NetBSD/gnu/dist/etc/cfg-paper.info

This is Info file cfg-paper.info, produced by Makeinfo-1.64 from the
input file ./cfg-paper.texi.

   This document attempts to describe the general concepts behind
configuration of the GNU Development Tools.  It also discusses common
usage.

   Copyright (C) 1991, 1992, 1994 Cygnus Support Permission is granted
to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the
copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that
the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
permission notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a
translation approved by Cygnus Support.

START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* configuration: (cfg-paper).	Some theory on configuring source.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Top,  Next: Some Basic Terms,  Prev: (dir),  Up: (dir)

   This document attempts to describe the general concepts behind
configuration of the GNU Development Tools.  It also discusses common
usage.

* Menu:

* Some Basic Terms::		Some Basic Terms
* Specifics.::			Specifics
* Building Development Environments::  Building Development Environments
* A Walk Through::		A Walk Through
* Final Notes::			Final Notes
* Index::			Index

 -- The Detailed Node Listing --

Some Basic Terms

* Host Environments::		Host Environments
* Configuration Time Options::	Configuration Time Options

A Walk Through

* Native Development Environments::  Native Development Environments
* Emulation Environments::	Emulation Environments
* Simple Cross Environments::	Simple Cross Environments
* Crossing Into Targets::	Crossing Into Targets
* Canadian Cross::		Canadian Cross

Final Notes

* Hacking Configurations::	Hacking Configurations


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Some Basic Terms,  Next: Specifics.,  Prev: Top,  Up: Top

Some Basic Terms
****************

   There are a lot of terms that are frequently used when discussing
development tools.  Most of the common terms have been used for many
different concepts such that their meanings have become ambiguous to the
point of being confusing.  Typically, we only guess at their meanings
from context and we frequently guess wrong.

   This document uses very few terms by comparison.  The intent is to
make the concepts as clear as possible in order to convey the usage and
intent of these tools.

   *Programs* run on *machines*.  Programs are very nearly always
written in *source*.  Programs are *built* from source.  *Compilation*
is a process that is frequently, but not always, used when building
programs.

* Menu:

* Host Environments::		Host Environments
* Configuration Time Options::	Configuration Time Options


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Host Environments,  Next: Configuration Time Options,  Prev: Some Basic Terms,  Up: Some Basic Terms

Host Environments
=================

   In this document, the word *host* refers to the environment in which
the source in question will be compiled.  *host* and *host name* have
nothing to do with the proper name of your host, like *ucbvax*,
*prep.ai.mit.edu* or *att.com*.  Instead they refer to things like
*sun4* and *dec3100*.

   Forget for a moment that this particular directory of source is the
source for a development environment.  Instead, pretend that it is the
source for a simpler, more mundane, application, say, a desk calculator.

   Source that can be compiled in more than one environment, generally
needs to be set up for each environment explicitly.  Here we refer to
that process as configuration.  That is, we configure the source for a
host.

   For example, if we wanted to configure our mythical desk calculator
to compile on a SparcStation, we might configure for host sun4.  With
our configuration system:

     cd desk-calculator ; ./configure sun4

does the trick.  `configure' is a shell script that sets up Makefiles,
subdirectories, and symbolic links appropriate for compiling the source
on a sun4.

   The *host* environment does not necessarily refer to the machine on
which the tools are built.  It is possible to provide a sun3 development
environment on a sun4.  If we wanted to use a cross compiler on the sun4
to build a program intended to be run on a sun3, we would configure the
source for sun3.

     cd desk-calculator ; ./configure sun3

The fact that we are actually building the program on a sun4 makes no
difference if the sun3 cross compiler presents an environment that looks
like a sun3 from the point of view of the desk calculator source code.
Specifically, the environment is a sun3 environment if the header files,
predefined symbols, and libraries appear as they do on a sun3.

   Nor does the host environment refer to the the machine on which the
program to be built will run.  It is possible to provide a sun3
emulation environment on a sun4 such that programs built in a sun3
development environment actually run on the sun4.  This technique is
often used within individual programs to remedy deficiencies in the host
operating system.  For example, some operating systems do not provide
the `bcopy' function and so it is emulated using the `memcpy' funtion.

   Host environment simply refers to the environment in which the
program will be built from the source.


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Configuration Time Options,  Prev: Host Environments,  Up: Some Basic Terms

Configuration Time Options
==========================

   Many programs have compile time options.  That is, features of the
program that are either compiled into the program or not based on a
choice made by the person who builds the program.  We refer to these as
*configuration options*.  For example, our desk calculator might be
capable of being compiled into a program that either uses infix notation
or postfix as a configuration option.  For a sun3, to choose infix you
might use:

     ./configure sun3 --enable-notation=infix

while for a sun4 with postfix you might use:

     ./configure sun4 --enable-notation=postfix

   If we wanted to build both at the same time, the intermediate pieces
used in the build process must be kept separate.

     mkdir ../objdir.sun4
     (cd ../objdir.sun4 ; ../configure sun4 --enable-notation=postfix --srcdir=../src)
     mkdir ../objdir.sun3
     (cd ../objdir.sun3 ; ../configure sun3 --enable-notation=infix --srcdir=../src)

will create subdirectories for the intermediate pieces of the sun4 and
sun3 configurations.  This is necessary as previous systems were only
capable of one configuration at a time.  Otherwise, a second
configuration would write over the first.  We've chosen to retain this
behaviour so the obj directories and the `--srcdir' configuration
option are necessary to get the new behaviour.  The order of the
arguments doesn't matter.  There should be exactly one argument without
a leading `-' and that argument will be assumed to be the host name.

   From here on the examples will assume that you want to build the
tools *in place* and won't show the `--srcdir' option, but remember
that it is available.

   In order to actually install the program, the configuration system
needs to know where you would like the program installed.  The default
location is `/usr/local'.  We refer to this location as `$(prefix)'.
All user visible programs will be installed in ``$(prefix)'/bin'.  All
other programs and files will be installed in a subdirectory of
``$(prefix)'/lib'.

   You can only change `$(prefix)' as a configuration time option.

     ./configure sun4 --enable-notation=postfix --prefix=/local

Will configure the source such that:

     make install

will put its programs in `/local/bin' and `/local/lib/gcc'.  If you
change `$(prefix)' after building the source, you will need to:

     make clean

before the change will be propogated properly.  This is because some
tools need to know the locations of other tools.

   With these concepts in mind, we can drop the desk calculator example
and move on to the application that resides in these directories,
namely, the source to a development environment.


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Specifics.,  Next: Building Development Environments,  Prev: Some Basic Terms,  Up: Top

Specifics
*********

   The GNU Development Tools can be built on a wide variety of hosts.
So, of course, they must be configured.  Like the last example,

     ./configure sun4 --prefix=/local
     ./configure sun3 --prefix=/local

will configure the source to be built in subdirectories, in order to
keep the intermediate pieces separate, and to be installed in `/local'.

   When built with suitable development environments, these will be
native tools.  We'll explain the term *native* later.


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Building Development Environments,  Next: A Walk Through,  Prev: Specifics.,  Up: Top

Building Development Environments
*********************************

   The GNU development tools can not only be built in a number of host
development environments, they can also be configured to create a
number of different development environments on each of those hosts.
We refer to a specific development environment created as a *target*.
That is, the word *target* refers to the development environment
produced by compiling this source and installing the resulting programs.

   For the GNU development tools, the default target is the same as the
host.  That is, the development environment produced is intended to be
compatible with the environment used to build the tools.

   In the example above, we created two configurations, one for sun4 and
one for sun3.  The first configuration is expecting to be built in a
sun4 development environment, to create a sun4 development environment.
It doesn't necessarily need to be built on a sun4 if a sun4 development
environment is available elsewhere.  Likewise, if the available sun4
development environment produces executables intended for something
other than sun4, then the development environment built from this sun4
configuration will run on something other than a sun4.  From the point
of view of the configuration system and the GNU development tools
source, this doesn't matter.  What matters is that they will be built in
a sun4 environment.

   Similarly, the second configuration given above is expecting to be
built in a sun3 development environment, to create a sun3 development
environment.

   The development environment produced is a configuration time option,
just like `$(prefix)'.

     ./configure sun4 --prefix=/local --target=sun3
     ./configure sun3 --prefix=/local --target=sun4

   In this example, like before, we create two configurations.  The
first is intended to be built in a sun4 environment, in subdirectories,
to be installed in `/local'.  The second is intended to be built in a
sun3 environment, in subdirectories, to be installed in `/local'.

   Unlike the previous example, the first configuration will produce a
sun3 development environment, perhaps even suitable for building the
second configuration.  Likewise, the second configuration will produce
a sun4 development environment, perhaps even suitable for building the
first configuration.

   The development environment used to build these configurations will
determine the machines on which the resulting development environments
can be used.


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: A Walk Through,  Next: Final Notes,  Prev: Building Development Environments,  Up: Top

A Walk Through
**************

* Menu:

* Native Development Environments::  Native Development Environments
* Emulation Environments::	Emulation Environments
* Simple Cross Environments::	Simple Cross Environments
* Crossing Into Targets::	Crossing Into Targets
* Canadian Cross::		Canadian Cross


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Native Development Environments,  Next: Emulation Environments,  Prev: A Walk Through,  Up: A Walk Through

Native Development Environments
===============================

   Let us assume for a moment that you have a sun4 and that with your
sun4 you received a development environment.  This development
environment is intended to be run on your sun4 to build programs that
can be run on your sun4.  You could, for instance, run this development
environment on your sun4 to build our example desk calculator program.
You could then run the desk calculator program on your sun4.

   The resulting desk calculator program is referred to as a *native*
program.  The development environment itself is composed of native
programs that, when run, build other native programs.  Any other program
is referred to as *foreign*.  Programs intended for other machines are
foreign programs.

   This type of development environment, which is by far the most
common, is refered to as *native*.  That is, a native development
environment runs on some machine to build programs for that same
machine.  The process of using a native development environment to
build native programs is called a *native* build.

     ./configure sun4

will configure this source such that when built in a sun4 development
environment, with a development environment that builds programs
intended to be run on sun4 machines, the programs built will be native
programs and the resulting development environment will be a native
development environment.

   The development system that came with your sun4 is one such
environment.  Using it to build the GNU Development Tools is a very
common activity and the resulting development environment is quite
popular.

     make all

will build the tools as configured and will assume that you want to use
the native development environment that came with your machine.

   Using a development environment to build a development environment is
called *bootstrapping*.  The release of the GNU Development Tools is
capable of bootstrapping itself.  This is a very powerful feature that
we'll return to later.  For now, let's pretend that you used the native
development environment that came with your sun4 to bootstrap the
release and let's call the new development environment *stage1*.

   Why bother?  Well, most people find that the GNU development
environment builds programs that run faster and take up less space than
the native development environments that came with their machines.  Some
people didn't get development environments with their machines and some
people just like using the GNU tools better than using other tools.

   While you're at it, if the GNU tools produce better programs, maybe
you should use them to build the GNU tools.  So let's pretend that you
do.  Let's call the new development environment *stage2*.

   So far you've built a development environment, stage1, and you've
used stage1 to build a new, faster and smaller development environment,
stage2, but you haven't run any of the programs that the GNU tools have
built.  You really don't yet know if these tools work.  Do you have any
programs built with the GNU tools?  Yes, you do.  stage2.  What does
that program do?  It builds programs.  Ok, do you have any source handy
to build into a program?  Yes, you do.  The GNU tools themselves.  In
fact, if you use stage2 to build the GNU tools again the resulting
programs should be identical to stage2.  Let's pretend that you do and
call the new development environment *stage3*.

   You've just completed what's called a *three stage boot*.  You now
have a small, fast, somewhat tested, development environment.

     make bootstrap

will do a three stage boot across all tools and will compare stage2 to
stage3 and complain if they are not identical.

   Once built,

     make install

will install the development environment in the default location, or in
`$(prefix)' if you specified an alternate when you configured.

   Any development environment that is not a native development
environment is refered to as a *cross* development environment.  There
are many different types of cross development environments but most
fall into one of three basic categories.


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Emulation Environments,  Next: Simple Cross Environments,  Prev: Native Development Environments,  Up: A Walk Through

Emulation Environments
======================

   The first category of cross development environment is called
*emulation*.  There are two primary types of emulation, but both types
result in programs that run on the native host.

   The first type is *software emulation*.  This form of cross
development environment involves a native program that when run on the
native host, is capable of interpreting, and in most aspects running, a
program intended for some other machine.  This technique is typically
used when the other machine is either too expensive, too slow, too fast,
or not available, perhaps because it hasn't yet been built.  The native,
interpreting program is called a *software emulator*.

   The GNU Development Tools do not currently include any software
emulators.  Some do exist and the GNU Development Tools can be
configured to create simple cross development environments for with
these emulators.  More on this later.

   The second type of emulation is when source intended for some other
development environment is built into a program intended for the native
host.  The concepts of operating system universes and hosted operating
systems are two such development environments.


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Simple Cross Environments,  Next: Crossing Into Targets,  Prev: Emulation Environments,  Up: A Walk Through

Simple Cross Environments
=========================

     ./configure sun4 --target=a29k

will configure the tools such that when compiled in a sun4 development
environment the resulting development environment can be used to create
programs intended for an a29k.  Again, this does not necessarily mean
that the new development environment can be run on a sun4.  That would
depend on the development environment used to build these tools.

   Earlier you saw how to configure the tools to build a native
development environment, that is, a development environment that runs
on your sun4 and builds programs for your sun4.  Let's pretend that you
use stage3 to build this simple cross configuration and let's call the
new development environment gcc-a29k.  Remember that this is a native
build.  Gcc-a29k is a collection of native programs intended to run on
your sun4.  That's what stage3 builds, programs for your sun4.
Gcc-a29k represents an a29k development environment that builds
programs intended to run on an a29k.  But, remember, gcc-a29k runs on
your sun4.  Programs built with gcc-a29k will run on your sun4 only
with the help of an appropriate software emulator.

   Building gcc-a29k is also a bootstrap but of a slightly different
sort.  We call gcc-a29k a *simple cross* environment and using gcc-a29k
to build a program intended for a29k is called *crossing to* a29k.
Simple cross environments are the second category of cross development
environments.


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Crossing Into Targets,  Next: Canadian Cross,  Prev: Simple Cross Environments,  Up: A Walk Through

Crossing Into Targets
=====================

     ./configure a29k --target=a29k

will configure the tools such that when compiled in an a29k development
environment, the resulting development environment can be used to create
programs intended for an a29k.  Again, this does not necessarily mean
that the new development environment can be run on an a29k.  That would
depend on the development environment used to build these tools.

   If you've been following along this walk through, then you've already
built an a29k environment, namely gcc-a29k.  Let's pretend you use
gcc-a29k to build the current configuration.

   Gcc-a29k builds programs intended for the a29k so the new development
environment will be intended for use on an a29k.  That is, this new gcc
consists of programs that are foreign to your sun4.  They cannot be run
on your sun4.

   The process of building this configuration is a another bootstrap.
This bootstrap is also a cross to a29k.  Because this type of build is
both a bootstrap and a cross to a29k, it is sometimes referred to as a
*cross into* a29k.  This new development environment isn't really a
cross development environment at all.  It is intended to run on an a29k
to produce programs for an a29k.  You'll remember that this makes it, by
definition, an a29k native compiler.  *Crossing into* has been
introduced here not because it is a type of cross development
environment, but because it is frequently mistaken as one.  The process
is *a cross* but the resulting development environment is a native
development environment.

   You could not have built this configuration with stage3, because
stage3 doesn't provide an a29k environment.  Instead it provides a sun4
environment.

   If you happen to have an a29k lying around, you could now use this
fresh development environment on the a29k to three-stage these tools
all over again.  This process would look just like it did when we built
the native sun4 development environment because we would be building
another native development environment, this one on a29k.


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Canadian Cross,  Prev: Crossing Into Targets,  Up: A Walk Through

Canadian Cross
==============

   So far you've seen that our development environment source must be
configured for a specific host and for a specific target.  You've also
seen that the resulting development environment depends on the
development environment used in the build process.

   When all four match identically, that is, the configured host, the
configured target, the environment presented by the development
environment used in the build, and the machine on which the resulting
development environment is intended to run, then the new development
environment will be a native development environment.

   When all four match except the configured host, then we can assume
that the development environment used in the build is some form of
library emulation.

   When all four match except for the configured target, then the
resulting development environment will be a simple cross development
environment.

   When all four match except for the host on which the development
environment used in the build runs, the build process is a *cross into*
and the resulting development environment will be native to some other
machine.

   Most of the other permutations do exist in some form, but only one
more is interesting to the current discussion.

     ./configure a29k --target=sun3

will configure the tools such that when compiled in an a29k development
environment, the resulting development environment can be used to create
programs intended for a sun3.  Again, this does not necessarily mean
that the new development environment can be run on an a29k.  That would
depend on the development environment used to build these tools.

   If you are still following along, then you have two a29k development
environments, the native development environment that runs on a29k, and
the simple cross that runs on your sun4.  If you use the a29k native
development environment on the a29k, you will be doing the same thing we
did a while back, namely building a simple cross from a29k to sun3.
Let's pretend that instead, you use gcc-a29k, the simple cross
development environment that runs on sun4 but produces programs for
a29k.

   The resulting development environment will run on a29k because that's
what gcc-a29k builds, a29k programs.  This development environment will
produce programs for a sun3 because that is how it was configured.  This
means that the resulting development environment is a simple cross.

   There really isn't a common name for this process because very few
development environments are capable of being configured this
extensively.  For the sake of discussion, let's call this process a
*Canadian cross*.  It's a three party cross, Canada has a three party
system, hence Canadian Cross.


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Final Notes,  Next: Index,  Prev: A Walk Through,  Up: Top

Final Notes
***********

   By *configures*, I mean that links, Makefile, .gdbinit, and
config.status are built.  Configuration is always done from the source
directory.

`./configure NAME'
     configures this directory, perhaps recursively, for a single
     host+target pair where the host and target are both NAME.  If a
     previous configuration existed, it will be overwritten.

`./configure HOSTNAME --target=TARGETNAME'
     configures this directory, perhaps recursively, for a single
     host+target pair where the host is HOSTNAME and target is
     TARGETNAME.  If a previous configuration existed, it will be
     overwritten.

* Menu:

* Hacking Configurations::	Hacking Configurations


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Hacking Configurations,  Prev: Final Notes,  Up: Final Notes

Hacking Configurations
======================

   The configure scripts essentially do three things, create
subdirectories if appropriate, build a `Makefile', and create links to
files, all based on and tailored to, a specific host+target pair.  The
scripts also create a `.gdbinit' if appropriate but this is not
tailored.

   The Makefile is created by prepending some variable definitions to a
Makefile template called `Makefile.in' and then inserting host and
target specific Makefile fragments.  The variables are set based on the
chosen host+target pair and build style, that is, if you use `--srcdir'
or not.  The host and target specific Makefile may or may not exist.

   * Makefiles can be edited directly, but those changes will
     eventually be lost.  Changes intended to be permanent for a
     specific host should be made to the host specific Makefile
     fragment.  This should be in `./config/mh-HOST' if it exists.
     Changes intended to be permanent for a specific target should be
     made to the target specific Makefile fragment.  This should be in
     `./config/mt-TARGET' if it exists.  Changes intended to be
     permanent for the directory should be made in `Makefile.in'.  To
     propogate changes to any of these, either use `make Makefile' or
     `./config.status' or re-configure.


File: cfg-paper.info,  Node: Index,  Prev: Final Notes,  Up: Top

Index
*****

* Menu:

* Bootstrapping:                        Native Development Environments.
* Building:                             Some Basic Terms.
* Canadian Cross:                       Canadian Cross.
* Compilation:                          Some Basic Terms.
* Cross:                                Native Development Environments.
* Crossing into:                        Crossing Into Targets.
* Crossing to:                          Simple Cross Environments.
* Emulation:                            Emulation Environments.
* Foreign:                              Native Development Environments.
* host:                                 Host Environments.
* Machines:                             Some Basic Terms.
* Native:                               Native Development Environments.
* Programs:                             Some Basic Terms.
* Simple cross:                         Simple Cross Environments.
* Software emulation:                   Emulation Environments.
* Software emulator:                    Emulation Environments.
* Source:                               Some Basic Terms.
* Stage1:                               Native Development Environments.
* Stage2:                               Native Development Environments.
* Stage3:                               Native Development Environments.
* Target:                               Building Development Environments.
* Three party cross:                    Canadian Cross.
* Three stage boot:                     Native Development Environments.



Tag Table:
Node: Top1055
Node: Some Basic Terms2009
Node: Host Environments2951
Node: Configuration Time Options5513
Node: Specifics.8316
Node: Building Development Environments8934
Node: A Walk Through11554
Node: Native Development Environments11972
Node: Emulation Environments16221
Node: Simple Cross Environments17579
Node: Crossing Into Targets19188
Node: Canadian Cross21381
Node: Final Notes24208
Node: Hacking Configurations25003
Node: Index26418

End Tag Table