File: bash.info,  Node: Install,  Next: Invoke,	 Prev: Built-in,  Up: Top

Installing BASH
***************

To install BASH you simply type `make'.	 The BASH `Makefile' tries
to dynamically figure out what kind of machine and operating system
you are using.	It makes an educated guess based on the information
it finds.

During the `make' process, a message is displayed describing what
machine and operating system has been chosen for you.  This
information is also saved in the file `.machine' so you can look at
it later.

Therefore, for most machines, simply follow this simple checklist
to install BASH:

  1. Type `make'.

  2. Wait for the compilation to finish.

  3. Type `./bash' to see if the compile worked.

  4. Type `make install bindir=/usr/gnu/bin' (or wherever you
     keep GNU binaries) to copy bash to your binaries directory.

* Menu:

* Problems::  What to do if BASH doesn't install quite so easily.

* Files::     Files used in the `make' process.

* Porting::   Porting BASH to a new machine.

* Bugs::      What to do if you Discover Bugs in BASH.

 
File: bash.info,  Node: Problems,  Next: Files,	 Prev: Install,	 Up: Install

What if it Doesn't Install so Easily?
=====================================

Sometimes BASH gets confused and will make the wrong assumptions
about your machine or operating system.	 If the displayed
information (also found in `.machine') is incorrect, you will have
to edit the file `machines.h' and provide the appropriate
information so that BASH can be installed correctly.  The complete
instructions for doing this are located in the `machines.h' file.

However, if BASH says that your machine type is an
"UNKNOWN_MACHINE", or BASH thought it knew something about your
machine but was wrong, then reading the next few sections could be
of use to you (*note Files::., and *note Porting::., for more
information).

On the MIPSEB with the BSD universe, you must:

1) Place /bsd43/bin in your PATH before /bin
2) Use $(CC) -E instead of /lib/cpp to build cpp-Makefile.

On SCO Xenix 386, you must:

1) Use $(CC) -E instead of /lib/cpp to build cpp-Makefile.

On Interactive Unix version 3 or 4, you must:

1) Edit cpp-Makefile to remove either -O or -g from DEBUG_FLAGS

File: bash.info,  Node: Files,	Next: Porting,	Prev: Problems,	 Up: Install

Files Used in the `make' Process.
=================================

The following files are used during the installation of BASH, in
the `make' process:

`Makefile'
     This is responsible for making the actual `Makefile' that is
     used to create Bash.  It runs the C preprocessor (usually
     located in `/lib/cpp') on the file `cpp-Makefile', producing
     the output file `bash-Makefile'.

`cpp-Makefile'
     This is a file of C comments and text.  It contains a
     reasonable number of `ifdefs' which control what files get
     compiled and which flags are passed to the various C files
     comprising BASH.  It includes a file called `machines.h',
     `sysdefs.h', and `config.h'.

`machines.h'
     This file contains the basic compilation parameters for all of
     the machines to which BASH has been ported.  This file
     consists of a series of conditional blocks, one per machine
     type.

     These conditional blocks are depend upon the unique identifier
     that `cpp' has predefined for this machine.  In some cases,
     additional information can be passed from `Makefile'.  It is
     possible to pass information such as whether or not a
     particular file is available on this system, and so on.

`sysdefs.h'
     This file is dynamically made at build time by running the shell
     script `makeargs.sh'.  If there appears to be something wrong in
     this file, then edit the `makeargs.sh' script, and mail the
     changes that you make to bash-maintainers@ai.mit.edu.

`bash-Makefile'
     This is the output from the initial stage of `make'.  It is a
     stripped down version of `cpp-Makefile' which is tailor-made
     for your machine and operating system.  All subsequent `makes'
     use this file.


File: bash.info,  Node: Porting,  Next: Bugs,  Prev: Files,  Up: Install

What if You Have to Port to a New Machine?
==========================================

Sometimes you may want to port BASH to a new, previously
unsupported machine.  To do so you need to create a block in
`machines.h' which is conditional based on a unique identifier
present in your version of the C preprocessor.

If you don't know what that symbol is, you might try the following
simple test:

     echo "main () { }" > foo.c
     cc -v foo.c

You are looking for `-DMACHINE', where `MACHINE' is an identifier
for your machine.  If you are very unlucky and your machine's C
preprocessor doesn't have a unique identifier, you will have to
define the identifier in Makefile manually.

Let's say you have a machine from Yoyodyne Industries, called the
YoYo.  It runs a version of BSD, so it is reasonably compatible. 
However, the `cpp' on this YoYo machine doesn't define any unique
identifiers.  You should change the `Makefile' line for `CPPFLAGS'
to:

     CPPFLAGS = -P -DYoYo

Then, in `machines.h', you copy the block for `UNKNOWN_MACHINE',
and change the conditional to;

     #if defined (YoYo)

Inside of the YoYo block you define `M_MACHINE="YoYo"', and
`M_OS=Bsd'.  You also modify the existing defines to match your
machine's software.

If BASH still won't compile, perhaps because of missing code that
is required for your YoYo machine, you will have to write that code
and place it within a conditional block based on YoYo.

Most machines aren't that difficult; simply redefining a few of the
default values is sufficient.  If you do run across a difficult
machine, please send all fixes and changes to
bash-maintainers@ai.mit.edu in the form of context diffs:

     diff -c orig-machines.h machines.h >machines.diffs

Please include information about which version of the shell you have.

For those machines which prove more difficult, or if you are not
sure about where to start, the scripts in the `portbash' directory
may prove helpful.

File: bash.info,  Node: Bugs,  Prev: Porting,  Up: Install

Reporting Bugs
==============

If you find a bug in bash, you should report it.  But first you
should make sure that it really is a bug and that it appears in the
latest version of BASH that is available.

Once you have ascertained that a bug really exists, you are welcome
to mail in a bug report.  If you have a fix, please mail that too!

Suggestions and "philosophical" bug reports should be mailed to
bug-bash@ai.mit.edu.  Genuine bug reports should be mailed to the
same place, or to bash-maintainers@ai.mit.edu.

*All* bug reports should include:

   * The version number of BASH.

   * The hardware and operating system used.

   * The compiler used to compile BASH.

   * A description of the bug's behavior.

   * A short script or "recipe" which demonstrates the bug.

Without this information, it is generally not possible to
successfully debug BASH.  Usually, without this information, the
bug won't manifest itself!

Discussion and questions about BASH in general (including questions
about this documentation) can be sent to bash-maintainers@prep.ai.mit.edu.
