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1This directory contains the sources of the GNU C Library.
2See the file "version.h" for what release version you have.
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3
4The GNU C Library is the standard system C library for all GNU systems,
5and is an important part of what makes up a GNU system. It provides the
6system API for all programs written in C and C-compatible languages such
7as C++ and Objective C; the runtime facilities of other programming
8languages use the C library to access the underlying operating system.
9
10In GNU/Linux systems, the C library works with the Linux kernel to
11implement the operating system behavior seen by user applications.
12In GNU/Hurd systems, it works with a microkernel and Hurd servers.
13
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14The GNU C Library implements much of the POSIX.1 functionality in the
15GNU/Hurd system, using configurations i[34567]86-*-gnu.
16
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17When working with Linux kernels, the GNU C Library version from
18version 2.4 on is intended primarily for use with Linux kernel version
192.6.0 and later. We only support using the NPTL implementation of
20pthreads, which is now the default configuration. Most of the C
21library will continue to work on older Linux kernels and many programs
22will not require a 2.6 kernel to run correctly. However, pthreads and
23related functionality will not work at all on old kernels and we do
24not recommend using glibc 2.4 with any Linux kernel prior to 2.6.
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25
26All Linux kernel versions prior to 2.6.16 are known to have some bugs that
27may cause some of the tests related to pthreads in "make check" to fail.
28If you see such problems, please try the test suite on the most recent
29Linux kernel version that you can use, before pursuing those bugs further.
30
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31Also note that the shared version of the libgcc_s library must be
32installed for the pthread library to work correctly.
33
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34The old LinuxThreads add-on implementation of pthreads for older Linux
35kernels is no longer supported, and we are not distributing it with this
36release. Someone has volunteered to revive its maintenance unofficially
37for at least a short time for the benefit of those using Linux kernels
38older than 2.6, but a working version is not presently available. When
39it is in working condition, we will make it available alongside future
40glibc releases. LinuxThreads will not be supported.
41
42The GNU C Library supports these configurations for using Linux kernels:
43
44 i[34567]86-*-linux-gnu
45 x86_64-*-linux-gnu
46 powerpc-*-linux-gnu
47 powerpc64-*-linux-gnu
48 s390-*-linux-gnu
49 s390x-*-linux-gnu
50 ia64-*-linux-gnu
51 sparc*-*-linux-gnu
52 sparc64*-*-linux-gnu
53
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54 sh[34]-*-linux-gnu Requires Linux 2.6.11
55
56The code for other CPU configurations supported by volunteers outside of
57the core glibc maintenance effort is contained in the separate `ports'
9ef79dce 58add-on. You can find glibc-ports-VERSION distributed separately in the
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59same place where you got the main glibc distribution files.
60Currently these configurations are known to work using the `ports' add-on:
61
57e065ae 62 alpha*-*-linux-gnu Requires Linux 2.6.9 for NPTL
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63 arm-*-linux-gnu Requires Linux 2.6.15 for NPTL, no SMP support
64 arm-*-linux-gnueabi Requires Linux 2.6.16-rc1 for NPTL, no SMP
65 mips-*-linux-gnu Requires Linux 2.6.12 for NPTL
66 mips64-*-linux-gnu Requires Linux 2.6.12 for NPTL
67
68The ports distribution also contains code for other configurations that
69do not work or have not been maintained recently, but will be of use to
70anyone trying to make a new configuration work. If you are interested
71in doing a port, please contact the glibc maintainers; see
72http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/ for more information.
73
74See the file INSTALL to find out how to configure, build, and install
75the GNU C Library. You might also consider reading the WWW pages for
76the C library at http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/.
77
78The GNU C Library is (almost) completely documented by the Texinfo manual
79found in the `manual/' subdirectory. The manual is still being updated
80and contains some known errors and omissions; we regret that we do not
81have the resources to work on the manual as much as we would like. For
82corrections to the manual, please file a bug in the `manual' component,
83following the bug-reporting instructions below. Please be sure to check
84the manual in the current development sources to see if your problem has
85already been corrected.
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86
87The file NOTES contains a description of the feature-test macros used
88in the GNU C library, explaining how you can tell the library what
89facilities you want it to make available.
90
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91Please see http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/bugs.html for bug reporting
92information. We are now using the Bugzilla system to track all bug reports.
93This web page gives detailed information on how to report bugs properly.
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94
95The GNU C Library is free software. See the file COPYING.LIB for copying
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96conditions, and LICENSES for notices about a few contributions that require
97these additional notices to be distributed.