Provided by: icmake_9.03.01-1_amd64 
NAME
icmake - A program maintenance (make) utility using a C-like grammar
SYNOPSIS
icmake [options] source[.im] [dest[.bim]] [-- [args]]
icmun bimfile
DESCRIPTION
Icmake(1) is a generic tool handling program maintenance that can be used as an alternative for make(1).
It’s a generic tool in that icmake-scripts, written in a language closely resembling the C programming
language, can perform tasks that are traditionally the domain of scripting languages.
Icmake allows programmers to use a programming language (closely resembling the well-known C-programming
language) to define the actions that are required for (complex) program maintenance. For this, icmake
offers various special operators as well as a set of support functions that have shown their usefulness
in program maintenance.
Although icmake scripts can be written from scratch, often the required activities are highly comparable.
This observation resulted in the construction of two icmake scripts, which are now part of the standard
icmake distribution: icmstart(1), initializing a directory for program development and icmbuild(1),
handling the actual program maintenance. Both come predefined as scripts tailored to initializing and
maintaining C++ programs (or, after minimal adaptation, C programs), but can easily be adapted to other
programming languages. Both icmstart and icmbuild can be run without explicitly calling icmake.
This man-page covers icmake (the program), its support programs, and the syntax and facilities offered by
icmake’s scripting language. Refer to the icmstart(1)) man-page for information about how a directory can
be initialized (created) in which (by default) a C++ or C program can be developed and refer to the
icmbuild(1) man-page for information about how icmbuild can be used to handle program maintenance.
Icmake, its support programs, and scripts do not offer an Integrated Development Environment (IDE).
Icmake merely performs tasks for which scripts can be written, and only a minimal set of pre-defined
scripts (icmstart and icmbuild) that repeatedly have shown to be extremely useful when developing and
maintaining programs are included in the icmake distribution.
In its standard operation mode, icmake calls the following programs:
o icm-pp to preprocess the icmake file
o icm-comp to byte-code compile the icmake s
o icm-dep to handle class-dependencies (see sections ICM-DEP in this and icmbuild(1)’s man-pages for
more information about icm-dep).
o icm-exec to execute the byte-code file
The program icmun(1) disassembles compiled byte-code (.bim) files. Icmun is mainly used for illustration,
education, and debugging. As it is not required for icmake’s daily use it is not installed in a standard
PATH directory but (since icmake’s version 9.02.00) in icmake’s lib directory, which commonly is
/usr/lib/icmake.
Traditional make-utilities recompile sources once header files are modified. When developing C++ programs
this is often a bad idea, as adding a new member to a class does not normally require you to recompile
all of the class’s source files. To handle class dependencies icmbuld(1) may inspect class dependencies,
(re)compiling sources of dependent classes whenever necessary. By default, class-dependencies are not
interpreted, but this can easily be changed by activating the PRECOMP and/or USE_ALL defines which are
found in the file icmconf. Refer to the icmconf(7) man-page for further details.
Precompiled header files can also be used. Precompiled header files dramatically reduce the time that is
required for compiling the source files of classes. Refer to the icmconf(7) man-page (in particular the
description of the PRECOMP define) for further details.
This manpage describes icmake’s options in the next section. Following that section icmake’s C-like
scripting language and support programs are described in the following separate sections:
o PREPROCESSOR DIRECTIVES
- supported preprocessor directives, like #include and #define;
o DATA TYPES
- int, list, string, and void (for functions);
o PREDEFINED CONSTANTS
- like O_FILE, OFF, and S_IFREG;
o OPERATORS
- like +, younger, and casts
o FLOW CONTROL
- if, for, while, etc. (the switch is not available);
o PREDEFINED FUNCTIONS
- executing programs, changing directories, operations on string and list type variables, etc.;
o USER DEFINED FUNCTIONS
- at least main, with or without its common parameters argc, argv, and envp.
o ICM-DEP
- the icm-dep dependency analyzer.
o ICMUN
- a brief section about icmun.
OPTIONS
Where available, single letter options are listed between parentheses beyond their associated long-option
variants.
o --
This option separates icmake arguments from arguments passed to the .bim file.
Arguments beyond -- are passed to the .bim file as-is, and are available from the list argv
parameter available from the icmake script’s main function’s second parameter (see below at
section USER DEFINED FUNCTIONS). For some options (see below) the -- separator is not required.
o --about (-a)
Show information about icmake and terminate.
o --compile (-c)
The icmake source file is compiled, generating a .bim file.
o --execute (-e)
Execute the icmake .bim file, given as icmake’s first file argument. Any additional arguments are
passed to the .bim file as-is, and -- should not be specified.
o --force (-f)
The icmake source file is recompiled (even if the .bim file is up-to-date) either when no other
options are specified, or when in combination with options --source and --tmpbin.
o --help (-h)
Provides usage info.
o --icm-dep (-d)
Calls /usr/lib/icmake/icm-dep, passing it all remaining arguments. If no additional arguments are
specified icm-dep’s short usage information is shown to the std. output stream. See sections
ICM-DEP in this and icbuild(1)’s man-pages for more information about the icm-dep support program.
An overview of icm-dep’s options follows below, after this overview of icmake’s options.
o --preprocess (-p)
The icmake source file is only preprocessed, and the preprocessed file is written to icmake’s
second file argument (by default `source’.pim).
o --source (-i)
The first argument is the icmake source file, the default binary file is constructed if necessary.
Any additional arguments are passed to the .bim file as-is, and -- should not be specified.
o --summary (-F)
The filenames and flags as well as an overview of all actions to be performed by icmake are shown
on the standard output stream.
o -t tmpbim
The tmpbim argument following -t is the name of a temporary .bim file, which is removed after
icmake’s call. When . is specified for tmpbim then the default temporary directory, followed by
icmake’s process-id, followed by .bim is used.
Following the name of the temporary .bim file the name of the icmake source script must be
specified. Any additional arguments are passed to the .bim file as-is, and -- should not be
specified; After setting the source script file’s executable flag (chmod +x script), and providing
it with an initial line like this:
#!/usr/bin/icmake -t.
the icmake script can directly be called:
script arg1 arg2
in which case the icmake script `script’ is executed while it receives the arguments script arg1
arg2.
o -T directory
The specified directory is used to store temporary files. E.g., when compiling an icmake script,
the output of icmake’s preprocessor is a temporary file which is removed on exit. By default /tmp
is used, unless /tmp is not a writable directory, in which case the current user’s $HOME directory
is used. Implicit temporary filenames always start with the process id of the current icmake
process.
o --version (-v)
Displays icmake’s version number.
PREPROCESSOR DIRECTIVES
The following preprocessor directives are recognized:
o comment:
standard C comment (everything from /* through */) as well as comment-to-end-of-line (line content
starting at //) is ignored.
o Shell startup: The first line of the icmake-script may start with #!path, where path defines the
absolute location of the icmake program. By making the script executable, it can be called without
explicitly calling icmake.
E.g., if the first line of an (executable) icmakefile ’icm’ (without extension) contains
#!/usr/bin/icmake -i
then icm may be issued as a command, thus executing
/usr/bin/icmake -i icm ...
Alternatively,
#!/usr/bin/icmake -t /tmp/icm
may be used, resulting in the execution of
#!/usr/bin/icmake -t /tmp/icm icm ...
In this case the binary file is removed on exit.
o #include "filename"
The file filename is included at the location of the directive
o #include <filename>
The file filename is included at the location of the #include directive; filename is searched in
the colon-separated directories specified by the IM environment variable. The first occurrence of
filename in the directories specified by the IM environment variable is used.
o #define identifier [definition]
The text identifier is replaced by definition. The definition may contain references to already
defined identifiers, using the ${identifier} format. If the ${identifier} hasn’t been defined
(yet), the text ${identifier} is literally kept. To prevent infinite recursion at most 100
${identifier} replacements are allowed.
Definitions continue at the next line if the last character on a line is a backslash (\). (which
is not included in the definition). The preprocessor concatenates double-quuted strings, and
double quoted strings may not span multiple lines. Multiple blanks (outside of double quoted
strings) in definitions are contracted to a single blank space.
The definition following the #define’s identifier is optional. If omitted, the macro is defined,
so it can be used in #if(n)def directives (see below), but they are not replaced by any text in
icmake code statements.
o #ifdef identifier
If the identifier macro was defined the next block of code (until a matching #else or #endif
directive was read) is byte-compiled. Otherwise, the block of code is ignored.
o #ifndef identifier
If the identifier macro was not defined the next block of code (until a matching #else or #endif
directive was detected) is byte-compiled. Otherwise, the block of code is ignored.
o #else
Terminates a #ifdef and #ifndef directive, reversing the acceptance decision about the following
code. Only one #else directive can be associated with #if(n)def directives.
o #endif
Terminates the preprocessor block starting at the matching #ifdef, #ifndef or #else directive. The
#endif directory and its matching #if(n)def directive must be specified in the same file.
o #undef identifier
Remove identifier from the set of defined symbols. This does not affect the specification of any
previously defined symbols in which identifier’s definition has been used. If identifier hasn’t
been defined a warning is issued.
DATA TYPES
Icmake supports the following five data and value types:
o ASCII character constants
ASCII character constants are individual characters, surrounded by single or double quotes. Single
characters (e.g., ’a’) represent the character itself. Standard escape sequences (e.g., ’\n’) are
supported and represent their standard converted value (e.g., ’\n’ represents ascii value 10
(decimal)). Non-standard escape sequences (e.g., ’\x’) represent the ascii character following the
escape character (so ’\x’ equals ’x’). Escape sequences consisting of three octal digits represent
the ascii character corresponding to the octal value modulo 256 (e.g., ’\123’). Escape sequences
consisting of an x followed by two hexadecimal digits represent the ascii character corresponding
to the hexadecimal value (e.g., ’\xa4’).
o int
Integral values, ranging from -0x8000 through 0x7fff. int constants may be specified as decimal
numbers (starting with digits 1 through 9), octal numbers (starting with 0, followed by one or
more octal digits) hexadecimal numbers (starting with 0x, followed by one or more hexadecimal
digits) or as ASCII character constants.
o string
Text values: text (or `string’) constants are delimited by double quotes. Multiple string
constants may be concatenated, but a single string constant may not span multiple lines. String
constants separated by white space only (i.e., blanks, newlines, comment) are concatenated and
represent one single string constant. To indicate an end-of-line in a string constant use the \n
escape sequence.
ASCII character constants using double quotes can also be used in arithmetic expressions if one of
the operands is an int.
Likewise, ASCII character constants using single quotes may be used in situations where string
operands are expected.
o list
A data structure containing a series of individually accessible string values. When a list
contains elements, its first element has index 0.
List constants can also be defined. They consist of comma-separated strings (which may be string
variables or expressions returning string values) and are surrounded by square brackets. E.g.,
list words = ["a", "list", "constant"];
o void
Used with function definitions to indicate that the function does not return a value.
Variables can be defined at the global level as well as inside functions (not only at the top of compound
statements but also between statements and in the initialization section of for-statements). When defined
inside functions, the standard C scoping and visibility rules apply. Variables are strongly typed, and
cannot have type void.
Variables may be initialized when they are defined. Initializations are expressions which may use
predefined or user-defined functions, constant values, and values of variables. Functions or variables
that are used for initialization must be visible at the initialization point.
PREDEFINED CONSTANTS
The following predefined int constants are available:
─────────────────────────────────
symbol value intended for
─────────────────────────────────
O_ALL 8 makelist
O_DIR 2 makelist
O_FILE 1 makelist
O_SUBDIR 4 makelist
─────────────────────────────────
OFF 0 echo
ON 1 echo
─────────────────────────────────
P_CHECK 0 system calls
P_NOCHECK 1 system calls
─────────────────────────────────
S_IEXEC 32 stat
S_IFCHR 1 stat
S_IFDIR 2 stat
S_IFREG 4 stat
S_IREAD 8 stat
S_IWRITE 16 stat
─────────────────────────────────
The following constants are architecture dependent:
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
symbol 1 when defined on the platform, otherwise 0
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
unix Unix, usually with GNU’s gcc compiler
UNIX may alternatively be available
linux x86 running Linux (usually with gcc)
LINUX may alternatively be available
M_SYSV, M_UNIX x86 running SCO/Unix
_POSIX _SOURCE Unix with Posix compliant compiler
__hpux HP-UX, with the native HP compiler
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
OPERATORS
int-operators:
All C operators (including the ternary operator) are available (except for pointer operators, as icmake
does not support pointers). They operate like their C-programming language’s counterparts. Comparison
operators return 1 if the comparison is true, otherwise 0 is returned.
string-operators:
For string variables and/or constants the following operators are available (a and b represent string
variables or constants):
o a + b: returns a new string value containing the concatenation of string values a and b. Note that
string constants may be directly concatetated (without using the + operator), e.g., the following
two lines both define the string "hello world":
"hello " "world"
"hello " + "world"
o a += b: a must be a string variable, to which the string variable or value b is appended.
o string comparisons: operators == != <= >= < > != and == return 1 if the comparison is true,
otherwise 0. Ordering comparison operators use the (case sensitive) character ordering defined by
the ASCII character set.
o !a: the boolean ! (not) operator returns 1 if the string a is empty, otherwise it returns 0.
Strings containing white-space characters are not empty.
o a younger b, a newer b: returns 1 if file a is more recent than file b. E.g., "source.cc" newer
"source.o". The files a and b do not have to exist:
if both don’t exist 0 is returned;
if a doesn’t exist 0 is returned;
if b doesn’t exist, 1 is returned;
if they are equally old 0 is returned.
The predefined function exists() (see below, section PREDEFINED FUNCTIONS) can be used to test
explicitly whether a file exists.
o a older b: returns 1 if file a is older than file b. E.g., "libprog.a" older "source.o". The files
a and b do not have to exist:
if both don’t exist 0 is returned;
if a doesn’t exist, 1 is returned;
if b doesn’t exist 0 is returned;
if they are equally old 0 is returned.
o []: the index operator retrieves a character from a string variable or constant: it returns a
string as an rvalue. Thus, the following statement compiles OK:
// assume str1 and str2 are strings
str1 = str2[3];
but the following statement won’t compile:
str2[3] = "a";
If an invalid (out of bounds) index value is specified an empty string is returned.
o The `backtick` operator (`string cmd`)
A string placed between two backticks is executed by the popen(3) function. The standard output
gererated by the command that is stored in the string argument is returned as a list. An empty
list indicates that the command could not be executed.
A command that could be executed but did not produce any output returns a list containing one
empty element. The command’s standard error stream output is not collected by the backtick
operator. However, standard shell redirection may be used to collect the standard error stream’s
output. Example:
printf(`"ls"`); // prints the elements in
// the current directory
The predefined function eval(string cmd) behaves exactly like the backtick operator: they are
synonyms. )
list-operators:
For list type variables and/or values the following operators are available:
o a + b: returns a new list value containing the concatenation of list values a and b. This is not a
set operation: if an element appears both in a and in b, they will appear twice in the resulting
list (set-addition is provided by the built-in function listunion).
o a - b: returns a new list value containing the elements in a that are not present in b. This is a
set-difference operation: the returned list contains all elements in a that are not elements of b.
o a += b: elements in b are added to the elements in a, which must be a list variable. This is not
a set operation.
o a -= b: elements in b are removed from the elements in a, which must be a list variable. This is
a set operation: all elements of a that are found in b are removed from a.
o list equality comparisons: operators != and == may be applied to list values or variables.
Operator == returns 1 if both lists have element-by-element identical elements, otherwise 0 is
returned. Operator != reverses the result of ==.
o !a: the boolean ! operator returns 1 if the list a is empty, otherwise 0 is returned.
o []: the index operator retrieves a list element from a list variable: it returns a string as an
rvalue. Therefore, the following statement compiles OK:
// assume lst is a list, str is a string
str = lst[3];
but the following statement won’t compile:
lst[3] = str;
If an invalid (out of bounds) index value is specified an empty string is returned.
Casting:
Type-casts using the standard C cast-operator can be used to cast
o strings to ints and vice versa ((int)"123", (string)55)
If the content of a string does not represent a (decimal) int value 0 the cast returns 0;
o Strings to lists (list lst = (list)"hello"): this returns a list having one element (hello) (note
that casting a string to a list as shown is overkill as list lst = ["hello"] performs the same
initialization).
FLOW CONTROL
Icmake offers the following subset of C’s statements. They can be used as in the C programming language.
o expression ;
The plain expression statement;
o The compound statement
Variables of any type may be defined and initialized anywhere inside any compound statement. The
visibility of a variable starts at its point of definition.
o if (condition) statement
Inside the condition a variable may be defined and initialized. E.g,
if (string str = getText())
process(str);
In this example, process is not called if getText() returns an empty string. The variable str does
not exist either before or after the if statement.
Initialization and then using the variable in a subsequent expression, separated by a semicolon
from the definition is not supported (e.g., if (string str = getText() ; str) cannot be used).
o if (condition) statement else statement
Like the previous statement, inside the condition a variable may be defined and initialized.
o for (init; condition; increment) statement
Variables (of a single type) may be initialized (and optionally be defined) in the init section.
The init, condition and increment sections may remain empty. The empty condition section is
interpreted as `always true’.
o while (condition) statement
Inside the condition a variable may be defined and initialized.
A complementary do ... while() statement is not available. Note that defining a variable, using
an initialization expression means that the initialization expressing is executed at each
iteration of the while statement. Thus the following statement never ends, and displays a never
ending stream of values 10:
while (int x = 10)
printf(x--, "\n");
o return;, and return expression;
Plain return statements can be used in void functions, and return expression statements are used
in other type of functions. The function main has return type void and so in main only plain
return statements can be used. By default an icmake script’s exit value equals 0. Use the
built-in function exit (see below) to specify any other exit value.
Be advised: the behavior of non-void functions not returning values is undefined.
o break
Leaves for and while statements, overruling the statement’s condition.
o continue
Continues with the next iteration of a for or while statement.
o exit(expression)
Ends the execution of an icmake-script. The expression must evaluate to an int value, which
becomes the script’s exit value.
PREDEFINED FUNCTIONS
Icmake provides the following predefined functions, which can be used anywhere in icmake scripts. The
functions are ordered by categories, and within categories they are ordered alphabetically by function
name. Five categories are distinguished:
o Functions operating on ints:
these functions only have one purpose: they receive int arguments and simply process those
arguments;
o Functions operating on lists:
these functions only have one purpose: their main argument is a list, which is somehow
manipulated;
o Functions operating on strings:
these functions only have one purpose: their main argument is a string, which is somehow
manipulated;
o Functions manipulating filenames:
these functions receive filenames as their string arguments, and return modified filenames (e.g.,
by changing the argument’s extension);
o System-related functions:
these functions interface to facilities provided by the operating system, like executing programs
or changing the environment.
Functions operating on ints:
o string ascii(int value)
returns value as a string: ascii(65) returns the string "A";
o echo(int opt)
controls echoing of called programs (and their arguments), specify OFF if echoing is not
requested. By default echo(ON) is used;
Functions operating on lists:
o string element(int index, list (or string) var)
acts identically to the index operator: refer to the index ([]) operator in section OPERATORS.
o list fgets(string file, list offset)
see the system functions section;
o int listfind(list lst, string str)
returns the first index in lst where the string str is found, or -1 if lst does not contain str;
o int listlen(list l)
returns the number of elements in list;
o list listunion(list lhs, list rhs)
returns a list containing the union of the elements in lhs and the elements of rhs;
o list listunion(list lst, string str)
returns a list containing the union of the elements in lst and str;
Functions operating on strings:
o int ascii(string str)
returns the first character of str as an in: ascii("A") returns 65;
o string resize(string str, int newlength) returns a copy of string str, resized to newlength
characters. If newlength is negative then an empty string is returned, if newlength exceeds str’s
length then the newly added characters are initialized to blank spaces;
o int strchr(string str, string chars)
returns the first index in str where any of the characters in chars is found, or -1 if str does
not contain any of the characters in chars;
o int strlen(string str)
returns the number of characters in str (not counting the terminating NUL-character);
o int strfind(string haystack, string needle)
returns index in haystack where needle is found, or -1 if needle is not found in haystack;
o int strformat(string format, argument(s))
returns a string constructed from the format string containing placeholders %1 .. %2 to refer to
arguments following the format string. The specification %1 refers to the first argument following
the format string. If fewer arguments than n are provided then additional 0 arguments are provided
by icmake. Example:
void main()
{
string s2 = = strformat("%1 %2 %1\n", 10, 20);
printf("s2 = ", s2); // shows: s2 = 10 20 10
}
o string strlwr(string str)
returns a lower-case duplicate of str;
o list strtok(string str, string separators)
returns a list containing all substrings of str separated by one or more (consecutive) characters
in separators: strtok("hello icmake’s+world", " +") returns a list containing the three strings
"hello", "icmake’s", and "world";
o string strupr(string str)
returns an upper-case duplicate of str.
o string substr(string text, int offset, int count)
returns a substring of text, starting at offset, consisting of count characters. If offset exceeds
(or equals) the string’s size or if count <= 0, then an empty string is returned. If offset is
less than 0 then offset = 0 is used;
o string trim(string str)
returns a copy of str without leading and trailing white spaces;
o string trimleft(string str)
returns a copy of str without leading white spaces;
o string trimright(string str)
Returns a copy of str without trailing white spaces;
Functions manipulating filenames:
o string change_base(string file, string base)
returns file whose base name is changed into base: change_base("/path/demo.im", "out") returns
"/path/out.im";
o string change_ext(string file, string ext)
returns file whose extension is changed into ext: rss_changeExt("source.cc", "o") returns
"source.o". The extension of the returned string is separated from the file’s base name by a
single dot (e.g., rss_changeExt("source.", ".cc") returns "source.cc");
o string change_path(string file, string path)
return file whose path is changed into path: change_path("tmp/binary", "/usr/bin") returns
"/usr/bin/binary". To remove the path specify path as an empty string;
o string get_base(string file)
returns the base name of file. The base name is the file without its path prefix and without its
extension. The extension is all information starting at the final dot in the filename. If no final
dot is found, the file name is the base name. E.g., the base name of a.b equals a, the base name
of a.b.c equals a.b, the base name of a/b/c equals c;
o string get_dext(string file)
returns the extension of file, including the separating dot (hence the d in dext). The extension
is all information starting at the filename’s final dot. If file does not have a final dot then an
empty string is returned;
o string get_ext(string file)
returns the extension of file, without the separating dot. The extension are all characters in
file starting at file’s final dot. If no final dot is found, an empty string is returned;
o string get_path(string file)
returns file’s path-prefix. The path prefix is all information up to (and including) the final
directory separator (which is, depending on the operating system, a forward slash or a backslash).
If no path is found, an empty strring is returned;
System-related functions:
o void arghead(string h)
helper function of exec() (see also below at exec()): defines the `argument head’ that is used
with exec(). By default, the `argument head’ is an empty string. The argument head is text that is
prefixed to exec arguments, like a directory in which provided arguments are found;
o void argtail (string t)
helper function of exec() (see also below at exec()): defines the `argument tail’ that is used
with exec(). By default, the `argument tail’ is an empty string. The argument tail is text that is
appended to exec arguments, like the extensions of files that are passed as arguments to exec;
o string chdir([int check,] string dir)
returns the script’s working directory at the point where chdir is called as an absolute path, and
changes the script’s working directory to dir (which may be specified as absolute or relative to
the script’s current working directory). The first argument is optional: if omitted and the change
of directory cannot be performed then the icmake-script ends with exit value 1; by specifying
P_NOCHECK the function won’t terminate the script but merely returns the script’s current working
directory.
Use chdir(".") to merely obtain the current working directory; use chdir("") to obtain the
script’s startup working directory;
o cmdhead(string h)
helper function of exec() (see also below at exec()). Defines a `command head’ that is used with
exec(). By default it is an empty string. It can be used to specify, e.g., compiler options when
the arguments themselves are modified by arghead and argtail. Cmdhead is used unmodified;
o cmdtail(string t)
helper function of exec() (see also below at exec()). Defines a `command tail that is used with
exec(). By default it is an empty string. It can be used to specify a final argument (not modified
by arghead and argtail);
o list eval(string str)
this function can be used instead of the backtick operator. The example provided with the backtick
operator could therefore also have been written like this:
printf(eval("ls")); // prints the elements in the current
// directory
o int exec([int check,] string cmd, argument(s))
Executes the command cmd with (optional) arguments. Each argument is prefixed by arghead and
postfixed by argtail. Note that no blanks are inserted between arghead, argument(s), and argtail.
The thus modified arguments are concatenated, separated by single blanks. Cmdhead is inserted
between cmd and the first argument (delimited by single blanks) and cmdtail is appended to the
arguments, separated by a single blank. PATH is searched to locate cmd. 0 is returned.
The first argument is optional: if omitted and the command does not return 0 the icmake script
terminates. By specifying P_NOCHECK exec won’t terminate the script but returns the called
command’s exit status, or 0x7f00 if the command wasn’t found;
o execute([int checking,] string cmd, string cmdhead, string arghead, argument(s), string argtail,
string cmdtail)
Same functionality as the previous function, but the cmdhead, arghead, argtail, and cmdtail are
explicitly specified (and are reset to empty strings after executing cmd);
o int exists(string file)
if file exists, 1 is returned, otherwise 0 is returned;
o list fgets(string file, list offset)
the next line found at offset value offset[3] is read from file. Pass an empty list to fgets to
read file from its beginning.
The returned list has four elements:
its first element ([0]) contains the read line (without the line’s \n line terminator);
its second element ([1]) contains the line’s \n line terminator (or an empty string if the line
was not terminated by a \n);
its third element ([2]) contains the string OK if the line was successfully read and FAIL if
reading from file failed;
its fourth element ([3]) contains the offset beyond the last read byte.
To read multiple lines, pass the returned list as argument to fgets:
list ret;
while (ret = fgets("filename", ret))
{
process(ret);
}
o int fprintf(string filename, argument(s))
appends all (comma separated) arguments to the file filename. Returns the number of printed
arguments.
If the first argument (following filename) contains placeholders (%1, %2, ... %n) then that
argument is considered a format string (see also the function strformat in the string functions
section for additional information about format strings). Some examples:
fprintf("out", "hello", "world", ’\n’);
fprintf("out", "%1 %2\n", "hello", "world");
o string getch()
returns the next pressed key as a string (pressing the `Enter’-key is not required);
o list getenv(string envvar)
returns the value of environment variable envvar in a list containing two elements:
if the first element ([0]) is "1" then the environment variable was defined;
environment variables are of the form variable=value. If element [0] is "1" then the returned
list’s second element [1] holds the value part of the environment variable, which is empty if the
environment variable is merely defined;
o int getpid()
returns the process-id of the icmake byte code interpreter icm-exec;
o string gets()
returns the next line read from the keyboard as a string. The line contains all enteed characters
until the `Enter’-key was pressed. The `Enter’-key’s value itself is not stored in the returned
string;
o list makelist([int type = O_FILE], string mask)
the argument type is optional, in which case O_FILE is used. Makelist returns a list of all type
entries matching mask. E.g., makelist("*.c") returns a list containing all files ending in .c. For
type one of the following set of values can be used to obtain a more specific selection of
directory entries:
symbol meaning
O_ALL obtain all directory entries
O_DIR obtain all directories, including . and ..
O_FILE obtain a list of files
O_SUBDIR obtain all subdirectories
In Unix-type operating systems the pattern * does not match entries starting with a dot (hidden
entries). To obtain a list of such entries use the pattern .*;
o list makelist([int type = O_FILE,] string mask, {newer,older}, string comparefile)
the (optional) parameter type may be specified as in the previous variant of makelist. The third
parameter must be either newer (or younger) or older. A list of all files is returned matching
mask which are, resp., newer or older than a provided comparefile. Note that newer and younger are
operators, not strings;
o int printf(argument(s))
the function’s (comma separated) arguments are written to the standard output file. If the first
argument contains %1, %2, ... %n specifications then it’s considered a format string (see also the
function strformat in the string functions section for additional information about format
strings). Like fprintf printf returns the number of printed arguments;
o int putenv(string envvar)
adds envvar to the current icmake-script environment. Use the format: "VAR=value". The function
returns 0;
o list stat([int check,] string entry)
Returns stat(2) information of directory entry entry as a list. The first argument is optional: if
omitted and calling the system stat function fails then the icmake-script ends with exit value 1;
by specifying P_NOCHECK the function won’t terminate the script but returns the return value of
the system stat function.
The returned list has two elements:
its first element ([0]) holds the entry’s attributes. Attributes are returned as or-ed
combinations of the following bit-flags (cf. stat(2)):
S_IFCHR S_IFDIR S_IFREG
S_IREAD S_IWRITE S_IEXEC
its second element ([1]) contains the entry’s size in bytes;
o int system([int check,] string command)
executes command using the system(3) function. The first argument is optional: if omitted and
calling the system(3) function does not return 0 then the icmake-script ends with exit value 1; by
specifying P_NOCHECK icmake’s system function won’t terminate the script but returns the return
value of the system(3) function (normally the executed command’s exit value). The string command
may use redirection and/or piping;
USER DEFINED FUNCTIONS
void main
Icmake scripts must be provided with a user-defined function main. The function main has three optional
parameters, which may be omitted from the last one (envp) to the first (argc), like in C. Its full
prototype is (note: void return type):
void main(int argc, list argv, list envp)
In main the parameter
o argc represents the number of elements in argv;
o argv contains the arguments, with element 0 being equal to the name of the .bim file;
o envp contains the `environment’ variables. The function listlen can be used to determine the
number of its elements. Elements in envp have the form variable=value. Alternatively, the function
getenv can be used to retrieve a specific environment variable immediately. Example (the
implementations of the user-defined functions usage, modified, and compile are left as an exercise
for the reader):
void main(int argc, list argv)
{
if (argc == 1)
usage(element(0, argv));
if (list toCompile = modified("*.cc"))
{
for (int idx = listlen(toCompile); idx--; )
compile(toCompile[idx]);
}
}
After initializing all global variables in order of their definitions main is called by icmake’s
run-time support system. Icmake scripts end once main returns (or exit is called by the script).
Additionally defined user functions
Additional functions may be defined. Once defined, they can be called. Forward referencing of either
variables or functions is not supported, but recursively calling functions is. As function declarations
are not supported indirect recursion is not supported.
User-defined functions must have the following elements:
o The function’s return type, which must be one of void, int, string or list. There is no default
type.
o The function’s name, e.g., compile.
o A parameter list, defining zero or more comma-separated parameters. The parameters themselves
consist of a type name (int, string, or list) followed by the parameter’s identifier. E.g.,
(string outfile, string source).
o A body surrounded by a pair of curly braces ({ and }).
Function bodies may contain (optionally initialized) variable definitions. Variable definitions start
with a type name, followed by one or more comma separated (optionally initialized) variable identifiers.
If a variable is not explicitly initialized it is initialized by default. By default an int variable is
initialized to 0, a string is initialized to an empty string ("") and a list is initialized to an empty
list.
In addition to variable definitions, bodies may contain zero or more statements (cf. section FLOW
CONTROL). Note that variables may be defined (and optionally initialized) anywhere inside functions, and
also in the conditions of if and while statements and in the initialization section of for statements.
The behavior of icmake-scripts using non-void functions that do not return values is not defined.
ICM-DEP
The icm-dep program is a support program for icmake to determine source-file dependencies. It is called
automatically when USE_ALL or PRECOMP is specified in the icmconf file that is processed by icmake.
To start its work, the dependencies-analyzer icm_dep needs one command-line argument: go. Any other
argument results in icm_dep performing a `dry run’: it then performs all its duties (and verbose messages
are displayed as if go had been specified), but no files (precompiled headers or USE_ALL files) are
touched or removed. If neither options nor arguments are specified icm_dep writes its usage summary to
the standard output.
Options of icm-dep may immediately after icmake’s --icm-dep option be specified. The following options
are recognized:
o --classes=filename (-c)
by default, icm-dep inspects dependencies of the classes whose directories are mentioned in the
file CLASSES. Furthermore, if the icmconf(7) file specifies PARSER_DIR and SCANNER_DIR then those
directories are also considered. Use this option if instead of CLASSES another file should be
inspected;
o --help (-h)
icm-dep writes a summary of its usage to the standard output and terminates;
o --icmconf=filename (-i)
by default icm-dep inspects the content of icmconf files, looking for USE_ALL and PRECOMP
specifications. Use this option if instead of icmconf another file should be inspected;
o --mainih=mainheader (-m)
the icmconf file uses the #define IH parameter to specify the suffix of class header files that
should be precompiled, their filenames being equal to the names of the classes mentioned in the
CLASSES file. CLASSES does not specify a top-level directory. The name of the top-level header
file to precompile can be specified using this option. By default it is main.ih;
o --gch
by default precompiled header files are inspected if icmconf contains a #define PRECOMP
specification. If it does not, but precompiled headers should nonetheless be inspected, the option
--gch can be provided;
o --no-gch
by default precompiled header files are inspected if icmconf contains a #define PRECOMP
specification. If in that case precompiled headers should not be inspected, the option --no-gch
can be provided;
o --no-use-all
by default files named at the #define USE_ALL specification are inspected if icmconf contains such
a specification. To suppress inspections of `USE_ALL’ files provide this option;
o --use-all=filename
by default files named at #define USE_ALL specifications of icmconf files are inspected. If the
USE_ALL define is not specified but `USE_ALL’ files should nonetheless be inspected, then provide
this option, specifying the name of files to use as USE_ALL files;
o --verbose (-V)
this option can be specified multiple times. The number of times it is specified determines
icm_dep’s verbosity. If not used then icm-dep silently performs its duties. If specified once,
then icm-dep reports to the standard output what actions it performs; if specified twice it also
reports the class dependencies; if specified more often it reports what files it encountered and
what situations caused it to make its decisions;
o --version (-v)
icm-dep reports its version number to the standard output and terminates.
icmun
The icmun program expects one argument, the binary (bimfile) file produced by `icmake -c’. It
disassembles the binary file an shows the assembler instructions and structure of the binary file. Note
that in standard installations icmun is not located in one of the directories of the PATH environment
variable, but is located in the /usr/lib/icmake directory.
As an illustration, assume the following script is compiled by icmake (e.g., by calling icmake -c
demo.im):
void main()
{
printf("hello world");
}
the resulting demo.bim file can be processed by icmun (e.g., calling /usr/lib/icmake/icmun demo.bim.
Icmun then writes the following to the standard output fle:
icmun by Frank B. Brokken (f.b.brokken@rug.nl)
icmun V9.03.00, copyright (c) GPL 1992-2020.
Binary file statistics:
strings at offset 0x0025
variables at offset 0x0031
filenames at offset 0x0031
first instruction at offset 0x001f
String constants dump:
"hello world"
Disassembled code:
[0014] 06 00 00 push string "hello world"
[0017] 05 01 00 push int 0001
[001a] 1b 1d callrss 29 (printf)
[001c] 1c 02 add sp, 2
[001e] 23 ret
[001f] 21 14 00 call [0014]
[0022] 04 push int 0
[0023] 24 pop reg
[0024] 1d exit
FILES
The mentioned paths are sugestive only and may vary over different icmake-installations:
o /usr/bin/icmake: the main icmake program;
o /usr/bin/icmbuild: the wrapper program around the icmbuild script handling standard program
maintenance;
o /usr/bin/icmstart: an icmake-script that is can be used to create the startup-files of new
projects;
o /usr/lib/icmake/icm-comp: the compiler called by icmake;
o /usr/lib/icmake/icm-exec: the byte-code interpreter called by icmake;
o /usr/lib/icmake/icm-dep: the support program handling class- and precompiled header dependencies;
o /usr/lib/icmake/icm-pp: the preprocessor called by icmake;
o /usr/lib/icmake/icmun: the icmake unassembler.
EXAMPLES
The distribution (usually in /usr/share/doc/icmake) contains a directory examples containing additional
examples of icmake script.
SEE ALSO
icmbuild(1), icmconf(7), icmstart(1), icmstart.rc(7), make(1)
BUGS
Standard comment starting on lines containing preprocessor directives may not extend over multiple
lines.
Path names containing blanks are not supported.
The functions sizeof(list lst) and sizeoflist(list lst) are deprecated and should no longer be used. They
are removed in a future version of icmake. Use listlen(list lst) instead.
COPYRIGHT
This is free software, distributed under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).
AUTHOR
Frank B. Brokken (f.b.brokken@rug.nl).