path: root/doc/gnulib-tool.texi

@node Invoking gnulib-tool
@chapter Invoking gnulib-tool

@c Copyright (C) 2005-2010 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

@c Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
@c under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
@c any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
@c Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover
@c Texts.  A copy of the license is included in the ``GNU Free
@c Documentation License'' file as part of this distribution.

@pindex gnulib-tool
@cindex invoking @command{gnulib-tool}

The @command{gnulib-tool} command is the recommended way to import
Gnulib modules.  It is possible to borrow Gnulib modules in a package
without using @command{gnulib-tool}, relying only on the
meta-information stored in the @file{modules/*} files, but with a
growing number of modules this becomes tedious.  @command{gnulib-tool}
simplifies the management of source files, @file{Makefile.am}s and
@file{configure.ac} in packages incorporating Gnulib modules.

@file{gnulib-tool} is not installed in a standard directory that is
contained in the @code{PATH} variable.  It needs to be run directly in
the directory that contains the Gnulib source code.  You can do this
either by specifying the absolute filename of @file{gnulib-tool}, or
you can also use a symbolic link from a place inside your @code{PATH}
to the @file{gnulib-tool} file of your preferred and most up-to-date
Gnulib checkout, like this:
@smallexample
$ ln -s $HOME/gnu/src/gnulib.git/gnulib-tool $HOME/bin/gnulib-tool
@end smallexample

Run @samp{gnulib-tool --help} for information.  To get familiar with
@command{gnulib-tool} without affecting your sources, you can also try
some commands with the option @samp{--dry-run}; then
@code{gnulib-tool} will only report which actions it would perform in
a real run without changing anything.

@menu
* Initial import::              First import of Gnulib modules.
* Modified imports::            Changing the import specification.
* Simple update::               Tracking Gnulib development.
* Source changes::              Impact of Gnulib on your source files.
* gettextize and autopoint::    Caveat: @code{gettextize} and @code{autopoint} users!
* Localization::                Handling Gnulib's own message translations.
* VCS Issues::                  Integration with Version Control Systems.
* Unit tests::                  Bundling the unit tests of the Gnulib modules.
@end menu


@node Initial import
@section Initial import
@cindex initial import

Gnulib assumes your project uses Autoconf and Automake.  Invoking
@samp{gnulib-tool --import} will copy source files, create a
@file{Makefile.am} to build them, generate a file @file{gnulib-comp.m4} with
Autoconf M4 macro declarations used by @file{configure.ac}, and generate
a file @file{gnulib-cache.m4} containing the cached specification of how
Gnulib is used.

Our example will be a library that uses Autoconf, Automake and
Libtool.  It calls @code{strdup}, and you wish to use gnulib to make
the package portable to C89 and C99 (which don't have @code{strdup}).

@example
~/src/libfoo$ gnulib-tool --import strdup
Module list with included dependencies:
  absolute-header
  extensions
  strdup
  string
File list:
  lib/dummy.c
  lib/strdup.c
  lib/string.in.h
  m4/absolute-header.m4
  m4/extensions.m4
  m4/gnulib-common.m4
  m4/strdup.m4
  m4/string_h.m4
Creating directory ./lib
Creating directory ./m4
Copying file lib/dummy.c
Copying file lib/strdup.c
Copying file lib/string.in.h
Copying file m4/absolute-header.m4
Copying file m4/extensions.m4
Copying file m4/gnulib-common.m4
Copying file m4/gnulib-tool.m4
Copying file m4/strdup.m4
Copying file m4/string_h.m4
Creating lib/Makefile.am
Creating m4/gnulib-cache.m4
Creating m4/gnulib-comp.m4
Finished.

You may need to add #include directives for the following .h files.
  #include <string.h>

Don't forget to
  - add "lib/Makefile" to AC_CONFIG_FILES in ./configure.ac,
  - mention "lib" in SUBDIRS in Makefile.am,
  - mention "-I m4" in ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS in Makefile.am,
  - invoke gl_EARLY in ./configure.ac, right after AC_PROG_CC,
  - invoke gl_INIT in ./configure.ac.
~/src/libfoo$
@end example

By default, the source code is copied into @file{lib/} and the M4
macros in @file{m4/}.  You can override these paths by using
@code{--source-base=DIRECTORY} and @code{--m4-base=DIRECTORY}.  Some
modules also provide other files necessary for building. These files
are copied into the directory specified by @samp{AC_CONFIG_AUX_DIR} in
@file{configure.ac} or by the @code{--aux-dir=DIRECTORY} option.  If
neither is specified, the current directory is assumed.

@code{gnulib-tool} can make symbolic links instead of copying the
source files.  The option to specify for this is @samp{--symlink}, or
@samp{-s} for short.  This can be useful to save a few kilobytes of disk
space.  But it is likely to introduce bugs when @code{gnulib} is updated;
it is more reliable to use @samp{gnulib-tool --update} (see below)
to update to newer versions of @code{gnulib}.  Furthermore it requires
extra effort to create self-contained tarballs, and it may disturb some
mechanism the maintainer applies to the sources.  For these reasons,
this option is generally discouraged.

@code{gnulib-tool} will overwrite any pre-existing files, in
particular @file{Makefile.am}.  Unfortunately, separating the
generated @file{Makefile.am} content (for building the gnulib library)
into a separate file, say @file{gnulib.mk}, that could be included
by your handwritten @file{Makefile.am} is not possible, due to how
variable assignments are handled by Automake.

Consequently, it is a good idea to choose directories that are not
already used by your projects, to separate gnulib imported files from
your own files.  This approach is also useful if you want to avoid
conflicts between other tools (e.g., @code{gettextize} that also copy
M4 files into your package.  Simon Josefsson successfully uses a source
base of @file{gl/}, and a M4 base of @file{gl/m4/}, in several
packages.

After the @samp{--import} option on the command line comes the list of
Gnulib modules that you want to incorporate in your package.  The names
of the modules coincide with the filenames in Gnulib's @file{modules/}
directory.

Some Gnulib modules depend on other Gnulib modules.  @code{gnulib-tool}
will automatically add the needed modules as well; you need not list
them explicitly.  @code{gnulib-tool} will also memorize which dependent
modules it has added, so that when someday a dependency is dropped, the
implicitly added module is dropped as well (unless you have explicitly
requested that module).

If you want to cut a dependency, i.e., not add a module although one of
your requested modules depends on it, you may use the option
@samp{--avoid=@var{module}} to do so.  Multiple uses of this option are
possible.  Of course, you will then need to implement the same interface
as the removed module.

A few manual steps are required to finish the initial import.
@code{gnulib-tool} printed a summary of these steps.

First, you must ensure Autoconf can find the macro definitions in
@file{gnulib-comp.m4}.  Use the @code{ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS} specifier in
your top-level @file{Makefile.am} file, as in:

@example
ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS = -I m4
@end example

You are now ready to call the M4 macros in @code{gnulib-comp.m4} from
@file{configure.ac}.  The macro @code{gl_EARLY} must be called as soon
as possible after verifying that the C compiler is working.
Typically, this is immediately after @code{AC_PROG_CC}, as in:

@example
...
AC_PROG_CC
gl_EARLY
...
@end example

The core part of the gnulib checks are done by the macro
@code{gl_INIT}.  Place it further down in the file, typically where
you normally check for header files or functions.  It must come after
other checks which may affect the compiler invocation, such as
@code{AC_MINIX}.  For example:

@example
...
# For gnulib.
gl_INIT
...
@end example

@code{gl_INIT} will in turn call the macros related with the
gnulib functions, be it specific gnulib macros, like @code{gl_FUNC_ALLOCA}
or autoconf or automake macros like @code{AC_FUNC_ALLOCA} or
@code{AM_FUNC_GETLINE}.  So there is no need to call those macros yourself
when you use the corresponding gnulib modules.

You must also make sure that the gnulib library is built.  Add the
@code{Makefile} in the gnulib source base directory to
@code{AC_CONFIG_FILES}, as in:

@example
AC_CONFIG_FILES(... lib/Makefile ...)
@end example

You must also make sure that @code{make} will recurse into the gnulib
directory.  To achieve this, add the gnulib source base directory to a
@code{SUBDIRS} Makefile.am statement, as in:

@example
SUBDIRS = lib
@end example

or if you, more likely, already have a few entries in @code{SUBDIRS},
you can add something like:

@example
SUBDIRS += lib
@end example

Finally, you have to add compiler and linker flags in the appropriate
source directories, so that you can make use of the gnulib library.
Since some modules (@samp{getopt}, for example) may copy files into
the build directory, @file{top_builddir/lib} is needed as well
as @file{top_srcdir/lib}.  For example:

@example
...
AM_CPPFLAGS = -I$(top_builddir)/lib -I$(top_srcdir)/lib
...
LDADD = lib/libgnu.a
...
@end example

Don't forget to @code{#include} the various header files.  In this
example, you would need to make sure that @samp{#include <string.h>}
is evaluated when compiling all source code files, that want to make
use of @code{strdup}.

In the usual case where Autoconf is creating a @file{config.h} file,
you should include @file{config.h} first, before any other include
file.  That way, for example, if @file{config.h} defines
@samp{restrict} to be the empty string on a pre-C99 host, or a macro
like @samp{_FILE_OFFSET_BITS} that affects the layout of data
structures, the definition is consistent for all include files.
Also, on some platforms macros like @samp{_FILE_OFFSET_BITS} and
@samp{_GNU_SOURCE} may be ineffective, or may have only a limited
effect, if defined after the first system header file is included.

Finally, note that you can not use @code{AC_LIBOBJ} or
@code{AC_REPLACE_FUNCS} in your @file{configure.ac} and expect the
resulting object files to be automatically added to @file{lib/libgnu.a}.
This is because your @code{AC_LIBOBJ} and @code{AC_REPLACE_FUNCS} invocations
from @file{configure.ac} augment a variable @code{@@LIBOBJS@@} (and/or
@code{@@LTLIBOBJS@@} if using Libtool), whereas @file{lib/libgnu.a}
is built from the contents of a different variable, usually
@code{@@gl_LIBOBJS@@} (or @code{@@gl_LTLIBOBJS@@} if using Libtool).


@node Modified imports
@section Modified imports

You can at any moment decide to use Gnulib differently than the last time.

If you only want to use more Gnulib modules, simply invoke
@command{gnulib-tool --import @var{new-modules}}.  @code{gnulib-tool}
remembers which modules were used last time.  The list of modules that
you pass after @samp{--import} is @emph{added} to the previous list of
modules.

For most changes, such as added or removed modules, or even different
choices of @samp{--lib}, @samp{--source-base} or @samp{--aux-dir}, there
are two ways to perform the change.

The standard way is to modify manually the file @file{gnulib-cache.m4}
in the M4 macros directory, then launch @samp{gnulib-tool --import}.

The other way is to call @command{gnulib-tool} again, with the changed
command-line options.  Note that this doesn't let you remove modules,
because as you just learned, the list of modules is always cumulated.
Also this way is often impractical, because you don't remember the way
you invoked @code{gnulib-tool} last time.

The only change for which this doesn't work is a change of the
@samp{--m4-base} directory.  Because, when you pass a different value of
@samp{--m4-base}, @code{gnulib-tool} will not find the previous
@file{gnulib-cache.m4} file any more... A possible solution is to manually
copy the @file{gnulib-cache.m4} into the new M4 macro directory.

In the @file{gnulib-cache.m4}, the macros have the following meaning:
@table @code
@item gl_MODULES
The argument is a space separated list of the requested modules, not including
dependencies.

@item gl_AVOID
The argument is a space separated list of modules that should not be used,
even if they occur as dependencies.  Corresponds to the @samp{--avoid}
command line argument.

@item gl_SOURCE_BASE
The argument is the relative file name of the directory containing the gnulib
source files (mostly *.c and *.h files).  Corresponds to the
@samp{--source-base} command line argument.

@item gl_M4_BASE
The argument is the relative file name of the directory containing the gnulib
M4 macros (*.m4 files).  Corresponds to the @samp{--m4-base} command line
argument.

@item gl_TESTS_BASE
The argument is the relative file name of the directory containing the gnulib
unit test files.  Corresponds to the @samp{--tests-base} command line argument.

@item gl_LIB
The argument is the name of the library to be created.  Corresponds to the
@samp{--lib} command line argument.

@item gl_LGPL
The presence of this macro without arguments corresponds to the @samp{--lgpl}
command line argument.  The presence of this macro with an argument (whose
value must be 2 or 3) corresponds to the @samp{--lgpl=@var{arg}} command line
argument.

@item gl_LIBTOOL
The presence of this macro corresponds to the @samp{--libtool} command line
argument and to the absence of the @samp{--no-libtool} command line argument.
It takes no arguments.

@item gl_MACRO_PREFIX
The argument is the prefix to use for macros in the @file{gnulib-comp.m4}
file.  Corresponds to the @samp{--macro-prefix} command line argument.
@end table


@node Simple update
@section Simple update

When you want to update to a more recent version of Gnulib, without
changing the list of modules or other parameters, a simple call
does it:

@smallexample
$ gnulib-tool --import
@end smallexample

@noindent
This will create, update or remove files, as needed.

Note: From time to time, changes are made in Gnulib that are not backward
compatible.  When updating to a more recent Gnulib, you should consult
Gnulib's @file{NEWS} file to check whether the incompatible changes affect
your project.


@node Source changes
@section Changing your sources for use with Gnulib

Gnulib contains some header file overrides.  This means that when building
on systems with deficient header files in @file{/usr/include/}, it may create
files named @file{string.h}, @file{stdlib.h}, @file{stdint.h} or similar in
the build directory.  In the other source directories of your package you
will usually pass @samp{-I} options to the compiler, so that these Gnulib
substitutes are visible and take precedence over the files in
@file{/usr/include/}.

These Gnulib substitute header files rely on @file{<config.h>} being
already included.  Furthermore @file{<config.h>} must be the first include
in every compilation unit.  This means that to @emph{all your source files}
and likely also to @emph{all your tests source files} you need to add an
@samp{#include <config.h>} at the top.  Which source files are affected?
Exactly those whose compilation includes a @samp{-I} option that refers to
the Gnulib library directory.

This is annoying, but inevitable: On many systems, @file{<config.h>} is
used to set system dependent flags (such as @code{_GNU_SOURCE} on GNU systems),
and these flags have no effect after any system header file has been included.


@node gettextize and autopoint
@section Caveat: @code{gettextize} and @code{autopoint} users

@cindex gettextize, caveat
@cindex autopoint, caveat
The programs @code{gettextize} and @code{autopoint}, part of
GNU @code{gettext}, import or update the internationalization infrastructure.
Some of this infrastructure, namely ca.@: 20 autoconf macro files and the
@file{config.rpath} file, is also contained in Gnulib and may be imported
by @code{gnulib-tool}.  The use of @code{gettextize} or @code{autopoint}
will therefore overwrite some of the files that @code{gnulib-tool} has
imported, and vice versa.

Avoiding to use @code{gettextize} (manually, as package maintainer) or
@code{autopoint} (as part of a script like @code{autoreconf} or
@code{autogen.sh}) is not the solution: These programs also import the
infrastructure in the @file{po/} and optionally in the @file{intl/} directory.

The copies of the conflicting files in Gnulib are more up-to-date than
the copies brought in by @code{gettextize} and @code{autopoint}.  When a
new @code{gettext} release is made, the copies of the files in Gnulib will
be updated immediately.

The solution is therefore:

@enumerate
@item
When you run @code{gettextize}, always use the @code{gettextize} from the
matching GNU gettext release.  For the most recent Gnulib checkout, this is
the newest release found on @url{http://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/gettext/}.  For an
older Gnulib snapshot, it is the release that was the most recent release
at the time the Gnulib snapshot was taken.  Then, after @code{gettextize},
invoke @code{gnulib-tool}.

@item
When a script of yours run @code{autopoint}, invoke @code{gnulib-tool}
afterwards.

@item
If you get an error message like
@code{*** error: gettext infrastructure mismatch:
using a Makefile.in.in from gettext version ...
but the autoconf macros are from gettext version ...},
it means that a new GNU gettext release was made, and its autoconf macros
were integrated into Gnulib and now mismatch the @file{po/} infrastructure.
In this case, fetch and install the new GNU gettext release and run
@code{gettextize} followed by @code{gnulib-tool}.
@end enumerate


@node Localization
@section Handling Gnulib's own message translations

Gnulib provides some functions that emit translatable messages using GNU
@code{gettext}.  The @samp{gnulib} domain at the
@url{http://translationproject.org/, Translation Project} collects
translations of these messages, which you should incorporate into your
own programs.

There are two basic ways to achieve this.  The first, and older, method
is to list all the source files you use from Gnulib in your own
@file{po/POTFILES.in} file.  This will cause all the relevant
translatable strings to be included in your POT file.  When you send
this POT file to the Translation Project, translators will normally fill
in the translations of the Gnulib strings from their ``translation
memory'', and send you back updated PO files.

However, this process is error-prone: you might forget to list some
source files, or the translator might not be using a translation memory
and provide a different translation than another translator, or the
translation might not be kept in sync between Gnulib and your package.
It is also slow and causes substantial extra work, because a human
translator must be in the loop for each language and you will need to
incorporate their work on request.

For these reasons, a new method was designed and is now recommended.  If
you pass the @code{--po-base=@var{directory}} and @code{--po-domain=@var{domain}}
options to @code{gnulib-tool}, then @code{gnulib-tool} will create a
separate directory with its own @file{POTFILES.in}, and fetch current
translations directly from the Translation Project (using
@command{rsync} or @command{wget}, whichever is available).
The POT file in this directory will be called
@file{@var{domain}-gnulib.pot}, depending on the @var{domain} you gave to the
@code{--po-domain} option (typically the same as the package name).
This causes these translations to reside in a separate message domain,
so that they do not clash either with the translations for the main part
of your package nor with those of other packages on the system that use
possibly different versions of Gnulib.
When you use these options, the functions in Gnulib are built
in such a way that they will always use this domain regardless of the
default domain set by @code{textdomain}.

In order to use this method, you must -- in each program that might use
Gnulib code -- add an extra line to the part of the program that
initializes locale-dependent behavior.  Where you would normally write
something like:

@example
@group
  setlocale (LC_ALL, "");
  bindtextdomain (PACKAGE, LOCALEDIR);
  textdomain (PACKAGE);
@end group
@end example

@noindent
you should add an additional @code{bindtextdomain} call to inform
gettext of where the MO files for the extra message domain may be found:

@example
@group
  bindtextdomain (PACKAGE "-gnulib", LOCALEDIR);
@end group
@end example

(This example assumes that the @var{domain} that you specified
to @code{gnulib-tool} is the same as the value of the @code{PACKAGE}
preprocessor macro.)

Since you do not change the @code{textdomain} call, the default message
domain for your program remains the same and your own use of @code{gettext}
functions will not be affected.


@node VCS Issues
@section Issues with Version Control Systems

If a project stores its source files in a version control system (VCS),
such as CVS, SVN, or Git, one needs to decide which files to commit.

All files created by @code{gnulib-tool}, except @file{gnulib-cache.m4},
should be treated like generated source files, like for example a
@file{parser.c} file is generated from @file{parser.y}.

@itemize

@item
In projects which commit all source files, whether generated or not, into
their VCS, the @code{gnulib-tool} generated files should all be committed.
In this case, you also pass the option @samp{--no-vc-files} to
@code{gnulib-tool}.

Gnulib also contains files generated by @command{make} (and removed by
@code{make clean}), using information determined by @command{configure}.
They should not be checked into the VCS, but instead added to
@file{.gitignore} or @file{.cvsignore}.
When you have a Gnulib source file of the form @file{lib/foo.in.h}, the
corresponding @file{lib/foo.h} is such a file.

@item
In projects which customarily omit from their VCS all files that are generated
from other source files, all these files and directories would not be
added into the VCS.  The only file that must be added to the VCS is
@file{gnulib-cache.m4} in the M4 macros directory.  Also, the script for
restoring files not in the VCS, customarily called @file{autogen.sh} or
@file{bootstrap.sh}, will typically contain the statement for restoring
the omitted files:

@smallexample
$ gnulib-tool --update
@end smallexample

The @samp{--update} option operates much like the @samp{--import} option,
but it does not offer the possibility to change the way Gnulib is used.
Also it does not report in the ChangeLogs the files that it had to add
because they were missing.

@end itemize


@node Unit tests
@section Bundling the unit tests of the Gnulib modules

You can bundle the unit tests of the Gnulib modules together with your
package, through the @samp{--with-tests} option.  Together with
@samp{--with-tests}, you also specify the directory for these tests
through the @samp{--tests-base} option.  Of course, you need to add this
directory to the @code{SUBDIRS} variable in the @code{Makefile.am} of
the parent directory.

The advantage of having the unit tests bundled is that when your program
has a problem on a particular platform, running the unit tests may help
determine quickly if the problem is on Gnulib's side or on your package's
side.  Also, it helps verifying Gnulib's portability, of course.

The unit tests will be compiled and run when the user runs @samp{make check}.
When the user runs only @samp{make}, the unit tests will not be compiled.

In the @code{SUBDIRS} variable, it is useful to put the Gnulib tests directory
after the directory containing the other tests, not before:

@smallexample
SUBDIRS = gnulib-lib src man tests gnulib-tests
@end smallexample

@noindent
This will ensure that on platforms where there are test failures in either
directory, users will see and report the failures from the tests of your
program.

Note: In packages which use more than one invocation of @code{gnulib-tool}
in the scope of the same @code{configure.ac}, you cannot use
@samp{--with-tests}.  You will have to use a separate @code{configure.ac}
in this case.