113 lines
4.0 KiB
Plaintext
113 lines
4.0 KiB
Plaintext
Introduction
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============
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This is the Gnu Readline library, version 2.2
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The Readline library provides a set of functions for use by applications
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that allow users to edit command lines as they are typed in. Both
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Emacs and vi editing modes are available. The Readline library includes
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additional functions to maintain a list of previously-entered command
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lines, to recall and perhaps reedit those lines, and perform csh-like
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history expansion on previous commands.
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The history facilites are also placed into a separate library, the
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History library, as part of the build process. The History library
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may be used without Readline in applications which desire its
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capabilities.
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The Readline library is free software, distributed under the terms of
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the GNU Public License, version 2. For more information, see the file
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COPYING.
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To build the library, try typing `./configure', then `make'. The
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configuration process is automated, so no further intervention should
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be necessary. Readline builds with `gcc' by default if it is
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available. If you want to use `cc' instead, type
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CC=cc ./configure
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if you are using a Bourne-style shell. If you are not, the following
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may work:
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env CC=cc ./configure
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Read the file INSTALL in this directory for more information about how
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to customize and control the build process.
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The file rlconf.h contains defines that enable and disable certain
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Readline features.
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Examples
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========
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There are several example programs that use Readline features in the
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examples directory. The `rl' program is of particular interest. It
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is a command-line interface to Readline, suitable for use in shell
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scripts in place of `read'.
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Shared Libraries
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================
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There is skeletal support for building shared versions of the
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Readline and History libraries.
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Typing `make shared' will cause shared versions of the Readline and
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History libraries to be built on SunOS 4.1.x. For versions of Unix
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other than SunOS, you will have to make some changes to Makefile.in.
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The relevant variables are:
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PICFLAG Options to give to the compiler to produce position-independent
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code. The value `-fpic' works for most versions of gcc.
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SHLIB_OPTS Options to give to the linker to produce a shared library.
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The value `-assert pure-text -ldl' works on SunOS 4.1.x.
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The value `-Bshareable' works for some versions of GNU ld.
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MAJOR The major version number of the shared library. You should
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not need to change this.
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MINOR The minor version number of the shared library. Some systems,
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such as SVR4 and its descendents (e.g., Solaris, Unixware),
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do not use minor version numbers. For those systems, this
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variable should be left unset.
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LD The linker. The value of `ld' is correct for SunOS 4.1.x.
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You may need to change it to `gcc'; make sure to change
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SHLIB_OPTS if you do so.
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Once you have edited Makefile.in, type `make Makefile' to rebuild the
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Makefile, then `make shared' to build the shared libraries.
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Documentation
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=============
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The documentation for the Readline and History libraries appears in the
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`doc' subdirectory. There are two texinfo files and a Unix-style manual
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page describing the programming facilities available in the Readline
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library. The texinfo files include both user and programmer's manuals.
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Reporting Bugs
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==============
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Bug reports for Readline should be sent to:
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bug-readline@gnu.org
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When reporting a bug, please include the following information:
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* the version number and release status of Readline (e.g., 2.2-release)
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* the machine and OS that it is running on
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* a list of the compilation flags or the contents of `config.h', if
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appropriate
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* a description of the bug
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* a recipe for recreating the bug reliably
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* a fix for the bug if you have one!
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If you would like to contact the Readline maintainer directly, send mail
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to bash-maintainers@gnu.org.
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Since Readline is developed along with bash, the bug-bash@gnu.org mailing
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list (mirrored to the Usenet newsgroup gnu.bash.bug) often contains
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Readline bug reports and fixes.
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Chet Ramey
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chet@po.cwru.edu
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