--recheck' option, which makes it re-run `configure' with the same arguments you used before. This is useful if you change `configure'.

   `configure' ignores any other arguments that you give it.

   If your system requires unusual options for compilation or linking that `configure' doesn't know about, you can give `configure' initial values for some variables by setting them in the environment. In Bourne-compatible shells, you can do that on the command line like this:

   CC='gcc -traditional' DEFS=-D_POSIX_SOURCE ./configure

   The `make' variables that you might want to override with environment variables when running `configure' are:

   (For these variables, any value given in the environment overrides the value that `configure' would choose:)

   `CC'

   C compiler program. Default is `cc', or `gcc' if `gcc' is in your PATH.

   `INSTALL'

   Program to use to install files. Default is `install' if you have it, `install.sh' otherwise.

   (For these variables, any value given in the environment is added to the value that `configure' chooses:)

   `DEFS'

   Configuration options, in the form `-Dfoo -Dbar ...'

   `LIBS'

   Libraries to link with, in the form `-lfoo -lbar ...'

   If you need to do unusual things to compile the package, we encourage you to figure out how `configure' could check whether to do them, and mail diffs or instructions to the address given in the `README' so we can include them in the next release.

3. Type `make' to compile the package. If you want, you can override the `make' variables `CFLAGS' and `LDFLAGS' like this:

   make CFLAGS=-O2 LDFLAGS=-s

   You will get some warnings from `#warning' lines I've added to the code. Ignore them.

   You may get some warnings like `stdobjects.m:0: warning: `_OBJC_SELECTOR_TABLE' defined but not used'. Ignore them. They are bogus warnings due to a bug in cc1obj.

   You may get some warnings like `ar: filename BinaryTreeEltNode.o truncated to BinaryTreeEltNo'. Ignore them.

4. If you want to compile the self-tests, cd to `checks' and type `make'. If you want to compile the examples, cd to `examples' and type `make'.

5. Type `make install' to install programs, data files, and documentation.

6. You can remove the program binaries and object files from the source directory by typing `make clean'. To also remove the Makefile(s), and `config.status' (all the files that `configure' created), type `make distclean'.

   The file `configure.in' is used as a template to create `configure' by a program called `autoconf'. You will only need it if you want to regenerate `configure' using a newer version of `autoconf'.