Provided by: icmake_12.03.00-1ubuntu1_amd64 
NAME
icmconf - Configuration file for the icmbuild(1) program maintenance script
DESCRIPTION
The icmconf configuration file is used to specify and fine-tune the program maintenance
performed by the icmbuild(1) program and script. It can be used to activate and specify
various directives that determine how the program or library maintenance is performed.
Since icm() version 11.00.00 icm() offers Single Pre-Compiled Headers (SPCH) and
multi-threaded source-file compilation, commonly reducing the construction times of
projects to around 30-40% of the original construction times: refer to the #define SPCH
and #define MULTICOMP directives below for details.
Icmconf’s directives are biased towards the construction of C++ programs, but program
maintenance for other languages (e.g., C) can also easily be configured.
The icmbuild(1) script ignores empty lines and lines whose first non-blank characters are
two consecutive forward slashes (//). Long lines can be split over multiple lines by
writing a final backslash character at lines continuing at the next line (refer to the
icmake(1) man-page for further details).
CLASS DEPENDENCIES
Traditional make-utilities recompile all dependent sources once header files are modified.
When developing C++ programs this is hardly ever requird, as adding new member functions
to classes does not require you to recompile already existing source files. Recompilation
is required when the data member organization of classes is altered.
To handle class dependencies in a more sensible way, icmake(1) checks class dependencies
using its support programs icm-dep, visiting the classes listed in the CLASSES file if
icmconf’s USE_ALL directive was specified. If a directory mentioned in the CLASSES file
contains a file having a name that’s equal to the name specified at the USE_ALL parameter,
then all sources of classes that depend on that particular class are also recompiled. In
practice this means that when you change the data organization of a class you only need to
touch it that directory the file whose name was specified by the USE_ALL directive. E.g.,
if your class is named Data, its sources are in the sub-directory ./data, and #define
USE_ALL "a" was specified then after modifying the data organization of the class Data you
only need to issue the command touch data/a. Subsequently, at the next icmbuild call all
sources in ./data as well as all sources in directories whose (header) files include
data.h are recompiled as well.
Likewise, if #define SPCH or (deprecated) #define PRECOMP was used, then a similar action
is performed for the precompiled headers: if a local file that’s (directly or indirectly)
included by internal header files has changed, then (having specified SPCH) the Single
Pre-Compiled Header (SPCH) file is recompiled or (deprecated: having specified PRECOMP the
modified class headers are recompiled).
The icmbuild(1) script itself does not inspect these dependencies, but calls the support
programs icm-spch and icm-dep to perform the requird tests. The short usage descriptions
of these programs are written to the standard output stream when calling, respectively
icmake -S and icmake -d.
DEFINES IN ICMCONF
All of the following #defines are required except those that are shown as commented
#defines (e.g., //#define REFRESH).
o //#define ADD_LIBRARIES ""
when a program must be linked against additional libraries (other than the name of
the program’s library itself (specified at LIBRARY) then those libraries should be
specified here. E.g., when a program is linked against libbobcat then the
specification is:
#define ADD_LIBRARIES "bobcat"
If your program is linked against multiple libraries, then use a blank-separated
list of libraries (like #define ADD_LIBRARIES "math bobcat");
o //#define ADD_LIBRARY_PATHS ""
this directtive must be specified if ADD_LIBRARIES is also specified, although it
may be specified as an empty string. When additional libraries (specified at
ADD_LIBRARIES) are located in non-standard library locations (e.g., not in /lib and
/usr/lib) then these additional paths are (blank space separated) specified here.
Specify only the paths, not the -L flags.
It is stronly advised to specify full pathnames here. Relative path specifications
can be used by specify paths relative to the directory that is specified at the
TMP_DIR directive (see below);
o //#define CLS
the clear screen directive. If defined tput clear is called to clear the terminal
screen before starting compilations. By default it is not defined. Alternatively
the -c option can be passed to icmbuild;
o #define CXX "g++"
the C++ compiler to use. For a C compiler specify, e.g., #define CC "gcc". Their
settings are overruled by identically named environment variables. If only C files
are compiled then #define CXX can be omitted.
By specifying, e.g., #define CXX "ccache g++" compilations use caching facilities,
which may impressively reduce recompilation times. Refer to the cccache(1) man-page
for details.
o #define CXXFLAGS "-Werror -Wall -O2"
C++ compiler options to use (here showing the default options). When the C compiler
is used, use #define CFLAGS rather than CXXFLAGS. Their settings are overruled by
identically named environment variables. If only C files are compiled then #define
CXXFLAGS can be omitted.
Additional options can be defined by adding them to the CXXFLAGS definition. In
addition, compilations use the environment variable ICMAKE_CPPSTD to set the C++
standard to use. E.g., after defining
ICMAKE_CPPSTD=--std=c++26
the compiler uses the options
--std=c++26 -Werror -Wall -O2
o //#define DEFCOM "..."
a DEFCOM directive may be added to the icmconf file (the icmstart(1) script can do
this for you). It can be specified as:
#define DEFCOM "program"
in which case icmbuild does program maintenance, or as
#define DEFCOM "library"
in which case icmbuild does library maintenance.;
o //#define ICM_DEP "-V go"
the existence and implied existence of USE_ALL files (see the description of the
USE_ALL directive). When the (deprecated) PRECOMP directive is specified the
recency of precompiled headers is ensured (see also the SPCH description, below).
By default icm_dep is called with the shown default arguments. If icm_dep should
not be called define ICM_DEP as an empty string (""). Icmake(1)’s man-page contains
a separate section about the icm_dep support program;
o #define IH ".ih"
the extension used for internal header files. See #define PRECOMP below. If PRECOMP
is specified ttIH) must also be specified;
o //#define LDFLAGS ""
linker options to use. By default no options are passed to the linker. Its setting
is overruled by an identically named environment variable;
o //#define LIBRARY "modules"
by defining this directive a local library is constructed. When a binary program is
built it is linked against this library rather than to the individual object
modules.
If a library instead of a program must be constructed (see also the DEFCOM
directive), then the LIBRARY directive specifies the library’s base name (without
the lib prefix and without the .a extension). In that case source files are
expected in sub-directories of the project’s main directory (i.e., the directory
containing icmconf). In that case avoid having source and header files in the
project’s main directory. Instead, move such files to a separate sub-directory;
o //#define MAIN "main.cc"
the source file in which the int main function is defined. This directive is
required when doing program (rather than library) maintenance.
Note: if source files are located in the project’s main directory but library
maintenance is intended (e.g., by specifying #define DEFCOM library) then define
MAIN to specify a pseudo main source, whose base name is the base name of the
header file in the project’s main directory. This, however, is considered a kludge,
and should be avoided by moving those source and header files to a separate
sub-directory;
o //#define MULTICOMP "..."
Example: #define MULTICOMP "jobs -q"
This directive activates threaded compilation of source files. When used its first
word specifies the name of a file to contain information about which files must be
compiled. This must be a plain filename, not containing directory specifiers (like
/).
The filename may be followed by option specifications:
o --nr (or -n)
when this option is specified the thread numbers compiling source files are
written to the standard output stream.
o --quiet (or -q)
When this options is not specified then the path names of the compiled
object and source files are written to the standard output stream. When it
is specified once only the source files’ directories and filenames are
written to the standard output stream, and when it is specified more than
once no information about the compiled files is written to the standard
output stream.
o --threads nThreads (or -t nThreads)
by default the computer’s number of cores determines the number of threads
being used when compiling the source files. Optionally a different number of
threads can be requested using this option.
E.g., --threads 5.
o //#define NO_PRECOMP_WARNING"
when PRECOMP (now deprecated) is defined (see below) a warning is issued when a
class-directory does not contain a IH file. Such warnings are suppressed by
defining NO_PRECOMP_WARNING. This option is only considered when PRECOMP has been
defined;
o #define OBJ_EXT ".o"
this directive specifies the extension of object modules created by the compiler;
o //#define PRECOMP "-x c++-header"
(deprecated, consider declaring #define SPCH instead)
define this directive to construct class-specific precompiled headers (in which
case the IH) directive must also be specified. Dependencies between (precompiled)
headers are automatically considered.
Existing precompiled headers are removed by icmbuild cleangch (or icmbuild clean.
When source files of other languages are compiled the PRECOMP’s -x argument must be
adapted to those languages.
If PRECOMP is defined then IH must also be defined;
o //#define REFRESH
define REFRESH to relink the binary program when icmbuild program is called, even
though no file was (re)compiled. This is useful when the program links to external
libraries which were updated separately from the currrent project;
o //#define SHARED
this directive is only interpreted when LIBRARY is also specified. If defined a
shared library (extension .so*) is built in addition to a static library (extension
.a);
The shared library receives VERSION as its version number while soft links using
VERSION’s (see below) major version number an no version number are also made
available. E.g., if VERSION is defined as 1.02.03 and #define LIBRARY "demo" then
the shared library becomes libdemo.so.1.02.03, with libdemo.so.1 soft-linking to
it, and libdemo.so soft-linking to libdemo.so.1;
o //#define SHAREDREQ ""
when creating a shared library SHAREDREQ specifies the names of libraries and
library paths that are required by the constructed shared library itself. E.g., if
a library is found in /usr/lib/special, assuming that the name of the required
library is libspecial.so, then use the specification #define SHAREDREQ
"-L/usr/lib/special -lspecial". The /lib and /usr/lib paths are usually
automatically visited by the linker and do not have the be specified. This
directive is required (possibly as an empty string) if SHARED is defined;
o #define SOURCES "*.cc"
the pattern to locate sources in directories;
o //#define SPCH "..."
Example: #define SPCH ""
If SPCH is defined then IH must also be defined.
This directive activates using Single Pre-Compiled Headers (refer to the icmake(1)
man-page for details). The argument string can be empty, or it can contain a
combination of the following specifications:
o --keep regex (or -k regex)
keep (and do not inspect) include-specification(s) in the internal header
matching regular expressions in regex. If regex starts with f: (e.g.,
f:regex) then regex is the name of a file whose non-empty line contains a
regex. Otherwise regex contains a (POSIX extended) regular expression,
using (...)|(...) when specifying multiple regexes.
Example: -k xerr/xerr.
o --no-topdir (or -n)
Ignore the project’s top directory. This option is used in projects merely
constructing a library, instead of constructing a program (in which case the
top-level directory commonly contains a main.ih internal header file).
o //#define SPCH_FILE "..."
Example: #define SPCH_FILE "specs"
This directive can be used in combination with the #define SPCH directive. By
default the headers used to construct the SPCH are written to the file spch. If
that name should not be used then use the SPCH_FILE directive to specify another
filename. The specified name must be a plain filename, not containing directory
specifiers (like /).
o #define TMP_DIR "tmp"
the directory in which intermediate results are stored. To avoid cross-device
communications it’s probably best to define TMP_DIR as a sub-directory of the
project’s main directory;
o //#define USE_ALL "a"
when defining this directive icmbuild looks for directories containing files having
the names defined by the USE_ALL specification. All source files in those
directories as well as all source files in directories that (recursively) depend on
the set of directories under consideration are recompiled, after which the USE_ALL
files are removed;
o //#define USE_ECHO ON
when defined as ON (rather than OFF) (system) commands executed by icmbuild are
echoed;
o //#define USE_VERSION
when defined (it is defined by default) a file VERSION is read by icmconf to
determine the program’s or library’s version, and the project’s release years. The
file VERSION must be available in the project’s main directory and should contain
lines like these:
VERSION=11.01.00
YEARS=1992-2024
)
PARSER MAINTENANCE
The following directives are available in cases where a program uses a parser generator
creating a parser class from a grammar specification. By default they’re all commented
out.
o //#define PARSER_DIR ""
the sub-directory containing the parser’s specification file. If the PARSER_DIR
directory is specified then all other directives in this section must also be
specified;
o //#define PARSFILES ""
if the parser specification file named at PARSSPEC itself includes additional
specification files, then patterns matching these additional grammar specification
files should be specified here. The pattern is interpreted in the directory
specified at PARSER_DIR and could contain a subdirectory name (e.g. specs/*). When
files matching the pattern are modified then a new parser is created;
o //#define PARSFLAGS "-V"
the flags that are used when calling the program specified at PARSGEN;
o //#define PARSGEN "bisonc++"
the name of the program generating the parser;
o //#define PARSOUT "parse.cc"
the name of the file generated by the parser generator (used by icmbuild when
checking the timestamps of parser specification s);
o //#define PARSSPEC "grammar"
the name of the parser specification file. This file is expected in the directory
specified by the PARSER_DIR directive.
SCANNER MAINTENANCE
The following directives are available in cases where a program uses a scanner generator
creating a lexical scanner class from a set of regular expressions. By default they’re all
commented out.
o #define SCANNER_DIR ""
the subdirectory containing the scanner’s specification file. If the SCANNER_DIR
directory is specified then all other directives in this section must also be
specified;
o #define SCANFILES ""
if the lexical scanner specification file named at SCANSPEC itself includes
additional specification files, then patterns matching these additional lexer
specification files should be specified here. The pattern is interpreted in the
directory specified at SCANNER_DIR and could contain a subdirectory name (e.g.
specs/*). When files matching the pattern are modified then a new lexical scanner
is created. By default no additional specification files are used;
o #define SCANFLAGS ""
the flags that are used when calling the program specified at SCANGEN;
o #define SCANGEN "flexc++"
the name of the program generating the lexical scanner;
o #define SCANOUT "lex.cc"
the name of the file generated by the lexical scanner (which is used by icmbuild
when checking the timestamps of scanner specification s).
o #define SCANSPEC "lexer"
the name of the lexical scanner specification file. This file is expected in the
directory specified by the SCANNER_DIR directive.
FILES
The mentioned paths are sugestive only and may be installation dependent:
o /usr/share/icmake/CLASSES
: example of an icmconf CLASSES file;
o /usr/share/icmake/icmconf
: default (skeleton) icmbuild resource files, like main.cc, usage.cc, etc.;
o /etc/icmake
: directory containing the default system-wide icmstart(1) configuration file;
o $HOME/.icmake
: optional user-defined directory containing user-defined specifications overruling
the system-wide definitions. This directory is the proper location for a file
AUTHOR defining the AUTHOR directive with the user’s name. E.g., my .icmake/AUTHOR
file contains:
#define AUTHOR "Frank B. Brokken (f.b.brokken@rug.nl)";
SEE ALSO
ccache(1), icmake(1), icmbuild(1), icmstart(1), icmstart.rc(7).
BUGS
icmbuild(1) ends, displaying a fatal error message, if the current working directory does
not contain a file icmconf.
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).