icmbuild(1)

NAME
icmbuild - A generic, C++/C program maintenance facility

SYNOPSIS
icmbuild [-h] [-c] args

DESCRIPTION

Icmbuild is a small C program calling icmake(1) to do program maintenance as defined in the icmbuild script that’s (commonly) found in /usr/lib/icmake.

Icmbuild’s actions are tailored through a configuration file (icmconf) which must be present in the directory where program maintenance is requested. This file is automatically installed by icmstart(1). Refer to icmconf(7)’s man-page for details about this file.

Icmbuild assumes that your sources exist in and below the current working directory. The file icmconf in icmake(1)’s distribution provides an example of an icmconf file that can be used by icmbuild. In that example icmconf file it is assumed that C++ sources are maintained, but program maintenance for, e.g., C sources can easily be configured. If icmbuild is called, but icmconf is not available it displays a usage-summary after which icm() ends.

Icmbuild() handles the maintenance for all sources in each of the subdirectories named in the file CLASSES, and in addition the maintenance of all sources in the current working directory. `Maintenance’ involves compiling all as yet uncompiled source files, recompilation of modified source files, and optionally library maintenance and the pre-compilation of header files, which commonly results in a marked reduction of source compilation times.

When source files are compiled object modules are produced which may be stored in a library, against which the object module of the program’s main function is linked. It is also possible to specify additional libraries against which the program must be linked.

If a library is constructed it is kept up to date by icmbuild. When a source is successfully compiled its new object module replaces the old one that is found in the library. At that point the separate object files are no longer required and are removed by icmbuild.

Up to icmake version 9.01.00 icmbuild was installed as an executable icmake script in (commonly) /usr/bin. The dependency of this script on the file icmconf made it difficult to provide usage information if icmconf was absent. Since version 9.02.00 the icmbuild script has been moved to (commonly) /usr/lib/icmake, and icmbuild now is a little C program providing the usage information when necessary or requested, but otherwise executes icmake to process the icmbuild script.

KICK-STARTING ICMBUILD

To use icmbuild do as follows:

o   Install icmbuild in your path (icmake’s installation procedure should already have taken care of that);

o   Copy icmconf (and probably a file CLASSES) to your project’s base directory (i.e., the directory in which and where below the project’s sources are found). Usually this has already been taken care of by the icmstart script;

Next:

o   Modify the #defines in the file icmconf to taste;

o   Enter the names of subdirectories containing sources on separate lines in the file CLASSES

    Note that the order of the classes mentioned in CLASSES is relevant in that new class (subdirectory) names can always be added at the end of the file CLASSES, but reordering the lines in the CLASSES file should be avoided.

    If reordering is necessary, then first run the command icmbuild clean to remove all files that were thus far created by icmbuild. Recompilation is necessary as the names of the object files contain class order-numbers for identification. These class-order numbers prevent file-name collisions (e.g., two classes might use a file data.cc) and because of the number-prefixes replacement of a file x.o from class A by file x.o from class B is prevented;

o   Start icmbuild.

The next section covers icmbuild’s modes of operation.

OPTIONS

Icmbuild supports two options, at most one should be specified:

o   -h: Display a usage summary (also automatically shown when the current directory does not contain a file icmconf);

o   -c: Clear the screen (using tput clear) before starting the maintenance process.

Next (after optionally specifying -c) icmbuild can be provided with the following arguments:

o   No arguments at all: if icmconf contains the line
        #define DEFCOM "program"

    then this is quivalent to the command icmbuild program;
    if icmconf contains the line
        #define DEFCOM "strip"

    then this is quivalent to the command icmbuild strip;
    if if icmconf contains the line
        #define DEFCOM "library"

    then this is quivalent to the command icmbuild library.
    (these commands are further elaborated in this section.) DEFCOM specifications are ignored when an explicit argument is passed to icmbuild.

o   clean
    clean up remnants of previous actions;

o   install program <path>
    install the constructed program in the specified <path> (to be used after issuing icmbuild program, see below). Example:
        icmbuild install ~/bin/program

    This installs the constructed binary program in the user’s bin direcotry with the name program;

o   install static <path>
    install the constructed static library in the specified path (to be used after issuing icmbuild library, see below). Example:
        icmbuild static /usr/lib/

    This installs the constructed static library (e.g. libspecial.a) in /usr/lib as /usr/lib/libspecial.a.

o   install shared path install the constructed shared library in the specified path (to be used after issuing icmbuild library), when icmconf defines SHARED (cf. icmconf(7)). Example:
        icmbuild shared /usr/lib/

    This installs the constructed binary shared library (e.g. libspecial.so) in /usr/lib as /usr/lib/libspecial.so. In addition, the soft-links
        libspecial.so -> libspecial.so.X
        libspecial.so.X -> libspecial.so.X.Y.Y.Z

    are defined in /usr/lib, where X.Y.Z are the major, minor and subminor versions defined in the file VERSION.

o   library
    do library maintenance (builds a static and optionally (if icmconf defines SHARED) a shared (dynamic) library);

o   program
    do program maintenance (builds a program from the sources in the current working directory and from the sources in the directories specified in the file CLASSES);

o   program strip
    same as program, but the final program is stripped (using the linker’s -s option);

ICM-DEP

Class dependencies are handled by icmake’s support program icm-dep. It can be called from icmake by passing it the option -d. All options and arguments following -d are forwared to icm-dep.

The program icm-dep is automatically called by icmbuild to handle class dependencies. Consider two classes Options and Process. If Process uses Options and if precompiled header files are used, then in addition to Option’s header file, Process’s header must also be precompiled if Option’s header file changes. Likewise, if Option’s data organization is changed and Option defines inline members used by Process or Process defines an Option data member then, in addition to Option’s sources sources Process’s sources must also be compiled. For the latter case icmconf uses the USE_ALL specification: if a `USE_ALL’ file exists in a directory, then all sources of that directory are recompiled.

The program icm_dep determines all such class dependencies, and will recompile class header files of all classes depending on classes whose header files must be recompiled. Furthermore, if a `USE_ALL’ file exists in a directory then all sources of classes depending on that directory’s class are also recompiled.

Icm-dep’s options are described in icmake(1)’s man-page.

To start its work, icm_dep needs one command-line argument: go. Any other argument results in icm_dep performing a `dry run’: it will perform all its duties (and verbose messages are displayed as if go had been specified), but no files (precompiled headers or USE_ALL files) will be touched or removed. If neither options nor arguments are specified icm_dep writes its usage summary to the standard output.

By default icmbuild calls icmake -d -V go: icm_dep is called to perform its duties and to show its actions on the standard output stream. By specifying a #define ICM_DEP parameter in the icmconf file this default can be overruled (cf. icmconf(7)).

FILES

The mentioned paths are sugestive only and may be installation dependent:

o   /usr/share/icmake/icmconf Unabbreviated example of an icmbuild configuration file;

o   /usr/share/icmake/CLASSES Example of an icmbuild CLASSES file.

EXAMPLES

Here is an example of the configuration file icmconf for a concrete program, using facilities of the bobcat library:
    #define CLS
    #define LIBRARY             "modules"
    #define MAIN                "main.cc"
    #define SOURCES             "*.cc"
    #define OBJ_EXT             ".o"
    #define SHAREDREQ           ""
    #define TMP_DIR             "tmp"
    #define USE_ALL             "a"
    #define USE_ECHO              ON
    #define CXX                 "g++"
    #define CXXFLAGS            " --std=c++17 -Wall -O2 -pthread" " -fdiagnostics-color=never "
    #define IH                  ".ih"
    #define PRECOMP             "-x c++-header"
    #define REFRESH
    #define LDFLAGS             ""
    #define ADD_LIBRARIES       "bobcat"
    #define ADD_LIBRARY_PATHS   ""

    #define DEFCOM              "program"

SEE ALSO
icmake(1), icmconf(7), icmstart(1), icmstart.rc(7)

BUGS
None reported

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).