-\input texinfo.tex @c -*-texinfo-*-
-@c
-@c Documentation for `common'
-@c
-@c (c) 1997 Mark Wooding
-@c
-
-@c ----- Licensing notice ---------------------------------------------------
-@c
-@c This file is part of the Common Files Distribution (`common').
-@c
-@c `Common' is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
-@c it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
-@c the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or
-@c (at your option) any later version.
-@c
-@c `Common' is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
-@c but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
-@c MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
-@c GNU General Public License for more details.
-@c
-@c You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
-@c along with `common'; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
-@c Inc., 59 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
-
-@c ----- Standard boilerplate header ----------------------------------------
-
-@c --- Formatting header ---
-
-@c %**start of header
-@setfilename common.info
-@settitle The Common Files Distribution
-@paragraphindent 0
-@dircategory Development
-@direntry
-* Common Files Distribution: (common). A central place for boilerplate
-@end direntry
-@iftex
-@input texinice
-@afourpaper
-@end iftex
-@include version.texi
-@c %**end of header
-
-@c ----- Introductory stuff and copyright pages -----------------------------
-@c
-@c Yes indeed, by the way: I'm willing to allow a translation approved
-@c by the FSF, not me. I can't be bothered to vet translations.
-
-@c --- Info version ---
-
-@ifinfo
-
-This file documents version @value{VERSION} of the Common Files Distribution.
-
-Copyright (c) 1997 Mark Wooding
-
-Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
-manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
-preserved on all copies.
-
-@ignore
-Permission is granted to process this file through TeX and print the
-results, provided the printed document carries a copying permission
-notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
-(this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
-
-@end ignore
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
-manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
-sections entitled `Copying' and `GNU General Public License' are
-included exactly as in the original, and provided that the entire
-resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission
-notice identical to this one.
-
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
-into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions,
-except that this permission notice may be stated in a translation
-approved by the Free Software Foundation.
-
-@end ifinfo
-
-@c --- Printed version ---
-
-@titlepage
-@title The Common Files Distribution
-@subtitle version @value{VERSION}
-@author Mark Wooding
-@page
-@vskip 0pt plus 1 filll
-
-Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
-manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
-preserved on all copies.
-
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
-manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
-sections entitled `Copying' and `GNU General Public License' are
-included exactly as in the original, and provided that the entire
-resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission
-notice identical to this one.
-
-Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
-into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions,
-except that this permission notice may be stated in a translation
-approved by the Free Software Foundation.
-
-@end titlepage
-
-
-@c --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-@ifinfo
-@node Top, Copying, (dir), (dir)
-@unnumbered The Common Files Distribution
-
-
-The Common Files Distribution provides a convenient way to manage files
-shared between a number of developments.
-
-This manual documents version @value{VERSION} of the Common Files
-Distribution.
-
-@end ifinfo
-
-@menu
-* Copying::
-* Introduction::
-* The file repository::
-
-@detailmenu
- --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
-
-The file repository
-
-* The mklinks command::
-* The findlinks command::
-
-@end detailmenu
-@end menu
-
-@c --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-@node Copying, Introduction, Top, Top
-@unnumbered The GNU General Public License
-
-@include gpl-2.0.texi
-
-@c --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-@node Introduction, The file repository, Copying, Top
-@unnumbered Introduction
-
-
-When you have a number of development trees, managing files which are common
-to all of them starts to become a real pain. When a new version of some file
-comes out, checking out all your source directories, replacing the old
-version with the new one, and committing all the changes back gets to be
-very tiresome rather quickly.
-
-The Common File Distribution attempts to be a solution to some of the
-problems caused sharing files between source trees. It provides a single
-repository for shared files, and lets you create links to the shared copies
-from your source trees. It also provides a simple method for constructing
-text files from small bits of `text libraries'.
-
-The whole lot is held together by a collection of small shell scripts. They
-can easily be modified to suit the requirements of an individual site, or
-used as the basis of other similar scripts.
-
-
-@c --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-@node The file repository, , Introduction, Top
-@chapter The file repository
-
-
-When the Common File Distribution is installed, it creates a repository where
-shared files can be placed, and it places a few standard GNU files there. By
-default, the repository is @file{@var{prefix}/share/common}, although this
-can be set using the @code{--datadir} option to the configuration script.
-
-You can place your own files in the repository if you like. If you do,
-they'll be treated in exactly the same way as ones in the distribution.
-
-The command @code{mklinks} reads a list of filenames and creates symbolic
-links to the corresponding names in the repository. This ensures that when a
-file in the repository gets updated, any source trees automatically use the
-new version. Obviously, when you build a source distribution, you must
-ensure that links are followed, rather than saved as links; the @code{h}
-option to @code{tar} does this (this is the default in Automake; @pxref{Top,
-, Overview, automake, GNU Automake}).
-
-The command @code{findlinks} scans the current directory (and its
-subdirectories) for files whose names match those in the repository.
-
-@menu
-* The mklinks command::
-* The findlinks command::
-@end menu
-
-
-
-@node The mklinks command, The findlinks command, The file repository, The file repository
-@section The @code{mklinks} command
-
-Links into the file repository are made with the @code{mklinks} command:
-
-@example
-mklinks [@var{file}]...
-@end example
-
-If you don't specify any @code{file}s, it reads @file{.links} from the
-current directory; you can pass @samp{-} to read standard input. The program
-expects the files to contain a list of filenames; for each name read, it
-creates a symbolic link to the appropriate file in the repository.
-
-You can create a list of files which probably need linking using the
-@code{findlinks} command. @xref{The findlinks command}.
-
-
-
-@node The findlinks command, , The mklinks command, The file repository
-@section The @code{findlinks} command
-
-The @code{findlinks} searches the current directory and any subdirectories
-and writes to standard output a list of files whose names match files in the
-file repository. It takes no arguments, although typically output will be
-redirected to the file @file{.links}, which the @code{mklinks} command reads
-by default:
-
-@example
-findlinks >.links
-@end example
-
-@c --------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-@contents
-@bye