summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/Build/source/m4/README
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'Build/source/m4/README')
-rw-r--r--Build/source/m4/README35
1 files changed, 35 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Build/source/m4/README b/Build/source/m4/README
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..d2b7dc0cccf
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Build/source/m4/README
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+$Id$
+Copyright 2009-2017 Karl Berry <tex-live@tug.org>
+Copyright 2009-2012 Peter Breitenlohner <tex-live@tug.org>
+You may freely use, modify and/or distribute this file.
+
+This directory is the central repository for Autoconf macros needed to build
+the TeX Live (TL) tree. They are incorporated into the configure scripts.
+
+(1) Public macros such as libtool.m4 used to build the libraries and
+programs in the TL subdirectories libs/*/, utils/*/, and texk/*/ that are
+owned by the TL tree, i.e., either not maintained independently or with a
+proxy Makefile.am using an (almost) unmodified source tree and bypassing the
+original build system.
+
+Note: the files libtool.m4 and ../build-aux/ltmain.sh must match.
+
+(2) `Public' macros for the TL build system and for the TL libraries in the
+subdirectories libs/*/, texk/kpathsea/, and texk/ptexenc/, used to configure
+programs and other libraries requiring these TL libraries. The macros are
+designed with the aim that programs maintained independently can be built as
+part of the TL tree or without TL (using installed versions of the required
+libraries), ideally using the same unmodified sources.
+
+(3) `Private' macros for the TL infrastructure, only used in directories
+owned by the TL tree.
+
+kpse-pkgs.m4: defines lists of subdirectories libs/Lib/, utils/Util/, and
+ tex/Prog/ with libraries and programs that can be built as part of
+ the TL tree.
+
+kpse-setup.m4: macros that walk through these lists to provide configure
+ options. They depend on configure fragments */*/ac/withenable.ac
+ defining the dependencies between these libraries and programs.
+
+See also the sibling top-level am/ directory.