binutils/README

   1 These are the GNU binutils.  These are utilities of use when dealing
   2 with object files.
   3
   4 The linker (ld) is in a separate directory, which should be ../ld.
   5 Linker-specific notes are in ../ld/README.
   6
   7 As of version 2.5, the assembler (as) is also included in this package, in
   8 ../gas.  Assembler-specific notes can be found in ../gas/README.
   9
  10 Recent changes are in ./NEWS, ../ld/NEWS, and ../gas/NEWS.
  11
  12 Unpacking and Installation -- quick overview
  13 ============================================
  14
  15 When you unpack the binutils-2.9.tar.gz file, you'll get a directory
  16 called something like `binutils-2.9', which contains various files and
  17 directories.  Most of the files in the top directory are for
  18 information and for configuration.  The actual source code is in
  19 subdirectories.
  20
  21 To build binutils, you can just do:
  22
  23         cd binutils-2.9
  24         ./configure [options]
  25         make
  26         make install # copies the programs files into /usr/local/bin
  27                      # by default.
  28
  29 This will configure and build all the libraries as well as the
  30 assembler, the binutils, and the linker.
  31
  32 If you have GNU make, we recommend building in a different directory:
  33
  34         mkdir objdir
  35         cd objdir
  36         ../binutils-2.9/configure [options]
  37         make
  38         make install
  39
  40 This relies on the VPATH feature of GNU make.
  41
  42 By default, the binutils will be configured to support the system on
  43 which they are built.  When doing cross development, use the --target
  44 configure option to specify a different target.
  45
  46 The --enable-targets option adds support for more binary file formats
  47 besides the default.  List them as the argument to --enable-targets,
  48 separated by commas.  For example:
  49
  50         ./configure --enable-targets=sun3,rs6000-aix,decstation
  51
  52 The name 'all' compiles in support for all valid BFD targets (this was
  53 the default in releases before 2.3):
  54
  55         ./configure --enable-targets=all
  56
  57 You can also specify the --enable-shared option when you run
  58 configure.  This will build the BFD and opcodes libraries as shared
  59 libraries.  You can use arguments with the --enable-shared option to
  60 indicate that only certain libraries should be built shared; for
  61 example, --enable-shared=bfd.  The only potential shared libraries in
  62 a binutils release are bfd and opcodes.
  63
  64 The binutils will be linked against the shared libraries.  The build
  65 step will attempt to place the correct library in the runtime search
  66 path for the binaries.  However, in some cases, after you install the
  67 binaries, you may have to set an environment variable, normally
  68 LD_LIBRARY_PATH, so that the system can find the installed libbfd
  69 shared library.
  70
  71 To build under openVMS/AXP, see the file makefile.vms in the top level
  72 directory.
  73
  74 If you don't have ar
  75 ====================
  76
  77 If your system does not already have an ar program, the normal
  78 binutils build process will not work.  In this case, run configure as
  79 usual.  Before running make, run this script:
  80
  81 #!/bin/sh
  82 MAKE_PROG="${MAKE-make}"
  83 MAKE="${MAKE_PROG} AR=true LINK=true"
  84 export MAKE
  85 ${MAKE} $* all-libiberty
  86 ${MAKE} $* all-intl
  87 ${MAKE} $* all-bfd
  88 cd binutils
  89 MAKE="${MAKE_PROG}"
  90 export MAKE
  91 ${MAKE} $* ar_DEPENDENCIES= ar_LDADD='../bfd/*.o `cat ../libiberty/required-list ../libiberty/needed-list | sed -e "s,\([^ ][^ ]*\),../libiberty/\1,g"` `if test -f ../intl/gettext.o; then echo '../intl/*.o'; fi`' ar
  92
  93 This script will build an ar program in binutils/ar.  Move binutils/ar
  94 into a directory on your PATH.  After doing this, you can run make as
  95 usual to build the complete binutils distribution.  You do not need
  96 the ranlib program in order to build the distribution.
  97
  98 Porting
  99 =======
 100
 101 Binutils-2.9 supports many different architectures, but there
 102 are many more not supported, including some that were supported
 103 by earlier versions.  We are hoping for volunteers to
 104 improve this situation.
 105
 106 The major effort in porting binutils to a new host and/or target
 107 architecture involves the BFD library.  There is some documentation
 108 in ../bfd/doc.  The file ../gdb/doc/gdbint.texinfo (distributed
 109 with gdb-4.x) may also be of help.
 110
 111 Reporting bugs
 112 ==============
 113
 114 Send bug reports and patches to bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org.  Always mention
 115 the version number you are running; this is printed by running any of
 116 the binutils with the --version option.  We appreciate reports about
 117 bugs, but we do not promise to fix them.
 118
 119 VMS
 120 ===
 121
 122 This section was written by Klaus K"ampf <kkaempf@rmi.de>.  It
 123 describes how to build and install the binutils on openVMS (Alpha and
 124 Vax).  (The BFD library only supports reading Vax object files.)
 125
 126 Compiling the release:
 127
 128 To compile the gnu binary utilities and the gnu assembler, you'll
 129 need DEC C or GNU C for openVMS/Alpha. You'll need *both* compilers
 130 on openVMS/Vax.
 131
 132 Compiling with either DEC C or GNU C works on openVMS/Alpha only. Some
 133 of the opcodes and binutils files trap a bug in the DEC C optimizer,
 134 so these files must be compiled with /noopt.
 135
 136 Compiling on openVMS/Vax is a bit complicated, as the bfd library traps
 137 a bug in GNU C and the gnu assembler a bug in (my version of) DEC C.
 138
 139 I never tried compiling with VAX C.
 140
 141
 142 You further need GNU Make Version 3.76 or later. This is available
 143 at ftp.progis.de or any GNU archive site. The makefiles assume that
 144 gmake starts gnu make as a foreign command.
 145
 146 If you're compiling with DEC C or VAX C, you must run
 147
 148   $ @setup
 149
 150 before starting gnu-make. This isn't needed with GNU C.
 151
 152 On the Alpha you can choose the compiler by editing the toplevel
 153 makefile.vms. Either select CC=cc (for DEC C) or CC=gcc (for GNU C)
 154
 155
 156 Installing the release
 157
 158 Provided that your directory setup conforms to the GNU on openVMS
 159 standard, you already have a concealed deviced named 'GNU_ROOT'.
 160 In this case, a simple
 161
 162  $ gmake install
 163
 164 suffices to copy all programs and libraries to the proper directories.
 165
 166 Define the programs as foreign commands by adding these lines to your
 167 login.com:
 168
 169   $ gas :== $GNU_ROOT:[bin]as.exe
 170   $ size :== $GNU_ROOT:[bin]size.exe
 171   $ nm :== $GNU_ROOT:[bin]nm.exe
 172   $ objdump :== $GNU_ROOT:[bin]objdump.exe
 173   $ strings :== $GNU_ROOT:[bin]strings.exe
 174
 175 If you have a different directory setup, copy the binary utilities
 176 ([.binutils]size.exe, [.binutils]nm.exe, [.binutils]objdump.exe,
 177 and [.binutils]strings.exe) and the gnu assembler and preprocessor
 178 ([.gas]as.exe and [.gas]gasp.exe]) to a directory of your choice
 179 and define all programs as foreign commands.
 180
 181
 182 If you're satiesfied with the compilation, you may want to remove
 183 unneeded objects and libraries:
 184
 185   $ gmake clean
 186
 187
 188 If you have any problems or questions about the binutils on VMS, feel
 189 free to mail me at kkaempf@rmi.de.