NAME

       etags, ctags - generate tag file for Emacs, vi

SYNOPSIS

       etags [-aCDGImRVh] [-i file] [-l language]
       [-o tagfile] [-r regexp]
       [--append] [--no-defines] [--no-globals] [--include=file] [--ignore-indentation] [--language=language]
       [--members] [--output=tagfile] [--regex=regexp] [--no-regex] [--ignore-case-regex=regexp] [--help]
       [--version] file ...

       ctags [-aCdgImRVh] [-BtTuvwx] [-l language]
       [-o tagfile] [-r regexp]
       [--append] [--backward-search] [--cxref] [--defines] [--forward-search] [--globals]
       [--ignore-indentation] [--language=language] [--members] [--output=tagfile] [--regex=regexp]
       [--ignore-case-regex=regexp] [--typedefs] [--typedefs-and-c++] [--update] [--no-warn] [--help]
       [--version] file ...

DESCRIPTION

       The `etags' program is used to create a tag table file, in a format understood by emacs(1);  the  `ctags'
       program  is  used  to  create a similar table in a format understood by vi(1).  Both forms of the program
       understand the syntax of C, Objective C, C++, Java, Fortran, Ada, Cobol, Erlang, LaTeX, Emacs Lisp/Common
       Lisp, makefiles, Pascal, Perl, Postscript, Python, Prolog, Scheme and most assembler-like syntaxes.  Both
       forms read the files specified on the command line, and write a tag table (defaults:  `TAGS'  for  etags,
       `tags'  for  ctags)  in  the current working directory.  Files specified with relative file names will be
       recorded in the tag table with file names relative to the directory where the tag table  resides.   Files
       specified with absolute file names will be recorded with absolute file names.  The programs recognize the
       language used in an input file based on its file name and contents.  The --language switch can be used to
       force  parsing of the file names following the switch according to the given language, overriding guesses
       based on filename extensions.

OPTIONS

       Some options make sense only for the vi style tag files produced by ctags; etags does not recognize them.
       The programs accept unambiguous abbreviations for long option names.

       -a, --append
              Append to existing tag file.  (For vi-format tag files, see also --update.)

       -B, --backward-search
              Tag files written in the format expected by vi contain regular expression search instructions; the
              -B option writes them using the delimiter `?', to search backwards through files.  The default  is
              to use the delimiter `/', to search forwards through files.  Only ctags accepts this option.

       --declarations
              In  C  and  derived  languages,  create tags for function declarations, and create tags for extern
              variables unless --no-globals is used.

       -d, --defines
              Create tag entries for C preprocessor constant definitions and enum constants, too.  This  is  the
              default behavior for etags.

       -D, --no-defines
              Do  not  create  tag entries for C preprocessor constant definitions and enum constants.  This may
              make the tags file much smaller if many header files are tagged.  This is the default behavior for
              ctags.

       -g, --globals
              Create  tag  entries  for  global  variables  in C, C++, Objective C, Java, and Perl.  This is the
              default behavior for etags.

       -G, --no-globals
              Do not tag global variables.  Typically this reduces the file size by one  fourth.   This  is  the
              default behavior for ctags.

       -i file, --include=file
              Include  a note in the tag file indicating that, when searching for a tag, one should also consult
              the tags file file after checking the current file.  This options is only accepted by etags.

       -I, --ignore-indentation
              Don't rely on indentation as much as we normally do.  Currently, this means not to assume  that  a
              closing  brace  in  the first column is the final brace of a function or structure definition in C
              and C++.

       -l language, --language=language
              Parse the following files according to the given language.  More than  one  such  options  may  be
              intermixed  with filenames.  Use --help to get a list of the available languages and their default
              filename extensions.  The `auto' language can be used to restore automatic detection  of  language
              based  on  the file name.  The `none' language may be used to disable language parsing altogether;
              only regexp matching is done in this case (see the --regex option).

       -m, --members
              Create tag entries for variables that are members of structure-like constructs in  C++,  Objective
              C, Java.

       -M, --no-members
              Do not tag member variables.  This is the default behavior.

       --packages-only
              Only tag packages in Ada files.

       -o tagfile, --output=tagfile
              Explicit name of file for tag table; overrides default `TAGS' or `tags'.   (But ignored with -v or
              -x.)

       -r regexp, --regex=regexp, --ignore-case-regex=regexp
              Make tags based on regexp matching for each line of the files following this option,  in  addition
              to  the  tags  made  with  the  standard  parsing  based on language.  When using --regex, case is
              significant, while it is not with --ignore-case-regex. May be freely intermixed with filenames and
              the  -R  option.  The regexps are cumulative, i.e. each option will add to the previous ones.  The
              regexps are of the form:
                   /tagregexp[/nameregexp]/

              where tagregexp is used to match the lines that must be  tagged.   It  should  not  match  useless
              characters.   If  the  match  is  such that more characters than needed are unavoidably matched by
              tagregexp, it may be useful to add a nameregexp, to narrow down  the  tag  scope.   ctags  ignores
              regexps  without  a  nameregexp.   The  syntax  of regexps is the same as in emacs, augmented with
              intervals of the form \{m,n\}, as in ed or grep.
              Here are some examples.  All the regexps are quoted to protect them from shell interpretation.

              Tag the DEFVAR macros in the emacs source files:
              --regex='/[ \t]*DEFVAR_[A-Z_ \t(]+"\([^"]+\)"'

              Tag VHDL files (this example is a single long line, broken here for formatting reasons):
              --language=none --regex='/[ \t]*\(ARCHITECTURE\|\   CONFIGURATION\) +[^ ]* +OF/' --regex='/[ \t]*\
              \(ATTRIBUTE\|ENTITY\|FUNCTION\|PACKAGE\( BODY\)?\
              \|PROCEDURE\|PROCESS\|TYPE\)[ \t]+\([^ \t(]+\)/\3/'

              Tag TCL files (this last example shows the usage of a tagregexp):
              --lang=none --regex='/proc[ \t]+\([^ \t]+\)/\1/'

              A regexp can be preceded by {lang}, thus restriciting it to match lines of files of the  specified
              language.   Use  etags  --help  to  obtain  a  list  of the recognised languages.  This feature is
              particularly useful inside regex files.  A regex file contains one regex per line.   Empty  lines,
              and those lines beginning with space or tab are ignored.  Lines beginning with @ are references to
              regex files whose name follows the @ sign.  Other lines are considered  regular  expressions  like
              those following --regex.
              For example, the command
              etags --regex=@regex.file *.c
              reads the regexes contained in the file regex.file.

       -R, --no-regex
              Don't do any more regexp matching on the following files.  May be freely intermixed with filenames
              and the --regex option.

       -t, --typedefs
              Record typedefs in C code as tags.  Since this is the  default  behaviour  of  etags,  only  ctags
              accepts this option.

       -T, --typedefs-and-c++
              Generate  tag entries for typedefs, struct, enum, and union tags, and C++ member functions.  Since
              this is the default behaviour of etags, only ctags accepts this option.

       -u, --update
              Update tag entries for files specified on command line, leaving tag entries  for  other  files  in
              place.   Currently,  this  is implemented by deleting the existing entries for the given files and
              then rewriting the new entries at the end of the tags file.  It is often faster to simply  rebuild
              the entire tag file than to use this.  Only ctags accepts this option.

       -v, --vgrind
              Instead  of  generating a tag file, write index (in vgrind format) to standard output.  Only ctags
              accepts this option.

       -w, --no-warn
              Suppress warning messages about duplicate entries.  The etags program does not check for duplicate
              entries, so this option is not allowed with it.

       -x, --cxref
              Instead  of  generating  a tag file, write a cross reference (in cxref format) to standard output.
              Only ctags accepts this option.

       -h, -H, --help
              Print usage information.

       -V, --version
              Print the current version of the program (same as the version of the emacs etags is shipped with).

SEE ALSO

       `emacs' entry in info; GNU Emacs Manual, Richard Stallman.
       cxref(1), emacs(1), vgrind(1), vi(1).

COPYING

       Copyright (c) 1999 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

       Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this manual provided the copyright notice
       and this permission notice are preserved on all copies.

       Permission  is  granted  to copy and distribute modified versions of this manual under the conditions for
       verbatim copying, provided that the entire resulting derived work is distributed under  the  terms  of  a
       permission notice identical to this one.

       Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual into another language, under the
       above conditions  for  modified  versions,  except  that  this  permission  notice  may  be  included  in
       translations approved by the Free Software Foundation instead of in the original English.