configure.info: Building
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Building
Most readers of this document should already know how to build a
tool by running `configure' and `make'. This section may serve as a
quick introduction or reminder.
Building a tool is normally as simple as running `configure'
followed by `make'. You should normally run `configure' from an empty
directory, using some path to refer to the `configure' script in the
source directory. The directory in which you run `configure' is called
the "object directory".
In order to use a object directory which is different from the source
directory, you must be using the GNU version of `make', which has the
required `VPATH' support. Despite this restriction, using a different
object directory is highly recommended:
* It keeps the files generated during the build from cluttering up
your sources.
* It permits you to remove the built files by simply removing the
entire build directory.
* It permits you to build from the same sources with several sets of
configure options simultaneously.
If you don't have GNU `make', you will have to run `configure' in
the source directory. All GNU packages should support this; in
particular, GNU packages should not assume the presence of GNU `make'.
After running `configure', you can build the tools by running `make'.
To install the tools, run `make install'. Installing the tools will
copy the programs and any required support files to the "installation
directory". The location of the installation directory is controlled
by `configure' options, as described below.
In the Cygnus tree at present, the info files are built and
installed as a separate step. To build them, run `make info'. To
install them, run `make install-info'.
All `configure' scripts support a wide variety of options. The most
interesting ones are `--with' and `--enable' options which are
generally specific to particular tools. You can usually use the
`--help' option to get a list of interesting options for a particular
configure script.
The only generic options you are likely to use are the `--prefix'
and `--exec-prefix' options. These options are used to specify the
installation directory.
The directory named by the `--prefix' option will hold machine
independent files such as info files.
The directory named by the `--exec-prefix' option, which is normally
a subdirectory of the `--prefix' directory, will hold machine dependent
files such as executables.
The default for `--prefix' is `/usr/local'. The default for
`--exec-prefix' is the value used for `--prefix'.
The convention used in Cygnus releases is to use a `--prefix' option
of `/usr/cygnus/RELEASE', where RELEASE is the name of the release, and
to use a `--exec-prefix' option of `/usr/cygnus/RELEASE/H-HOST', where
HOST is the configuration name of the host system (*note Configuration
Names::).
Do not use either the source or the object directory as the
installation directory. That will just lead to confusion.
Created Wed Sep 1 16:41:59 2004 on bee with info_to_html version 0.9.6.