README revision 130562 
1This directory contains the -liberty library of free software.
2It is a collection of subroutines used by various GNU programs.
3Current members include:
4
5	getopt -- get options from command line
6	obstack -- stacks of arbitrarily-sized objects
7	strerror -- error message strings corresponding to errno
8	strtol -- string-to-long conversion
9	strtoul -- string-to-unsigned-long conversion
10
11We expect many of the GNU subroutines that are floating around to
12eventually arrive here.
13
14The library must be configured from the top source directory.  Don't
15try to run configure in this directory.  Follow the configuration
16instructions in ../README.
17
18Please report bugs to "gcc-bugs@gcc.gnu.org" and send fixes to
19"gcc-patches@gcc.gnu.org".  Thank you.
20
21ADDING A NEW FILE
22=================
23
24There are two sets of files:  Those that are "required" will be
25included in the library for all configurations, while those
26that are "optional" will be included in the library only if "needed."
27
28To add a new required file, edit Makefile to add the source file
29name to CFILES and the object file to REQUIRED_OFILES.
30
31To add a new optional file, it must provide a single function, and the
32name of the function must be the same as the name of the file.
33
34    * Add the source file name to CFILES.
35
36    * Add the function to name to the funcs shell variable in
37      configure.ac.
38
39    * Add the function to the AC_CHECK_FUNCS lists just after the
40      setting of the funcs shell variable.  These AC_CHECK_FUNCS calls
41      are never executed; they are there to make autoheader work
42      better.
43
44    * Consider the special cases of building libiberty; as of this
45      writing, the special cases are newlib and VxWorks.  If a
46      particular special case provides the function, you do not need
47      to do anything.  If it does not provide the function, add the
48      object file to LIBOBJS, and add the function name to the case
49      controlling whether to define HAVE_func.
50
51The optional file you've added (e.g. getcwd.c) should compile and work
52on all hosts where it is needed.  It does not have to work or even
53compile on hosts where it is not needed.
54
55ADDING A NEW CONFIGURATION
56==========================
57
58On most hosts you should be able to use the scheme for automatically
59figuring out which files are needed.  In that case, you probably
60don't need a special Makefile stub for that configuration.
61
62If the fully automatic scheme doesn't work, you may be able to get
63by with defining EXTRA_OFILES in your Makefile stub.  This is
64a list of object file names that should be treated as required
65for this configuration - they will be included in libiberty.a,
66regardless of whatever might be in the C library.
67