Provided by: cpphs_1.16-2_amd64 bug

NAME

       cpphs - liberalised cpp-a-like preprocessor for Haskell

SYNOPSIS

       cpphs [FILENAME|OPTION]...

DESCRIPTION

       cpphs  is  a  liberalised  re-implementation  of  cpp (1), the C pre-processor, in and for
       Haskell.

       Why re-implement cpp?  Rightly or wrongly, the C pre-processor is widely used  in  Haskell
       source  code.   It  enables  conditional  compilation  for  different compilers, different
       versions of the same compiler, and different OS platforms.  It is also  occasionally  used
       for  its  macro  language,  which  can  enable  certain forms of platform-specific detail-
       filling, such as the tedious  boilerplate  generation  of  instance  definitions  and  FFI
       declarations.   However, there are two problems with cpp, aside from the obvious aesthetic
       ones:

              For some Haskell systems, notably Hugs on Windows, a true cpp is not  available  by
              default.

              Even  for  the other Haskell systems, the common cpp provided by the gcc 3.x series
              is changing subtly in ways that are incompatible with Haskell's syntax.  There have
              always  been  problems  with,  for  instance,  string gaps, and prime characters in
              identifiers.  These problems are only going to get worse.

       So, it seemed right to attempt to provide an alternative to cpp, both more compatible with
       Haskell, and itself written in Haskell so that it can be distributed with compilers.

       cpphs  is pretty-much feature-complete, and compatible with the -traditional style of cpp.
       It has two modes:

              conditional compilation only (--nomacro),

              and full macro-expansion (default).

       In --nomacro mode, cpphs performs only conditional compilation actions, i.e.   #include's,
       #if's, and #ifdef's are processed according to text-replacement definitions (both command-
       line  and  internal),  but  no  parameterised  macro  expansion  is  performed.   In  full
       compatibility  mode  (the  default),  textual  replacements  and macro expansions are also
       processed in the remaining body of non-cpp text.

       Working Features:

       #ifdef simple conditional compilation

       #if    the full boolean language of defined(), &&, ||, ==, etc.

       #elif  chained conditionals

       #define
              in-line definitions (text replacements and macros)

       #undef in-line revocation of definitions

       #include
              file inclusion

       #line  line number directives

       \n     line continuations within all # directives

       /**/   token catenation within a macro definition

       ##     ANSI-style token catenation

       #      ANSI-style token stringisation

       __FILE__
              special text replacement for DIY error messages

       __LINE__
              special text replacement for DIY error messages

       __DATE__
              special text replacement

       __TIME__
              special text replacement

       Macro expansion is recursive.  Redefinition of a macro name does not generate  a  warning.
       Macros  can  be defined on the command-line with -D just like textual replacements.  Macro
       names are permitted to be Haskell identifiers  e.g.  with  the  prime  `  and  backtick  ´
       characters,  which  is  slightly looser than in C, but they still may not include operator
       symbols.

       Numbering of lines in the output is  preserved  so  that  any  later  processor  can  give
       meaningful  error messages.  When a file is #include'd, cpphs inserts #line directives for
       the same reason. Numbering should be correct even in the presence of  line  continuations.
       If you don't want #line directives in the final output, use the --noline option.

       Any  syntax  errors  in  cpp  directives  gives a message to stderr and halts the program.
       Failure to find a #include'd file produces a warning to stderr, but processing continues.

       You can give any number of filenames on the command-line.  The results  are  catenated  on
       standard output.

       -Dsym  define a textual replacement (default value is 1)

       -Dsym=val
              define a textual replacement with a specific value

       -Ipath add a directory to the search path for #include's

       -Ofile specify a file for output (default is stdout)

       --nomacro
              only process #ifdef's and #include's,
                                    do not expand macros

       --noline
              remove #line droppings from the output

       --strip
              convert C-style comments to whitespace, even outside
                                    cpp directives

       --hashes
              recognise the ANSI # stringise operator, and ## for
                                    token catenation, within macros

       --text treat the input as plain text, not Haskell code

       --layout
              preserve newlines within macro expansions

       --unlit
              remove literate-style comments

       --version
              report version number of cpphs and stop

       There are NO textual replacements defined by default.  (Normal cpp usually has definitions
       for machine, OS, etc.  These could easily be added to the cpphs source code if you  wish.)
       The  search  path is searched in order of the -I options, except that the directory of the
       calling file, then the current directory, are always searched first.  Again, there  is  no
       default search path (and again, this could easily be changed).

DIFFERENCES FROM CPP

       In  general,  cpphs  is  based  on  the  -traditional  behaviour,  not ANSI C, and has the
       following main differences from the standard cpp.

       General

       The # that introduces any cpp directive must be in the first column  of  a  line  (whereas
       ANSI permits whitespace before the # ).

       Generates the #line n "filename" syntax, not the # n "filename" variant.

       C  comments are only removed from within cpp directives.  They are not stripped from other
       text.  Consider for instance that in Haskell, all of  the  following  are  valid  operator
       symbols: /* */ */* However, you can turn on C-comment removal with the --strip option.

       Macro language

       Accepts  /**/  for  token-pasting  in  a  macro definition.  However, /* */ (with any text
       between the open/close comment) inserts whitespace.

       The ANSI ## token-pasting operator is available with the --hashes flag.  This is to  avoid
       misinterpreting any valid Haskell operator of the same name.

       Replaces  a macro formal parameter with the actual, even inside a string (double or single
       quoted).  This is -traditional behaviour, not supported in ANSI.

       Recognises the # stringisation operator in a macro definition only if you use the --hashes
       option.   (It  is  an  ANSI  addition, only needed because quoted stringisation (above) is
       prohibited by ANSI.)

       Preserves whitespace within a textual replacement definition  exactly  (modulo  newlines),
       but leading and trailing space is eliminated.

       Preserves  whitespace  within  a  macro  definition  (and  trailing  it)  exactly  (modulo
       newlines), but leading space is eliminated.

       Preserves whitespace within macro call arguments exactly (including newlines), but leading
       and trailing space is eliminated.

       With  the --layout option, line continuations in a textual replacement or macro definition
       are preserved as line-breaks in the macro call.   (Useful  for  layout-sensitive  code  in
       Haskell.)

BUGS

       Bug   reports,   and   any   other   feedback,   should   be   sent   to  Malcolm  Wallace
       <Malcolm.Wallace@cs.york.ac.uk>

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright © 2004-2005 Malcolm Wallace, except for ParseLib (Copyright © 1995 Graham Hutton
       and Erik Meijer).

       The  library  modules  in  cpphs  are distributed under the terms of the LGPL. If that's a
       problem for you, contact me to make other arrangements.  The  application  module  Main.hs
       itself is GPL.

SEE ALSO

       cpp(1)

AUTHOR

       This  manual  page  was written, based on index.html, by Ian Lynagh <igloo@debian.org> for
       the Debian system (but may be used by others).