(automake.info.gz) Dist

 
 What Goes in a Distribution
 ***************************
 
 Basics of distribution
 ======================
 
    The `dist' target in the generated `Makefile.in' can be used to
 generate a gzip'd `tar' file and other flavors of archive for
 distribution.  The files is named based on the `PACKAGE' and `VERSION'
 variables defined by `AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE' ( Macros); more
 precisely the gzip'd `tar' file is named `PACKAGE-VERSION.tar.gz'.  You
 can use the `make' variable `GZIP_ENV' to control how gzip is run.  The
 default setting is `--best'.
 
    For the most part, the files to distribute are automatically found by
 Automake: all source files are automatically included in a distribution,
 as are all `Makefile.am's and `Makefile.in's.  Automake also has a
 built-in list of commonly used files which are automatically included
 if they are found in the current directory (either physically, or as
 the target of a `Makefile.am' rule).  This list is printed by `automake
 --help'.  Also, files which are read by `configure' (i.e. the source
 files corresponding to the files specified in various Autoconf macros
 such as `AC_CONFIG_FILES' and siblings) are automatically distributed.
 
    Still, sometimes there are files which must be distributed, but which
 are not covered in the automatic rules.  These files should be listed in
 the `EXTRA_DIST' variable.  You can mention files from subdirectories
 in `EXTRA_DIST'.
 
    You can also mention a directory in `EXTRA_DIST'; in this case the
 entire directory will be recursively copied into the distribution.
 Please note that this will also copy _everything_ in the directory,
 including CVS/RCS version control files.  We recommend against using
 this feature.
 
 Fine-grained distribution control
 =================================
 
    Sometimes you need tighter control over what does _not_ go into the
 distribution; for instance you might have source files which are
 generated and which you do not want to distribute.  In this case
 Automake gives fine-grained control using the `dist' and `nodist'
 prefixes.  Any primary or `_SOURCES' variable can be prefixed with
 `dist_' to add the listed files to the distribution.  Similarly,
 `nodist_' can be used to omit the files from the distribution.
 
    As an example, here is how you would cause some data to be
 distributed while leaving some source code out of the distribution:
 
      dist_data_DATA = distribute-this
      bin_PROGRAMS = foo
      nodist_foo_SOURCES = do-not-distribute.c
 
 The dist hook
 =============
 
    Another way to to use this is for removing unnecessary files that get
 recursively included by specifying a directory in EXTRA_DIST:
 
      EXTRA_DIST = doc
      
      dist-hook:
      	rm -rf `find $(distdir)/doc -name CVS`
 
    If you define `SUBDIRS', Automake will recursively include the
 subdirectories in the distribution.  If `SUBDIRS' is defined
 conditionally ( Conditionals), Automake will normally include all
 directories that could possibly appear in `SUBDIRS' in the
 distribution.  If you need to specify the set of directories
 conditionally, you can set the variable `DIST_SUBDIRS' to the exact
 list of subdirectories to include in the distribution.
 
    Occasionally it is useful to be able to change the distribution
 before it is packaged up.  If the `dist-hook' target exists, it is run
 after the distribution directory is filled, but before the actual tar
 (or shar) file is created.  One way to use this is for distributing
 files in subdirectories for which a new `Makefile.am' is overkill:
 
      dist-hook:
              mkdir $(distdir)/random
              cp -p $(srcdir)/random/a1 $(srcdir)/random/a2 $(distdir)/random
 
 Checking the distribution
 =========================
 
    Automake also generates a `distcheck' target which can be of help to
 ensure that a given distribution will actually work.  `distcheck' makes
 a distribution, then tries to do a `VPATH' build, run the testsuite,
 and finally make another tarfile to ensure the distribution is
 self-contained.
 
    Building the package involves running `./configure'.  If you need to
 supply additional flags to `configure', define them in the
 `DISTCHECK_CONFIGURE_FLAGS' variable, either in your top-level
 `Makefile.am', or on the commande line when invoking `make'.
 
    If the target `distcheck-hook' is defined in your `Makefile.am',
 then it will be invoked by `distcheck' after the new distribution has
 been unpacked, but before the unpacked copy is configured and built.
 Your `distcheck-hook' can do almost anything, though as always caution
 is advised.  Generally this hook is used to check for potential
 distribution errors not caught by the standard mechanism.
 
    Speaking about potential distribution errors, `distcheck' will also
 ensure that the `distclean' target actually removes all built files.
 This is done by running `make distcleancheck' at the end of the `VPATH'
 build.  By default, `distcleancheck' will run `distclean' and then make
 sure the build tree has been emptied by running
 `$(distcleancheck_listfiles)'.  Usually this check will find generated
 files that you forgot to add to the `DISTCLEANFILES' variable (
 Clean).
 
    The `distcleancheck' behaviour should be ok for most packages,
 otherwise you have the possibility to override the definitition of
 either the `distcleancheck' target, or the
 `$(distcleancheck_listfiles)' variable.  For instance to disable
 `distcleancheck' completely, add the following rule to your top-level
 `Makefile.am':
 
      distcleancheck:
              @:
 
    If you want `distcleancheck' to ignore built files which have not
 been cleaned because they are also part of the distribution, add the
 following definition instead:
 
      distcleancheck_listfiles = \
        find -type f -exec sh -c 'test -f $(scrdir)/{} || echo {}'
 
    The above definition is not the default because it's usually an
 error if your Makefiles cause some distributed files to be rebuilt when
 the user build the package.  (Think about the user missing the tool
 required to build the file; or if the required tool is built by your
 package, consider the cross-compilation case where it can't be run.)
 
    `distcheck' also checks that the `uninstall' target works properly,
 both for ordinary and `DESTDIR' builds.  It does this by invoking `make
 uninstall', and then it checks the install tree to see if any files are
 left over.  This check will make sure that you correctly coded your
 `uninstall'-related targets.
 
    By default, the checking is done by the `distuninstallcheck' target,
 and the list of files in the install tree is generated by
 `$(distuninstallcheck_listfiles') (this is a variable whose value is a
 shell command to run that prints the list of files to stdout).
 
    Either of these can be overridden to modify the behavior of
 `distcheck'.  For instance, to disable this check completely, you would
 write:
 
      distuninstallcheck:
              @:
 
 The types of distributions
 ==========================
 
    Automake generates a `.tar.gz' file when asked to create a
 distribution and other archives formats,  Options.  The target
 `dist-gzip' generates the `.tar.gz' file only.
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