]> git.ipfire.org Git - thirdparty/glibc.git/blame - INSTALL
Use write_message instead of write
[thirdparty/glibc.git] / INSTALL
CommitLineData
c9dc3f62
RM
1Installing the GNU C Library
2****************************
41aa20c2 3
6a3951a0 4Before you do anything else, you should read the FAQ at
a8db092e
CD
5<http://sourceware.org/glibc/wiki/FAQ>. It answers common questions and
6describes problems you may experience with compilation and installation.
41aa20c2 7
a8db092e
CD
8 Features can be added to the GNU C Library via "add-on" bundles.
9These are separate tar files, which you unpack into the top level of the
10source tree. Then you give 'configure' the '--enable-add-ons' option to
11activate them, and they will be compiled into the library.
00c1176b
UD
12
13 You will need recent versions of several GNU tools: definitely GCC
fe959e1e 14and GNU Make, and possibly others. *Note Tools for Compilation::,
00c1176b
UD
15below.
16
1f77f049
JM
17Configuring and compiling the GNU C Library
18===========================================
00c1176b 19
1f77f049
JM
20The GNU C Library cannot be compiled in the source directory. You must
21build it in a separate build directory. For example, if you have
a8db092e
CD
22unpacked the GNU C Library sources in '/src/gnu/glibc-VERSION', create a
23directory '/src/gnu/glibc-build' to put the object files in. This
24allows removing the whole build directory in case an error occurs, which
25is the safest way to get a fresh start and should always be done.
00c1176b 26
a8db092e 27 From your object directory, run the shell script 'configure' located
00c1176b
UD
28at the top level of the source tree. In the scenario above, you'd type
29
f1e86fca 30 $ ../glibc-VERSION/configure ARGS...
00c1176b 31
3858bf28 32 Please note that even though you're building in a separate build
e6bdb741
AJ
33directory, the compilation may need to create or modify files and
34directories in the source directory.
f05f5ca3 35
a8db092e
CD
36'configure' takes many options, but the only one that is usually
37mandatory is '--prefix'. This option tells 'configure' where you want
38the GNU C Library installed. This defaults to '/usr/local', but the
1f77f049 39normal setting to install as the standard system library is
a8db092e 40'--prefix=/usr' for GNU/Linux systems and '--prefix=' (an empty prefix)
1f77f049 41for GNU/Hurd systems.
00c1176b
UD
42
43 It may also be useful to set the CC and CFLAGS variables in the
a8db092e 44environment when running 'configure'. CC selects the C compiler that
00c1176b
UD
45will be used, and CFLAGS sets optimization options for the compiler.
46
bd952512 47 The following list describes all of the available options for
a8db092e 48'configure':
00c1176b 49
a8db092e 50'--prefix=DIRECTORY'
00c1176b 51 Install machine-independent data files in subdirectories of
a8db092e 52 'DIRECTORY'. The default is to install in '/usr/local'.
00c1176b 53
a8db092e 54'--exec-prefix=DIRECTORY'
00c1176b 55 Install the library and other machine-dependent files in
a8db092e
CD
56 subdirectories of 'DIRECTORY'. The default is to the '--prefix'
57 directory if that option is specified, or '/usr/local' otherwise.
00c1176b 58
a8db092e
CD
59'--with-headers=DIRECTORY'
60 Look for kernel header files in DIRECTORY, not '/usr/include'. The
61 GNU C Library needs information from the kernel's header files
1f77f049 62 describing the interface to the kernel. The GNU C Library will
a8db092e 63 normally look in '/usr/include' for them, but if you specify this
1f77f049 64 option, it will look in DIRECTORY instead.
00c1176b
UD
65
66 This option is primarily of use on a system where the headers in
a8db092e 67 '/usr/include' come from an older version of the GNU C Library.
1f77f049
JM
68 Conflicts can occasionally happen in this case. You can also use
69 this option if you want to compile the GNU C Library with a newer
a8db092e 70 set of kernel headers than the ones found in '/usr/include'.
41aa20c2 71
a8db092e 72'--enable-add-ons[=LIST]'
3858bf28 73 Specify add-on packages to include in the build. If this option is
a8db092e
CD
74 specified with no list, it enables all the add-on packages it finds
75 in the main source directory; this is the default behavior. You
76 may specify an explicit list of add-ons to use in LIST, separated
77 by spaces or commas (if you use spaces, remember to quote them from
78 the shell). Each add-on in LIST can be an absolute directory name
79 or can be a directory name relative to the main source directory,
80 or relative to the build directory (that is, the current working
81 directory). For example,
82 '--enable-add-ons=nptl,../glibc-libidn-VERSION'.
83
84'--enable-kernel=VERSION'
90d1d40b 85 This option is currently only useful on GNU/Linux systems. The
d2830ba4
UD
86 VERSION parameter should have the form X.Y.Z and describes the
87 smallest version of the Linux kernel the generated library is
88 expected to support. The higher the VERSION number is, the less
89 compatibility code is added, and the faster the code gets.
90
a8db092e
CD
91'--with-binutils=DIRECTORY'
92 Use the binutils (assembler and linker) in 'DIRECTORY', not the
6736e93b 93 ones the C compiler would default to. You can use this option if
41aa20c2 94 the default binutils on your system cannot deal with all the
a8db092e 95 constructs in the GNU C Library. In that case, 'configure' will
bd952512
UD
96 detect the problem and suppress these constructs, so that the
97 library will still be usable, but functionality may be lost--for
98 example, you can't build a shared libc with old binutils.
41aa20c2 99
a8db092e 100'--without-fp'
41aa20c2
UD
101 Use this option if your computer lacks hardware floating-point
102 support and your operating system does not emulate an FPU.
103
a8db092e 104'--disable-shared'
bd952512
UD
105 Don't build shared libraries even if it is possible. Not all
106 systems support shared libraries; you need ELF support and
107 (currently) the GNU linker.
41aa20c2 108
a8db092e 109'--disable-profile'
00c1176b
UD
110 Don't build libraries with profiling information. You may want to
111 use this option if you don't plan to do profiling.
41aa20c2 112
a8db092e 113'--enable-static-nss'
00c1176b
UD
114 Compile static versions of the NSS (Name Service Switch) libraries.
115 This is not recommended because it defeats the purpose of NSS; a
116 program linked statically with the NSS libraries cannot be
117 dynamically reconfigured to use a different name database.
118
a8db092e 119'--enable-hardcoded-path-in-tests'
e98cdb38
CD
120 By default, dynamic tests are linked to run with the installed C
121 library. This option hardcodes the newly built C library path in
122 dynamic tests so that they can be invoked directly.
123
1cba4036
MF
124'--disable-timezone-tools'
125 By default, timezone related utilities ('zic', 'zdump', and
44f826e3
MF
126 'tzselect') are installed with the GNU C Library. If you are
127 building these independently (e.g. by using the 'tzcode' package),
128 then this option will allow disabling the install of these.
1cba4036
MF
129
130 Note that you need to make sure the external tools are kept in sync
131 with the versions that the GNU C Library expects as the data
132 formats may change over time. Consult the 'timezone' subdirectory
133 for more details.
134
a8db092e 135'--enable-lock-elision=yes'
52dfbe13 136 Enable lock elision for pthread mutexes by default.
1717da59 137
a8db092e
CD
138'--enable-pt_chown'
139 The file 'pt_chown' is a helper binary for 'grantpt' (*note
140 Pseudo-Terminals: Allocation.) that is installed setuid root to fix
141 up pseudo-terminal ownership. It is not built by default because
142 systems using the Linux kernel are commonly built with the 'devpts'
143 filesystem enabled and mounted at '/dev/pts', which manages
144 pseudo-terminal ownership automatically. By using
145 '--enable-pt_chown', you may build 'pt_chown' and install it setuid
146 and owned by 'root'. The use of 'pt_chown' introduces additional
147 security risks to the system and you should enable it only if you
148 understand and accept those risks.
149
150'--disable-werror'
151 By default, the GNU C Library is built with '-Werror'. If you wish
a4ecc9eb
JM
152 to build without this option (for example, if building with a newer
153 version of GCC than this version of the GNU C Library was tested
a8db092e
CD
154 with, so new warnings cause the build with '-Werror' to fail), you
155 can configure with '--disable-werror'.
156
21933112 157'--disable-mathvec'
b55a155f
RJ
158 By default for x86_64, the GNU C Library is built with the vector
159 math library. Use this option to disable the vector math library.
21933112 160
a8db092e
CD
161'--build=BUILD-SYSTEM'
162'--host=HOST-SYSTEM'
163 These options are for cross-compiling. If you specify both options
164 and BUILD-SYSTEM is different from HOST-SYSTEM, 'configure' will
165 prepare to cross-compile the GNU C Library from BUILD-SYSTEM to be
166 used on HOST-SYSTEM. You'll probably need the '--with-headers'
167 option too, and you may have to override CONFIGURE's selection of
168 the compiler and/or binutils.
169
170 If you only specify '--host', 'configure' will prepare for a native
171 compile but use what you specify instead of guessing what your
172 system is. This is most useful to change the CPU submodel. For
173 example, if 'configure' guesses your machine as 'i686-pc-linux-gnu'
174 but you want to compile a library for 586es, give
175 '--host=i586-pc-linux-gnu' or just '--host=i586-linux' and add the
176 appropriate compiler flags ('-mcpu=i586' will do the trick) to
ad1b5f19 177 CFLAGS.
1792d4db 178
a8db092e 179 If you specify just '--build', 'configure' will get confused.
41aa20c2 180
a8db092e 181'--with-pkgversion=VERSION'
8b748aed 182 Specify a description, possibly including a build number or build
a8db092e 183 date, of the binaries being built, to be included in '--version'
8b748aed 184 output from programs installed with the GNU C Library. For
a8db092e
CD
185 example, '--with-pkgversion='FooBar GNU/Linux glibc build 123''.
186 The default value is 'GNU libc'.
8b748aed 187
a8db092e 188'--with-bugurl=URL'
8b748aed 189 Specify the URL that users should visit if they wish to report a
a8db092e 190 bug, to be included in '--help' output from programs installed with
8b748aed
JM
191 the GNU C Library. The default value refers to the main
192 bug-reporting information for the GNU C Library.
193
a8db092e
CD
194 To build the library and related programs, type 'make'. This will
195produce a lot of output, some of which may look like errors from 'make'
b55a155f
RJ
196but aren't. Look for error messages from 'make' containing '***'.
197Those indicate that something is seriously wrong.
41aa20c2 198
3858bf28
RM
199 The compilation process can take a long time, depending on the
200configuration and the speed of your machine. Some complex modules may
201take a very long time to compile, as much as several minutes on slower
202machines. Do not panic if the compiler appears to hang.
00c1176b 203
a8db092e
CD
204 If you want to run a parallel make, simply pass the '-j' option with
205an appropriate numeric parameter to 'make'. You need a recent GNU
206'make' version, though.
bd952512
UD
207
208 To build and run test programs which exercise some of the library
a8db092e
CD
209facilities, type 'make check'. If it does not complete successfully, do
210not use the built library, and report a bug after verifying that the
bd952512
UD
211problem is not already known. *Note Reporting Bugs::, for instructions
212on reporting bugs. Note that some of the tests assume they are not
a8db092e 213being run by 'root'. We recommend you compile and test the GNU C
1f77f049 214Library as an unprivileged user.
41aa20c2 215
8d4b5a8a 216 Before reporting bugs make sure there is no problem with your system.
6736e93b 217The tests (and later installation) use some pre-existing files of the
a8db092e 218system such as '/etc/passwd', '/etc/nsswitch.conf' and others. These
8d4b5a8a
UD
219files must all contain correct and sensible content.
220
a8db092e 221 Normally, 'make check' will run all the tests before reporting all
d6fe5e58 222problems found and exiting with error status if any problems occurred.
a8db092e 223You can specify 'stop-on-test-failure=y' when running 'make check' to
d6fe5e58
JM
224make the test run stop and exit with an error status immediately when a
225failure occurs.
226
a8db092e
CD
227 To format the 'GNU C Library Reference Manual' for printing, type
228'make dvi'. You need a working TeX installation to do this. The
229distribution builds the on-line formatted version of the manual, as Info
230files, as part of the build process. You can build them manually with
231'make info'.
1792d4db 232
c0389ee4 233 The library has a number of special-purpose configuration parameters
a8db092e
CD
234which you can find in 'Makeconfig'. These can be overwritten with the
235file 'configparms'. To change them, create a 'configparms' in your
236build directory and add values as appropriate for your system. The file
237is included and parsed by 'make' and has to follow the conventions for
238makefiles.
c0389ee4 239
1f77f049 240 It is easy to configure the GNU C Library for cross-compilation by
a8db092e 241setting a few variables in 'configparms'. Set 'CC' to the
c0389ee4 242cross-compiler for the target you configured the library for; it is
a8db092e
CD
243important to use this same 'CC' value when running 'configure', like
244this: 'CC=TARGET-gcc configure TARGET'. Set 'BUILD_CC' to the compiler
6736e93b 245to use for programs run on the build system as part of compiling the
a8db092e
CD
246library. You may need to set 'AR' to cross-compiling versions of 'ar'
247if the native tools are not configured to work with object files for the
248target you configured for. When cross-compiling the GNU C Library, it
249may be tested using 'make check
df381762
JM
250test-wrapper="SRCDIR/scripts/cross-test-ssh.sh HOSTNAME"', where SRCDIR
251is the absolute directory name for the main source directory and
252HOSTNAME is the host name of a system that can run the newly built
a8db092e
CD
253binaries of the GNU C Library. The source and build directories must be
254visible at the same locations on both the build system and HOSTNAME.
c0389ee4 255
a8db092e 256 In general, when testing the GNU C Library, 'test-wrapper' may be set
0eb69512
JM
257to the name and arguments of any program to run newly built binaries.
258This program must preserve the arguments to the binary being run, its
8540f6d2 259working directory and the standard input, output and error file
a8db092e
CD
260descriptors. If 'TEST-WRAPPER env' will not work to run a program with
261environment variables set, then 'test-wrapper-env' must be set to a
8540f6d2 262program that runs a newly built program with environment variable
a8db092e 263assignments in effect, those assignments being specified as 'VAR=VALUE'
8540f6d2 264before the name of the program to be run. If multiple assignments to
a8db092e 265the same variable are specified, the last assignment specified must take
4acc27ed
RM
266precedence. Similarly, if 'TEST-WRAPPER env -i' will not work to run a
267program with an environment completely empty of variables except those
268directly assigned, then 'test-wrapper-env-only' must be set; its use has
269the same syntax as 'test-wrapper-env', the only difference in its
270semantics being starting with an empty set of environment variables
271rather than the ambient set.
0eb69512 272
c9dc3f62
RM
273Installing the C Library
274========================
41aa20c2 275
80ed68b7 276To install the library and its header files, and the Info files of the
a8db092e 277manual, type 'make install'. This will build things, if necessary,
686554bf
JM
278before installing them; however, you should still compile everything
279first. If you are installing the GNU C Library as your primary C
280library, we recommend that you shut the system down to single-user mode
a8db092e
CD
281first, and reboot afterward. This minimizes the risk of breaking things
282when the library changes out from underneath.
1792d4db 283
a8db092e 284 'make install' will do the entire job of upgrading from a previous
1f77f049
JM
285installation of the GNU C Library version 2.x. There may sometimes be
286headers left behind from the previous installation, but those are
a8db092e
CD
287generally harmless. If you want to avoid leaving headers behind you can
288do things in the following order.
c0389ee4 289
a8db092e
CD
290 You must first build the library ('make'), optionally check it ('make
291check'), switch the include directories and then install ('make
c0389ee4
AJ
292install'). The steps must be done in this order. Not moving the
293directory before install will result in an unusable mixture of header
294files from both libraries, but configuring, building, and checking the
295library requires the ability to compile and run programs against the old
a8db092e 296library. The new '/usr/include', after switching the include
02c4bbad 297directories and before installing the library should contain the Linux
a8db092e
CD
298headers, but nothing else. If you do this, you will need to restore any
299headers from libraries other than the GNU C Library yourself after
1f77f049 300installing the library.
c0389ee4 301
1f77f049 302 You can install the GNU C Library somewhere other than where you
a82a3db9
MS
303configured it to go by setting the 'DESTDIR' GNU standard make variable
304on the command line for 'make install'. The value of this variable is
1f77f049 305prepended to all the paths for installation. This is useful when
a8db092e 306setting up a chroot environment or preparing a binary distribution. The
a82a3db9
MS
307directory should be specified with an absolute file name. Installing
308with the 'prefix' and 'exec_prefix' GNU standard make variables set is
309not supported.
1792d4db 310
a8db092e
CD
311 The GNU C Library includes a daemon called 'nscd', which you may or
312may not want to run. 'nscd' caches name service lookups; it can
1f77f049
JM
313dramatically improve performance with NIS+, and may help with DNS as
314well.
1792d4db 315
a8db092e
CD
316 One auxiliary program, '/usr/libexec/pt_chown', is installed setuid
317'root' if the '--enable-pt_chown' configuration option is used. This
318program is invoked by the 'grantpt' function; it sets the permissions on
319a pseudoterminal so it can be used by the calling process. If you are
320using a Linux kernel with the 'devpts' filesystem enabled and mounted at
321'/dev/pts', you don't need this program.
41aa20c2 322
bd952512 323 After installation you might want to configure the timezone and
1f77f049 324locale installation of your system. The GNU C Library comes with a
a8db092e
CD
325locale database which gets configured with 'localedef'. For example, to
326set up a German locale with name 'de_DE', simply issue the command
327'localedef -i de_DE -f ISO-8859-1 de_DE'. To configure all locales that
328are supported by the GNU C Library, you can issue from your build
329directory the command 'make localedata/install-locales'.
330
331 To configure the locally used timezone, set the 'TZ' environment
332variable. The script 'tzselect' helps you to select the right value.
333As an example, for Germany, 'tzselect' would tell you to use
334'TZ='Europe/Berlin''. For a system wide installation (the given paths
335are for an installation with '--prefix=/usr'), link the timezone file
336which is in '/usr/share/zoneinfo' to the file '/etc/localtime'. For
337Germany, you might execute 'ln -s /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/Berlin
bd952512
UD
338/etc/localtime'.
339
c9dc3f62
RM
340Recommended Tools for Compilation
341=================================
41aa20c2 342
80ed68b7 343We recommend installing the following GNU tools before attempting to
1f77f049 344build the GNU C Library:
41aa20c2 345
a8db092e 346 * GNU 'make' 3.79 or newer
41aa20c2 347
a8db092e
CD
348 You need the latest version of GNU 'make'. Modifying the GNU C
349 Library to work with other 'make' programs would be so difficult
350 that we recommend you port GNU 'make' instead. *Really.* We
351 recommend GNU 'make' version 3.79. All earlier versions have
6736e93b 352 severe bugs or lack features.
41aa20c2 353
b08b4218 354 * GCC 4.7 or newer
0e7727f7 355
b08b4218 356 GCC 4.7 or higher is required. In general it is recommended to use
4863355a
JM
357 the newest version of the compiler that is known to work for
358 building the GNU C Library, as newer compilers usually produce
2c8f75f7 359 better code. As of release time, GCC 5.3 is the newest compiler
4863355a 360 verified to work to build the GNU C Library.
91ea72b7 361
022dfdce
SL
362 For multi-arch support it is recommended to use a GCC which has
363 been built with support for GNU indirect functions. This ensures
364 that correct debugging information is generated for functions
365 selected by IFUNC resolvers. This support can either be enabled by
366 configuring GCC with '--enable-gnu-indirect-function', or by
367 enabling it by default by setting 'default_gnu_indirect_function'
368 variable for a particular architecture in the GCC source file
369 'gcc/config.gcc'.
370
1f77f049
JM
371 You can use whatever compiler you like to compile programs that use
372 the GNU C Library.
41aa20c2 373
90d1d40b
RM
374 Check the FAQ for any special compiler issues on particular
375 platforms.
5713a71e 376
a8db092e 377 * GNU 'binutils' 2.22 or later
41aa20c2 378
a8db092e 379 You must use GNU 'binutils' (as and ld) to build the GNU C Library.
7a49a7d5 380 No other assembler or linker has the necessary functionality at the
04cb913d
CD
381 moment. As of release time, GNU 'binutils' 2.25 is the newest
382 verified to work to build the GNU C Library.
41aa20c2 383
a8db092e 384 * GNU 'texinfo' 4.7 or later
41aa20c2
UD
385
386 To correctly translate and install the Texinfo documentation you
a8db092e 387 need this version of the 'texinfo' package. Earlier versions do
41aa20c2 388 not understand all the tags used in the document, and the
1792d4db 389 installation mechanism for the info files is not present or works
2c8f75f7 390 differently. As of release time, 'texinfo' 6.0 is the newest
04cb913d 391 verified to work to build the GNU C Library.
41aa20c2 392
a8db092e 393 * GNU 'awk' 3.1.2, or higher
00c1176b 394
a8db092e
CD
395 'awk' is used in several places to generate files. Some 'gawk'
396 extensions are used, including the 'asorti' function, which was
2c8f75f7
CD
397 introduced in version 3.1.2 of 'gawk'. As of release time, 'gawk'
398 version 4.1.3 is the newest verified to work to build the GNU C
399 Library.
41aa20c2 400
00c1176b
UD
401 * Perl 5
402
403 Perl is not required, but it is used if present to test the
404 installation. We may decide to use it elsewhere in the future.
41aa20c2 405
a8db092e 406 * GNU 'sed' 3.02 or newer
c0389ee4 407
a8db092e 408 'Sed' is used in several places to generate files. Most scripts
2c8f75f7
CD
409 work with any version of 'sed'. As of release time, 'sed' version
410 4.2.2 is the newest verified to work to build the GNU C Library.
c0389ee4 411
a8db092e 412If you change any of the 'configure.ac' files you will also need
0cc70fcf 413
a8db092e 414 * GNU 'autoconf' 2.69 (exactly)
41aa20c2
UD
415
416and if you change any of the message translation files you will need
417
a8db092e 418 * GNU 'gettext' 0.10.36 or later
41aa20c2 419
a8db092e 420If you wish to regenerate the 'yacc' parser code in the 'intl'
cc8623f1
WN
421subdirectory you will need
422
a8db092e 423 * GNU 'bison' 2.7 or later
cc8623f1 424
41aa20c2
UD
425You may also need these packages if you upgrade your source tree using
426patches, although we try to avoid this.
427
c9dc3f62
RM
428Specific advice for GNU/Linux systems
429=====================================
80ed68b7 430
a7a93d50 431If you are installing the GNU C Library on GNU/Linux systems, you need
5b4ecd3f 432to have the header files from a 3.2 or newer kernel around for
a8db092e
CD
433reference. These headers must be installed using 'make
434headers_install'; the headers present in the kernel source directory are
435not suitable for direct use by the GNU C Library. You do not need to
436use that kernel, just have its headers installed where the GNU C Library
437can access them, referred to here as INSTALL-DIRECTORY. The easiest way
438to do this is to unpack it in a directory such as
439'/usr/src/linux-VERSION'. In that directory, run 'make headers_install
1f77f049 440INSTALL_HDR_PATH=INSTALL-DIRECTORY'. Finally, configure the GNU C
a8db092e
CD
441Library with the option '--with-headers=INSTALL-DIRECTORY/include'. Use
442the most recent kernel you can get your hands on. (If you are
1f77f049 443cross-compiling the GNU C Library, you need to specify
a8db092e 444'ARCH=ARCHITECTURE' in the 'make headers_install' command, where
1f77f049 445ARCHITECTURE is the architecture name used by the Linux kernel, such as
a8db092e 446'x86' or 'powerpc'.)
1f77f049
JM
447
448 After installing the GNU C Library, you may need to remove or rename
a8db092e
CD
449directories such as '/usr/include/linux' and '/usr/include/asm', and
450replace them with copies of directories such as 'linux' and 'asm' from
451'INSTALL-DIRECTORY/include'. All directories present in
452'INSTALL-DIRECTORY/include' should be copied, except that the GNU C
453Library provides its own version of '/usr/include/scsi'; the files
454provided by the kernel should be copied without replacing those provided
455by the GNU C Library. The 'linux', 'asm' and 'asm-generic' directories
456are required to compile programs using the GNU C Library; the other
457directories describe interfaces to the kernel but are not required if
458not compiling programs using those interfaces. You do not need to copy
459kernel headers if you did not specify an alternate kernel header source
460using '--with-headers'.
1f77f049 461
a7a93d50 462 The Filesystem Hierarchy Standard for GNU/Linux systems expects some
a8db092e
CD
463components of the GNU C Library installation to be in '/lib' and some in
464'/usr/lib'. This is handled automatically if you configure the GNU C
465Library with '--prefix=/usr'. If you set some other prefix or allow it
466to default to '/usr/local', then all the components are installed there.
1792d4db 467
c9dc3f62
RM
468Reporting Bugs
469==============
41aa20c2 470
1f77f049 471There are probably bugs in the GNU C Library. There are certainly
41aa20c2
UD
472errors and omissions in this manual. If you report them, they will get
473fixed. If you don't, no one will ever know about them and they will
474remain unfixed for all eternity, if not longer.
475
bd952512 476 It is a good idea to verify that the problem has not already been
a8db092e 477reported. Bugs are documented in two places: The file 'BUGS' describes
8b748aed 478a number of well known bugs and the central GNU C Library bug tracking
a8db092e 479system has a WWW interface at <http://sourceware.org/bugzilla/>. The
8b748aed
JM
480WWW interface gives you access to open and closed reports. A closed
481report normally includes a patch or a hint on solving the problem.
6736e93b 482
a8db092e
CD
483 To report a bug, first you must find it. With any luck, this will be
484the hard part. Once you've found a bug, make sure it's really a bug. A
485good way to do this is to see if the GNU C Library behaves the same way
486some other C library does. If so, probably you are wrong and the
487libraries are right (but not necessarily). If not, one of the libraries
488is probably wrong. It might not be the GNU C Library. Many historical
489Unix C libraries permit things that we don't, such as closing a file
490twice.
1792d4db 491
1f77f049 492 If you think you have found some way in which the GNU C Library does
1792d4db 493not conform to the ISO and POSIX standards (*note Standards and
c0389ee4 494Portability::), that is definitely a bug. Report it!
41aa20c2
UD
495
496 Once you're sure you've found a bug, try to narrow it down to the
497smallest test case that reproduces the problem. In the case of a C
498library, you really only need to narrow it down to one library function
499call, if possible. This should not be too difficult.
500
501 The final step when you have a simple test case is to report the bug.
a8db092e 502Do this at <http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/bugs.html>.
41aa20c2
UD
503
504 If you are not sure how a function should behave, and this manual
505doesn't tell you, that's a bug in the manual. Report that too! If the
506function's behavior disagrees with the manual, then either the library
507or the manual has a bug, so report the disagreement. If you find any
80ed68b7
RM
508errors or omissions in this manual, please report them to the bug
509database. If you refer to specific sections of the manual, please
510include the section names for easier identification.