README for BINUTILS

These are the GNU binutils.  These are utilities of use when dealing
with binary files, either object files or executables.  These tools
consist of the linker (ld), the assembler (gas), and the profiler
(gprof) each of which have their own sub-directory named after them.
There is also a collection of other binary tools, including the
disassembler (objdump) in this directory.  These tools make use of a
pair of libraries (bfd and opcodes) and a common set of header files
(include).

There are README and NEWS files in most of the program sub-directories
which give more information about those specific programs.


Copyright Notices
=================

Copyright years on binutils source files may be listed using range
notation, e.g., 1991-2012, indicating that every year in the range,
inclusive, is a copyrightable year that could otherwise be listed
individually.


Unpacking and Installation -- quick overview
============================================

When you unpack the binutils archive file, you will get a directory
called something like `binutils-XXX', where XXX is the number of the
release.  (Probably 2.13 or higher).  This directory contains
various files and sub-directories.  Most of the files in the top
directory are for information and for configuration.  The actual
source code is in sub-directories.

To build binutils, you can just do:

	cd binutils-XXX
	./configure [options]
	make
	make install # copies the programs files into /usr/local/bin
		     # by default.

This will configure and build all the libraries as well as the
assembler, the binutils, and the linker.

If you have GNU make, we recommend building in a different directory:

	mkdir objdir
	cd objdir
	../binutils-XXX/configure [options]
	make
	make install

This relies on the VPATH feature of GNU make.

By default, the binutils will be configured to support the system on
which they are built.  When doing cross development, use the --target
configure option to specify a different target, eg:

	./configure --target=foo-elf

The --enable-targets option adds support for more binary file formats
besides the default.  List them as the argument to --enable-targets,
separated by commas.  For example:

	./configure --enable-targets=sun3,rs6000-aix,decstation

The name 'all' compiles in support for all valid BFD targets:

	./configure --enable-targets=all

On 32-bit hosts though, this support will be restricted to 32-bit
target unless the --enable-64-bit-bfd option is also used:

	./configure --enable-64-bit-bfd --enable-targets=all

You can also specify the --enable-shared option when you run
configure.  This will build the BFD and opcodes libraries as shared
libraries.  You can use arguments with the --enable-shared option to
indicate that only certain libraries should be built shared; for
example, --enable-shared=bfd.  The only potential shared libraries in
a binutils release are bfd and opcodes.

The binutils will be linked against the shared libraries.  The build
step will attempt to place the correct library in the run-time search
path for the binaries.  However, in some cases, after you install the
binaries, you may have to set an environment variable, normally
LD_LIBRARY_PATH, so that the system can find the installed libbfd
shared library.

On hosts that support shared system libraries the binutils will be
linked against them.  If you have static versions of the system
libraries installed as well and you wish to create static binaries
instead then use the LDFLAGS environment variable,  like this:

  ../binutils-XXX/configure LDFLAGS="--static" [more options]

Note: the two dashes are important.  The binutils make use of the
libtool script which has a special interpretation of "-static" when it
is in the LDFLAGS environment variable.

To build under openVMS/AXP, see the file makefile.vms in the top level
directory.


Native Language Support
=======================

By default Native Language Support will be enabled for binutils.  On
some systems however this support is not present and can lead to error
messages such as "undefined reference to `libintl_gettext'" when
building there tools.  If that happens the NLS support can be disabled
by adding the --disable-nls switch to the configure line like this:

	../binutils-XXX/configure --disable-nls


If you don't have ar
====================

If your system does not already have an 'ar' program, the normal
binutils build process will not work.  In this case, run configure as
usual.  Before running make, run this script:

#!/bin/sh
MAKE_PROG="${MAKE-make}"
MAKE="${MAKE_PROG} AR=true LINK=true"
export MAKE
${MAKE} $* all-libiberty
${MAKE} $* all-intl
${MAKE} $* all-bfd
cd binutils
MAKE="${MAKE_PROG}"
export MAKE
${MAKE} $* ar_DEPENDENCIES= ar_LDADD='../bfd/*.o ../libiberty/*.o `if test -f ../intl/gettext.o; then echo '../intl/*.o'; fi`' ar

This script will build an ar program in binutils/ar.  Move binutils/ar
into a directory on your PATH.  After doing this, you can run make as
usual to build the complete binutils distribution.  You do not need
the ranlib program in order to build the distribution.

Porting
=======

Binutils-2.13 supports many different architectures, but there
are many more not supported, including some that were supported
by earlier versions.  We are hoping for volunteers to improve this
situation.

The major effort in porting binutils to a new host and/or target
architecture involves the BFD library.  There is some documentation
in ../bfd/doc.  The file ../gdb/doc/gdbint.texinfo (distributed
with gdb-5.x) may also be of help.

Reporting bugs
==============

Send bug reports and patches to:

   bug-binutils@gnu.org.

Please include the following in bug reports:

- A description of exactly what went wrong, and exactly what should have
  happened instead.

- The configuration name(s) given to the "configure" script.  The
  "config.status" file should have this information.  This is assuming
  you built binutils yourself.  If you didn't build binutils youself,
  then we need information regarding your machine and operating system,
  and it may be more appropriate to report bugs to wherever you obtained
  binutils.

- The options given to the tool (gas, objcopy, ld etc.) at run time.

- The actual input file that caused the problem.

Always mention the version number you are running; this is printed by
running any of the binutils with the --version option.  We appreciate
reports about bugs, but we do not promise to fix them, particularly so
when the bug report is against an old version.  If you are able, please
consider building the latest tools from git to check that your bug has
not already been fixed.

When reporting problems about gas and ld, it's useful to provide a
testcase that triggers the problem.  In the case of a gas problem, we
want input files to gas and command line switches used.  The inputs to
gas are _NOT_ .c or .i files, but rather .s files.  If your original
source was a C program, you can generate the .s file and see the command
line options by passing -v -save-temps to gcc in addition to all the
usual options you use.  The reason we don't want C files is that we
might not have a C compiler around for the target you use.  While it
might be possible to build a compiler, that takes considerable time and
disk space, and we might not end up with exactly the same compiler you
use.

In the case of a ld problem, the input files are .o, .a and .so files,
and possibly a linker script specified with -T.  Again, when using gcc
to link, you can see these files by adding options to the gcc command
line.  Use -v -save-temps -Wl,-t, except that on targets that use gcc's
collect2, you would add -v -save-temps -Wl,-t,-debug.  The -t option
tells ld to print all files and libraries used, so that, for example,
you can associate -lc on the ld command line with the actual libc used.
Note that your simple two line C program to trigger a problem typically
expands into several megabytes of objects by the time you include
libraries.

It is antisocial to post megabyte sized attachments to mailing lists, so
please put large testcases somewhere on an ftp or web site so that only
interested developers need to download them, or offer to email them on
request.  Better still, try to reduce the testcase, for example, try to
develop a ld testcase that doesn't use system libraries.  However,
please be sure it is a complete testcase and that it really does
demonstrate the problem.  Also, don't bother paring it down if that will
cause large delays in filing the bug report.

If you expect to be contributing a large number of test cases, it would
be helpful if you would look at the test suite included in the release
(based on the Deja Gnu testing framework, available from the usual ftp
sites) and write test cases to fit into that framework.  This is
certainly not required.

VMS
===

This section was written by Klaus K"ampf <kkaempf@rmi.de>.  It
describes how to build and install the binutils on openVMS (Alpha and
Vax).  (The BFD library only supports reading Vax object files.)

Compiling the release:

To compile the gnu binary utilities and the gnu assembler, you'll
need DEC C or GNU C for openVMS/Alpha. You'll need *both* compilers
on openVMS/Vax.

Compiling with either DEC C or GNU C works on openVMS/Alpha only. Some
of the opcodes and binutils files trap a bug in the DEC C optimizer,
so these files must be compiled with /noopt.

Compiling on openVMS/Vax is a bit complicated, as the bfd library traps
a bug in GNU C and the gnu assembler a bug in (my version of) DEC C.

I never tried compiling with VAX C.


You further need GNU Make Version 3.76 or later. This is available
at ftp.progis.de or any GNU archive site. The makefiles assume that
gmake starts gnu make as a foreign command.

If you're compiling with DEC C or VAX C, you must run

  $ @setup

before starting gnu-make. This isn't needed with GNU C.

On the Alpha you can choose the compiler by editing the toplevel
makefile.vms. Either select CC=cc (for DEC C) or CC=gcc (for GNU C)


Installing the release

Provided that your directory setup conforms to the GNU on openVMS
standard, you already have a concealed device named 'GNU_ROOT'.
In this case, a simple

 $ gmake install

suffices to copy all programs and libraries to the proper directories.

Define the programs as foreign commands by adding these lines to your
login.com:

  $ gas :== $GNU_ROOT:[bin]as.exe
  $ size :== $GNU_ROOT:[bin]size.exe
  $ nm :== $GNU_ROOT:[bin]nm.exe
  $ objdump :== $GNU_ROOT:[bin]objdump.exe
  $ strings :== $GNU_ROOT:[bin]strings.exe

If you have a different directory setup, copy the binary utilities
([.binutils]size.exe, [.binutils]nm.exe, [.binutils]objdump.exe,
and [.binutils]strings.exe) and the gnu assembler and preprocessor
([.gas]as.exe and [.gas]gasp.exe]) to a directory of your choice
and define all programs as foreign commands.


If you're satisfied with the compilation, you may want to remove
unneeded objects and libraries:

  $ gmake clean


If you have any problems or questions about the binutils on VMS, feel
free to mail me at kkaempf@rmi.de.

Copyright (C) 2012-2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
notice and this notice are preserved.

		README for MAKING BINUTILS RELEASES

This is a collection of notes on how to perform a binutils release.  A
lot of this information can also be found in the maintain.texi file in
the gnulib project:

  https://www.gnu.org/software/gnulib/

It is useful to have a cloned copy of the sources of this project as
it also contains an upload script used to install tarballs on the GNU
FTP server.

Make sure that you have upload authority on sourceware and fencepost.
Beware - this is an involved process and can take weeks to complete.
See the maintain.texi file for details on how to obtain these
permissions.

-------------------------------------------------
How to perform a release.
-------------------------------------------------

  1. Send an email out warning contributors about the forthcoming
     branch.  Set a date for the branch (weekends are better because
     they are less busy).

  2. When the branch date is near:  Update the libiberty and config
     directories and the top level configure files.

  3. When branch day arrives add markers for the upcoming release to
     the NEWS files in gas, ld, and binutils.  No need to update NEWS
     in the gold directory - it has its own release numbering.

     Likewise for the ChangeLog files in: bfd, binutils, config, cpu,
     elfcpp, gas, gold, gprof, include, ld, libctf, opcodes and toplevel.

     Add a note of the name of the new branch to binutils/BRANCHES.

     Commit these changes.

  4. Create the release branch using:

	git branch binutils-2_34-branch
        git push origin binutils-2_34-branch

     If you get a message like:

       remote: fatal: Invalid revision range 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..f974f26cb16cc6fe3946f163c787a05e713fb77b

     It appears that this can be ignored...

  5. Make sure that the branch is there.  IE check out the branch sources:

        git clone ssh://sourceware.org/git/binutils-gdb.git -b binutils-2_34-branch 2.34

     If you get a message about being in a "detached head" state, something
     has gone wrong...

     Keep the checked out sources - they are going to be needed in future
     steps.

  6. Update "BINUTILS_BRANCH" in gdbadmin's crontab:

     Log in as gdbadmin on sourceware.org, and then:

        $ cd crontab
        $ vi crontab
        [change BINUTILS_BRANCH]
        $ cvs ci crontab
        $ crontab crontab

     If you do not have access to this account, please feel free to
     ask Joel Brobecker <brobecker AT adacore DOT com>.

  7. Rename the current HEAD version entry in Bugzilla, and create a
     new one.  E.g. rename "2.34 (HEAD)" to 2.34, and create "2.34
     (HEAD)":

        https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/editversions.cgi?product=binutils

  8. Update bfd/version.m4 on HEAD to indicate that is now a snapshot
     of the next release:

       m4_define([BFD_VERSION], [2.34.51])

     Update the release number in bfd/version.m4 for the branch.
     The branch only needs the point value set to 90 as the release
     has not actually happened yet.

       m4_define([BFD_VERSION], [2.33.90])

     Regenerate various files on both branch and HEAD by configuring
     with "--enable-maintainer-mode --enable-gold" and then building
     with "make all-binutils all-gas all-gold all-gprof all-ld"

     Add ChangeLog entries for the updated files.  Commit the changes.
     Make sure that this includes the .pot files as well as the
     configure and makefiles.

  8. Create an initial pre-release:

     a. Remove any auto-generated files, in order to force the
        src-release script to rebuild them.

          cd <branch-sources>
          git clean -fdx .

     b. Create a source tarball of the BRANCH sources:

          ./src-release -x binutils

     c. Build a test target using this tarball.

           cp binutils-<version>.tar.xz /dev/shm
	   cd /dev/shm
	   tar xvf binutils-<version>.tar.xz
	   mkdir build
	   cd build
	   ../<version>/configure --quiet --enable-gold
	   make

        If there are problems, fix them.

     d. Upload the pre-release snapshot to the sourceware FTP site:

          cd <branch-sources>
          scp binutils-<version>.tar.xz sourceware.org:~ftp/pub/binutils/snapshots
          ssh sourceware.org md5sum ~ftp/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-<version>.tar.xz

     e. Clean up the source directory again.

         git clean -fdx .

   9. Tell the Translation Project where to find the new tarball.
      <coordinator@translationproject.org>
      qv: http://translationproject.org/html/maintainers.html

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Translation Project

  The 2.3x release branch has been created for the FSF binutils.

  A snapshot of the branch sources can be found here:

    https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-2.3x.90.tar.xz

  We hope to make the official release of the sources on the 8th July
  although that could change if there are important bugs that need to
  be fixed before the release.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

  10. Announce the availability of the snapshot and the branch on the
      binutils mailing list.  Set a date for when the release will
      actually happen.  Something like:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Everyone,

  The 2.3x branch has now been created:

     git clone git://sourceware.org/git/binutils-gdb.git -b binutils-2_3x-branch 2.3x

  A snapshot of the sources is also available here:

    https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/snapshots/binutils-2.3x.90.tar.xz

  Please could all patches for the branch be run by me.
  The rules for the branch are:

    * No new features.
    * Target specific bug fixes are OK.
    * Generic bug fixes are OK if they are important and widely tested.
    * Documentation updates/fixes are OK.
    * Translation updates are OK.
    * Fixes for testsuite failures are OK.

  Ideally I would like to make the release happen in two weeks time,
  i.e. Saturday 27th Jan.  Which I hope will be enough time for everyone
  to get their final fixes in.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

  11. Build various different toolchains, test them and nag
      maintainers to fix any testsuite failures for their
      architectures...


When the time comes to actually make the release....


  20. Make sure that the branch sources still build, test and install
      correctly.  Make sure that the sources are clean, without any
      patch files (.reg .orig *~) left over.

         cd <branch>
	 git clean -dfx .

  21. Update the release number in bfd/version.m4 on the release
      branch to a whole new minor version number, without a point
      value.  Eg "2.29.90" becomes "2.30".  Change bfd/development.sh
      to set all values to "false".  Regenerate the configure and
      makefiles.  And *info* files.  Add ChangeLog entries for the
      updates and add a  "this-is-the-2.3x-release" comment and
      commit.

  22. Check that your file creation mask will create the
      correct file permissions.  Eg:

      	    % umask
	    22

      Remove any spurious autom4te.cache files left over from the
      reconfiguring:

            % find . -depth -name autom4te.cache -exec rm -r {} \;

  23. Note - check to see if any new files have been added to the top
      level of the source directory, but which are not in the
      DEVO_SUPPORT variable in the src-release.sh script.  If they are
      needed then add them.

       Create the release tarballs:

            ./src-release.sh -b -g -l -x binutils

  24. Check that the files in the tarballs have the correct
      permissions.

  25. Sanity check the release on x86_64-pc-linux-gnu by building and
      running the testsuites (gas, gold, binutils and ld).  Make the
      source directory read-only before building.  Also test
      "make install".  If necessary fix any problems.

  26. Tag the branch with the new release number:

            git tag -a binutils-2_3x
	      [optional: add "-u XXXXX" to sign with a gpg key]
	    git push origin binutils-2_3x

        NB/ If you do sign the binaries make sure to use a key
	that has been published with the FSF.

  27. Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.

       gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-2.3x.tar.*

      The gnupload script is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.

      Check for an email response from the upload.  If necessary
      fix any problems.

  28. Upload the tarballs (and signatures) to sourceware.org:

       sftp sourceware.org
         cd /sourceware/ftp/pub/binutils/releases
 	 put binutils-2.3x.tar.*
 	 chmod 644 binutils-2.3x.tar.*
	 quit

      FIXME: Should the signatures (created by the gnupload script in
      step 29) be uploaded as well ?

  29. Update web pages.  For sourceware.org:

      Create a new documentation folder on the sourceware.org web
      pages as /sourceware/www/sourceware/htdocs/binutils/docs-2.3x.

       sftp sourceware.org
         cd /sourceware/www/sourceware/htdocs/binutils
	 mkdir docs-2.3x
	 cd docs-2.3x
	 mkdir as bfd binutils gprof ld
	 cd ../docs-2.3(x-1)
	 get index.html

      Update the (local copy of the) index.html file to point to the
      new documentation and mention the new version and then upload it.

	 cd ../docs-2.3x
	 put index.html

      Make the html documentation locally with the "make html" command
      and then upload and rename the directories as needed.  (sftp
      does not appear to support recursive uploads however, so the
      directories had to be made by hand, as shown above).

         cd as
	 lcd <build-dir>/gas/doc/as.html
	 put *
	 cd ../bfd
	 lcd ../../../bfd/doc/bfd.html
	 put *
	 cd ../binutils
	 lcd ../../../binutils/doc/binutils.html
	 put *
	 cd ../gprof
	 lcd ../../../gprof/gprof.html
	 put *
	 cd ../ld
	 lcd ../../ld/ld.html
	 put *

      Edit the top level binutils index.html file to change the links
      to the new documentation.

         cd ../../..
	 get index.html
	 [edit]
	 put index.html
         rm docs
	 ln -s docs-2.3x docs
	 quit

      Check that the new web page is correct.

      For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
      and ask them to make the change(s).

  30. Send emails to binutils@sourceware.org, info-gnu@gnu.org and
      David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
      Sign the email and include the checksum:

          md5sum binutils-2.3x.tar.*

      (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
      social media).  Something like this:
      -----------------------------------------------------------------------
        Hi Everyone,

        We are pleased to announce that version 2.3x of the GNU Binutils project
        sources have been released and are now available for download at:

          https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
          https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/

          checksums: xxxx

       This release contains numerous bug fixes, and also the
       following new features:

          <extract info from the NEWS files>

       Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
       present, for helping to make this release possible.

      -----------------------------------------------------------------------

  31. Clean up the source tree:

        git clean -fdx .

  32. Edit bfd/development.sh on the branch and set the development flag
      to "true".  (Leave the experimental flag set to "false").  Also bump
      the version in bfd/version.m4 by adding a trailing .0, so that the
      date suffix keeps the version lower than the trunk version.
      Regenerate files.  Commit these changes.

  33. Email the binutils list telling everyone that the 2.3x branch
      is now open for business as usual and that patched no longer
      need special approval.

  34. Examine the bfd/config.bfd file and move any pending obsolete
      targets into the definitely obsolete section.  Create a
      changelog entry and commit.

-------------------------------------------------
How to perform a point release.
-------------------------------------------------

A point release is easier than a normal release since a lot of the
work has already been done.  The branch has been created, the
translations updated and the documentation uploaded.  So the procedure
looks like this:

  0. Decide that a point release is necessary.

     Usually this only happens when a sufficient number of serious
     bugs have been found and fixed since the previous release, and a
     new official release is not imminent.

  1. Tell the community that a point release is happening.  Ask
     maintainers to ensure that their ports are up to date on the
     release branch.  Ask the community if there are any bug fixes
     which are missing from the branch.  Allow some time for the
     responses to this step.

  2. Make sure that the branch sources build, test and install
     correctly.

  2.5 Prepare a list of the bugs which have been fixed.  This
      will be needed for step 8.

  3. In the branch sources:

       a. Update the minor release number in bfd/version.m4.
       b. Edit bfd/development.sh, set "development=false".
       c. Regenerate the configure files.
       c.1. Remove spurious autom4te.cache files:

          find . -depth -name autom4te.cache -exec rm -r {} \;

       d. Commit the updates along with a "this-is-the-2.3x.y-release"
          note in all of the changelogs.
       e. Tag the branch with the new release number:

            git tag -a binutils-2_3x_y
	      [optional: add "-u XXXXX" to sign with a gpg key]
	    git push origin binutils-2_3x_y

       f. Check that your file creation mask will create the
          correct file permissions.  Eg:

	    umask 022

       g. Create the release tarballs:

            ./src-release -b -g -l -x binutils

       h. Check that the files in the tarballs have the correct
          permissions.

       i. Edit bfd/development.sh and set "development=true".
       j. Commit this change into the git repository.

  4. [If paranoid - upload the tarballs to one of the FTP servers and
      ask people to test it before going on to step 5].

  5. Upload the tarballs to ftp.gnu.org.

       gnupload --to ftp.gnu.org:binutils binutils-2.3x.y.tar.*

     The gnupload script is in the gnulib/build-aux directory.

  6. Upload the tarballs to sourceware.org:

       sftp sourceware.org
         cd /sourceware/ftp/pub/binutils/releases
 	 put binutils-2.3x.y.tar.*
 	 chmod 644 binutils-2.3x.y.tar.*
	 quit

    It is OK to upload the signatures as well.

  7. Update web pages.  For sourceware.org:

      * Log on to sourceware.org
      * Go to /sourceware/www/sourceware/htdocs/binutils
      * Edit index.html

      For the www.gnu.org site you have to email webmasters@gnu.org
      and ask them to make the change(s).

  8. Send an emails to the binutils list, info-gnu@gnu.org and
     David Edelsohn <dje.gcc@gmail.com> announcing the new release.
     (The email to Davis is so that he can update the GNU Toolchain
     social media).  Something like this:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Everyone,

  We are pleased to announce that version 2.3x.y of the GNU Binutils
  project sources have been released and are now available for download at:

    https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/binutils
    https://sourceware.org/pub/binutils/releases/

  This is a point release over the previous 2.3x version, containing bug
  fixes but no new features.

  Our thanks go out to all of the binutils contributors, past and
  present, for helping to make this release possible.

  Here is a list of the bugs that have been fixed:
    xx
    xx
    xx
    xx
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
  9. Clean up the source tree.

            git clean -dfx .

 10. Edit bfd/development.sh on the branch and set the development flag
     to "true".  Commit this change.


Copyright (C) 2017-2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
notice and this notice are preserved.