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@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@ +GNU `m4' is an implementation of the traditional Unix macro +processor. It is mostly SVR4 compatible, although it has some +extensions (for example, handling more than 9 positional parameters +to macros). `m4' also has built-in functions for including files, +running shell commands, doing arithmetic, etc. Autoconf needs GNU +`m4' for generating `configure' scripts, but not for running them. + +GNU `m4' was originally written by Rene' Seindal, from Denmark. +This release is considered stable. + +If GNU `m4' is meant to serve GNU `autoconf', beware that `m4' +should be fully installed *prior to* configuring `autoconf' itself. +Likewise, if you intend on hacking GNU `m4' from git, the bootstrap +process requires that you first install a released copy of GNU `m4'. + +If you are just trying to build `m4' from a released tarball, you +should not normally need to run `./bootstrap' or `autoreconf'; just go +ahead and start with `./configure'. If you are trying to build `m4' +from git, more information can be found in the version-control-only +file HACKING. + +M4 has an optional dependency on the libsigsegv library: + http://www.gnu.org/software/libsigsegv/ +If the library has not been installed in the standard location, you +can use `./configure --with-libsigsegv-prefix=/path/to/dir', to make +the build of `m4' use /path/to/dir/include/sigsegv.h as appropriate. +The use of this library is optional; the only difference in having it +available is that it increases the number of platforms where `m4' can +correctly distinguish stack overflow from an internal bug. It is +recommended that you use version 2.9 or newer. + +In the subdirectory `examples' you will find various m4 files, ranging +from trivial test files to rather advanced macros. If you intend to +use m4 seriously, you might find useful material down there. + +See file `BACKLOG' for a summary of pending mail and articles. +See file `COPYING' for copying conditions. Note that M4 is distributed +under the GNU Public License version 3 or later. Some files in the +distribution are copied from the gnulib project, and hence bear the +designation version 2 or later because they are unmodified from gnulib; +however, if you modify these files using M4 rather than gnulib as the +source, you must update the license to be GPLv3 or later. +See file `INSTALL' for compilation and installation instructions. +See file `NEWS' for a list of major changes in the current release. +See file `THANKS' for a list of contributors. + +By default, the `syscmd' and `esyscmd' macros try to use the first +instance of `sh' found by `command -p getconf PATH' at configure time, +with a default of `/bin/sh'. If that default is inappropriate, you +can use `./configure --with-syscmd-shell=location' to specify the +shell to use. + +By using `./configure --enable-changeword', you get an experimental +feature which allows for changing the syntax of what is a "word" in +`m4'. This feature will not be present in m4 2.0, but will be +replaced by other new features which provide similar capability, so +do not count on it. + +Send bug reports to `bug-m4@gnu.org'. A bug report is an adequate +description of the problem: your input, what you expected, what you got, +and why this is wrong. Diffs are welcome, but they only describe a +solution, from which the problem might be uneasy to infer. + +For any copyright year range specified as YYYY-ZZZZ in this package +note that the range specifies every single year in that closed interval. + +======================================================================== + +Copyright (C) 2000, 2005-2013 Free Software Foundation, Inc. + +Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document +under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or +any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no +Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover +Texts. A copy of the license is included in the ``GNU Free +Documentation License'' file as part of this distribution. |