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-=============================================================================
- ICMAKE
- the Intelligent C-like MAKEr, or
- the ICce MAKE utility
-
- Copyright (c) Frank B. Brokken and Karel Kubat
- frank@icce.rug.nl, karel@icce.rug.nl
-
- ICCE, State University of Groningen, Netherlands
-
- This document is part of distribution 6.20 of ICMAKE
-=============================================================================
-
-
-Introduction
-------------
-
- Icmake is a hybrid between a 'make' utility and a 'shell script'
-language. Originally, it was concocted to provide a useful tool for
-automatic program maintenance and system administrative tasks on MS-DOS
-platforms. As we learned to appreciate its flexibility, Icmake was
-eventually ported to Unix platforms (SCO and Linux). By now Icmake also runs
-on a HP-Unix platform.
-
- To give an impression of "what Icmake does", take a look at the
-following makefile. It is used for automatic program maintenance, where it
-is assumed that in some directory all files with the extension ".c" (C
-source files) constitute a program "myprog". The automatic maintenance makes
-sure that, once Icmake is invoked, C source files which are more recent
-(newer) than a library file "libmyprog.a" are recompiled and placed in the
-library. A new program is then made and installed in a directory
-"/home/user/bin".
-
-void main ()
-{
- list
- cfiles; // list of .c files
- int
- i; // counter variable
- string
- sourcefile; // string with name of
- // 1 source file
-
- cfiles = makelist ("*.c", younger, // cfiles is now a list of
- "libmyprog.a"); // all files to recompile
-
- if (cfiles) // if there are any files..
- for (i = 0; i < sizeof (cfiles), // recompile them
- i++)
- {
- sourcefile = element (i, cfiles); // get the name from the list
- exec ("gcc", "-c -Wall", sourcefile); // recompile
- }
-
- if (makelist ("*.o")) // any "*.o" files here?
- {
- exec ("ar", "rvs", "libmyprog.a", "*.o"); // add to library
- exec ("rm", "*.o"); // remove them
- exec ("gcc", "-o myprog", "libmyprog.a"); // re-link program
- exec ("mv", "myprog", "/home/user/bin"); // and install in bin dir
- }
-}
-
- The source files for Icmake look remarkably like C sourcefiles. The
-resemblance is so close that this cannot be pure chance! Yes, we have
-implemented Icmake to be a language with a syntax which largely overlaps C.
-Since we know how to program in C, we decided that we didn't want to learn
-some new macro language. The Icmake language is a "subset" of C in the
-sence that not all operators or functions of C are implemented (but a good
-deal are, e.g., gets(), getch(), printf(), etc.). The Icmake language has
-its own extensions to make it a handy language for the purpose of
-maintenance: e.g., the operator "younger" compares two files in respect to
-their date of last modification, a type "list" is defined to hold several
-strings.
-
- The usage of Icmake is not restricted to program maintenance. The
-setup, which allows for functions, arguments, local or global variables, the
-calling of external programs, etc. makes Icmake also extremely suitable as
-a shell script language. E.g., it is easy to accomplish to let Icmake
-figure out which files need to be backupped since the last backup date and
-to start a process to do so, to send mail about it etc.
-
- This guide provides a short description how Icmake can be ported to
-new platforms. The documentation for the usage of Icmake, including a
-description of the grammar and of all built-in functions, comes with the
-distribution files.
-
-
-Installing Icmake
------------------
-
-The icmake-X.YY.tgz contains all source files and installation information
-if you want to install icmake from scratch. You *need* this file if you
-want to install icmake on systems not running Linux or Ms-DOS.
-
-The icmake-X.YY.bin.tgz contains linux and ms-dos executables. If you only
-want to use the icmake programs, you can get this file, unpack it and start
-using icmake.
-
-See the file INSTALL for details. INSTALL is in icmake-X.YY.tgz,
-containing all other files necessary for installing icmake.
-
-To unpack the archives use (GNU-tar 1.11.2):
-
- tar xzvf icmake-X.YY.tgz
-and/or:
- tar xzvf icmake-X.YY.bin.tgz
-
-which unpacks into an 'icmake' subdirectory below the current subdirectory.
-Also, separate gzip and tar steps could be used, as in:
-
- gzip -c -d icmake-X.YY.tgz | tar xvf -
-and/or:
- gzip -c -d icmake-X.YY.bin.tgz | tar xvf -
-
-The Documentation
------------------
-
- Icmake is documented in a Postscript file, "icmake.ps", located in
-the directory "doc". This file is generated from a .dvi file using dvips,
-and can be processed with GhostScript. Note that the file is generated for
-a printer resolution of 300 dpi, which suits a LaserJet family printer. If
-your site lacks the means to print this file, you can mail us at the address
-below to obtain a printed copy of the documentation. (However, we will
-charge you a small amount to cover our costs).
-
- The directory "doc" furthermore contains the file "icmake.1". This
-is a crude "man" page for Unix systems. You can install it by copying it to
-a directory which contains formatted manual pages. To use this feature,
-your "man" command must be able to show an already-formatted manual entry.
-E.g., on Linux systems you can copy this file to "/usr/man/cat1". Typing
-"man icmake" will then show the information. Some man systems also support
-compressed manual pages. On these systems you may achieve a lower disk
-usage by compressing the file "icmake.1" to "icmake.1.Z", using the Unix
-program "compress".
-
- A few makefiles are provided as examples in the directory
-"examples". You may wish to look at these to see how makefiles can be
-organized.
-
-Some Legal Stuff
-----------------
-
- You don't have to pay us for Icmake. This means that no fee is
-charged for it by us. As with everything that's free, there's no pay but
-also *absolutely no warranty*. Furthermore, you are allowed (and
-encouraged) to distribute Icmake, provided that you include this information
-with each distribution. It is strongly suggested that you do *not* charge
-money for the distribution of Icmake (possibly not even the $5 for
-shipping).
-
- The source files and the documentation for Icmake are copyrighted by
-us. The reason for this is (a) that we'd like to have always the last
-version of Icmake, and (b) that we'd like to have the last word in all
-modifications. If you have requests (or even better, "working code" to
-include in Icmake) please mail us and we'll gladly oblige when we find the
-time.
-
-
-Requests, Bug Reports, etc.
----------------------------
-
- We'd very much appreciate it if you'd let us know if you encounter any
-bugs. Also, if you have requests or comments about the programs or the
-documentation, mail us. We can be reached at:
-
- Frank Brokken Karel Kubat
-e-mail: F.B.Brokken@icce.rug.nl K.Kubat@icce.rug.nl
-phone: (+31) 50 63 36 88 (+31) 50 63 36 47
-address: Westerhaven 16 Westerhaven 16
- Groningen Groningen
- Netherlands Netherlands
-
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