1 @c This is for making the `INSTALL' file for the distribution.
2 @c Makeinfo ignores it when processing the file from the include.
5 @node Installation, Maintenance, Library Summary, Top
6 @c %MENU% How to install the GNU C library
7 @appendix Installing the GNU C Library
9 Before you do anything else, you should read the file @file{FAQ} located
10 at the top level of the source tree. This file answers common questions
11 and describes problems you may experience with compilation and
12 installation. It is updated more frequently than this manual.
14 Features can be added to GNU Libc via @dfn{add-on} bundles. These are
15 separate tar files, which you unpack into the top level of the source
16 tree. Then you give @code{configure} the @samp{--enable-add-ons} option
17 to activate them, and they will be compiled into the library. As of the
18 2.2 release, one important component of glibc is distributed as
19 ``official'' add-ons: the linuxthreads add-on. Unless you are doing an
20 unusual installation, you should get this.
22 Support for POSIX threads is maintained by someone else, so it's in a
23 separate package. It is only available for GNU/Linux systems, but this will
24 change in the future. Get it from the same place you got the main
25 bundle; the file is @file{glibc-linuxthreads-@var{VERSION}.tar.gz}.
27 You will need recent versions of several GNU tools: definitely GCC and
28 GNU Make, and possibly others. @xref{Tools for Compilation}, below.
31 * Configuring and compiling:: How to compile and test GNU libc.
32 * Running make install:: How to install it once you've got it
34 * Tools for Compilation:: You'll need these first.
35 * Supported Configurations:: What it runs on, what it doesn't.
36 * Linux:: Specific advice for GNU/Linux systems.
37 * Reporting Bugs:: So they'll get fixed.
40 @node Configuring and compiling
41 @appendixsec Configuring and compiling GNU Libc
45 GNU libc can be compiled in the source directory, but we strongly advise
46 building it in a separate build directory. For example, if you have
48 the glibc sources in @file{/src/gnu/glibc-2.3}, create a directory
49 @file{/src/gnu/glibc-build} to put the object files in. This allows
50 removing the whole build directory in case an error occurs, which is the
51 safest way to get a fresh start and should always be done.
53 From your object directory, run the shell script @file{configure} located
54 at the top level of the source tree. In the scenario above, you'd type
57 $ ../glibc-2.3/configure @var{args@dots{}}
60 Please note that even if you're building in a separate build directory,
61 the compilation needs to modify a few files in the source
62 directory, especially some files in the manual subdirectory.
65 @code{configure} takes many options, but you can get away with knowing
66 only two: @samp{--prefix} and @samp{--enable-add-ons}. The
67 @code{--prefix} option tells @code{configure} where you want glibc
68 installed. This defaults to @file{/usr/local}. The
69 @samp{--enable-add-ons} option tells @code{configure} to use all the
70 add-on bundles it finds in the source directory. Since important
71 functionality is provided in add-ons, you should always specify this
74 It may also be useful to set the @var{CC} and @var{CFLAGS} variables in
75 the environment when running @code{configure}. @var{CC} selects the C
76 compiler that will be used, and @var{CFLAGS} sets optimization options
79 The following list describes all of the available options for
83 @item --prefix=@var{directory}
84 Install machine-independent data files in subdirectories of
85 @file{@var{directory}}. The default is to install in @file{/usr/local}.
87 @item --exec-prefix=@var{directory}
88 Install the library and other machine-dependent files in subdirectories
89 of @file{@var{directory}}. The default is to the @samp{--prefix}
90 directory if that option is specified, or @file{/usr/local} otherwise.
92 @item --with-headers=@var{directory}
93 Look for kernel header files in @var{directory}, not
94 @file{/usr/include}. Glibc needs information from the kernel's private
95 header files. Glibc will normally look in @file{/usr/include} for them,
96 but if you specify this option, it will look in @var{DIRECTORY} instead.
98 This option is primarily of use on a system where the headers in
99 @file{/usr/include} come from an older version of glibc. Conflicts can
100 occasionally happen in this case. Note that Linux libc5 qualifies as an
101 older version of glibc. You can also use this option if you want to
102 compile glibc with a newer set of kernel headers than the ones found in
105 @item --enable-add-ons[=@var{list}]
106 Enable add-on packages in your source tree. If this option is specified
107 with no list, it enables all the add-on packages it finds. If you do
108 not wish to use some add-on packages that you have present in your source
109 tree, give this option a list of the add-ons that you @emph{do} want
110 used, like this: @samp{--enable-add-ons=linuxthreads}
112 @item --enable-kernel=@var{version}
113 This option is currently only useful on GNU/Linux systems. The
114 @var{version} parameter should have the form X.Y.Z and describes the
115 smallest version of the Linux kernel the generated library is expected
116 to support. The higher the @var{version} number is, the less
117 compatibility code is added, and the faster the code gets.
119 @item --with-binutils=@var{directory}
120 Use the binutils (assembler and linker) in @file{@var{directory}}, not
121 the ones the C compiler would default to. You can use this option if
122 the default binutils on your system cannot deal with all the constructs
123 in the GNU C library. In that case, @code{configure} will detect the
124 problem and suppress these constructs, so that the library will still be
125 usable, but functionality may be lost---for example, you can't build a
126 shared libc with old binutils.
129 Use this option if your computer lacks hardware floating-point support
130 and your operating system does not emulate an FPU.
132 @c disable static doesn't work currently
133 @c @item --disable-static
134 @c Don't build static libraries. Static libraries aren't that useful
136 @c days, but we recommend you build them in case you need them.
138 @item --disable-shared
139 Don't build shared libraries even if it is possible. Not all systems
140 support shared libraries; you need ELF support and (currently) the GNU
143 @item --disable-profile
144 Don't build libraries with profiling information. You may want to use
145 this option if you don't plan to do profiling.
147 @item --enable-omitfp
148 Use maximum optimization for the normal (static and shared)
149 libraries, and compile separate static libraries with debugging
150 information and no optimization. We recommend not doing this. The extra
151 optimization doesn't gain you much, it may provoke compiler bugs, and you
152 won't be able to trace bugs through the C library.
154 @item --disable-versioning
155 Don't compile the shared libraries with symbol version information.
156 Doing this will make the resulting library incompatible with old
157 binaries, so it's not recommended.
159 @item --enable-static-nss
160 Compile static versions of the NSS (Name Service Switch) libraries.
161 This is not recommended because it defeats the purpose of NSS; a program
162 linked statically with the NSS libraries cannot be dynamically
163 reconfigured to use a different name database.
166 By default the C library is built with support for thread-local storage
167 if the used tools support it. By using @samp{--without-tls} this can be
168 prevented though there generally is no reason since it creates
169 compatibility problems.
171 @item --build=@var{build-system}
172 @itemx --host=@var{host-system}
173 These options are for cross-compiling. If you specify both options and
174 @var{build-system} is different from @var{host-system}, @code{configure}
175 will prepare to cross-compile glibc from @var{build-system} to be used
176 on @var{host-system}. You'll probably need the @samp{--with-headers}
177 option too, and you may have to override @var{configure}'s selection of
178 the compiler and/or binutils.
180 If you only specify @samp{--host}, @code{configure} will prepare for a
181 native compile but use what you specify instead of guessing what your
182 system is. This is most useful to change the CPU submodel. For example,
183 if @code{configure} guesses your machine as @code{i586-pc-linux-gnu} but
184 you want to compile a library for 386es, give
185 @samp{--host=i386-pc-linux-gnu} or just @samp{--host=i386-linux} and add
186 the appropriate compiler flags (@samp{-mcpu=i386} will do the trick) to
189 If you specify just @samp{--build}, @code{configure} will get confused.
192 To build the library and related programs, type @code{make}. This will
193 produce a lot of output, some of which may look like errors from
194 @code{make} but isn't. Look for error messages from @code{make}
195 containing @samp{***}. Those indicate that something is seriously wrong.
197 The compilation process can take several hours. Expect at least two
198 hours for the default configuration on i586 for GNU/Linux. For Hurd,
199 times are much longer. Some complex modules may take a very long time
200 to compile, as much as several minutes on slower machines. Do not
201 panic if the compiler appears to hang.
203 If you want to run a parallel make, simply pass the @samp{-j} option
204 with an appropriate numeric parameter to @code{make}. You need a recent
205 GNU @code{make} version, though.
207 To build and run test programs which exercise some of the library
208 facilities, type @code{make check}. If it does not complete
209 successfully, do not use the built library, and report a bug after
210 verifying that the problem is not already known. @xref{Reporting Bugs},
211 for instructions on reporting bugs. Note that some of the tests assume
212 they are not being run by @code{root}. We recommend you compile and
213 test glibc as an unprivileged user.
215 Before reporting bugs make sure there is no problem with your system.
216 The tests (and later installation) use some pre-existing files of the
217 system such as @file{/etc/passwd}, @file{/etc/nsswitch.conf} and others.
218 These files must all contain correct and sensible content.
220 To format the @cite{GNU C Library Reference Manual} for printing, type
221 @w{@code{make dvi}}. You need a working @TeX{} installation to do this.
222 The distribution already includes the on-line formatted version of the
223 manual, as Info files. You can regenerate those with @w{@code{make
224 info}}, but it shouldn't be necessary.
226 The library has a number of special-purpose configuration parameters
227 which you can find in @file{Makeconfig}. These can be overwritten with
228 the file @file{configparms}. To change them, create a
229 @file{configparms} in your build directory and add values as appropriate
230 for your system. The file is included and parsed by @code{make} and has
231 to follow the conventions for makefiles.
233 It is easy to configure the GNU C library for cross-compilation by
234 setting a few variables in @file{configparms}. Set @code{CC} to the
235 cross-compiler for the target you configured the library for; it is
236 important to use this same @code{CC} value when running
237 @code{configure}, like this: @samp{CC=@var{target}-gcc configure
238 @var{target}}. Set @code{BUILD_CC} to the compiler to use for programs
239 run on the build system as part of compiling the library. You may need to
240 set @code{AR} and @code{RANLIB} to cross-compiling versions of @code{ar}
241 and @code{ranlib} if the native tools are not configured to work with
242 object files for the target you configured for.
245 @node Running make install
246 @appendixsec Installing the C Library
249 To install the library and its header files, and the Info files of the
250 manual, type @code{env LANGUAGE=C LC_ALL=C make install}. This will
251 build things, if necessary, before installing them; however, you should
252 still compile everything first. If you are installing glibc as your
253 primary C library, we recommend that you shut the system down to
254 single-user mode first, and reboot afterward. This minimizes the risk
255 of breaking things when the library changes out from underneath.
257 If you're upgrading from Linux libc5 or some other C library, you need to
258 replace the @file{/usr/include} with a fresh directory before installing
259 it. The new @file{/usr/include} should contain the Linux headers, but
262 You must first build the library (@samp{make}), optionally check it
263 (@samp{make check}), switch the include directories and then install
264 (@samp{make install}). The steps must be done in this order. Not moving
265 the directory before install will result in an unusable mixture of header
266 files from both libraries, but configuring, building, and checking the
267 library requires the ability to compile and run programs against the old
270 If you are upgrading from a previous installation of glibc 2.0 or 2.1,
271 @samp{make install} will do the entire job. You do not need to remove
272 the old includes -- if you want to do so anyway you must then follow the
275 You may also need to reconfigure GCC to work with the new library. The
276 easiest way to do that is to figure out the compiler switches to make it
277 work again (@samp{-Wl,--dynamic-linker=/lib/ld-linux.so.2} should work on
278 GNU/Linux systems) and use them to recompile gcc. You can also edit the specs
279 file (@file{/usr/lib/gcc-lib/@var{TARGET}/@var{VERSION}/specs}), but that
280 is a bit of a black art.
282 You can install glibc somewhere other than where you configured it to go
283 by setting the @code{install_root} variable on the command line for
284 @samp{make install}. The value of this variable is prepended to all the
285 paths for installation. This is useful when setting up a chroot
286 environment or preparing a binary distribution. The directory should be
287 specified with an absolute file name.
289 Glibc 2.2 includes a daemon called @code{nscd}, which you
290 may or may not want to run. @code{nscd} caches name service lookups; it
291 can dramatically improve performance with NIS+, and may help with DNS as
294 One auxiliary program, @file{/usr/libexec/pt_chown}, is installed setuid
295 @code{root}. This program is invoked by the @code{grantpt} function; it
296 sets the permissions on a pseudoterminal so it can be used by the
297 calling process. This means programs like @code{xterm} and
298 @code{screen} do not have to be setuid to get a pty. (There may be
299 other reasons why they need privileges.) If you are using a 2.1 or
300 newer Linux kernel with the @code{devptsfs} or @code{devfs} filesystems
301 providing pty slaves, you don't need this program; otherwise you do.
302 The source for @file{pt_chown} is in @file{login/programs/pt_chown.c}.
304 After installation you might want to configure the timezone and locale
305 installation of your system. The GNU C library comes with a locale
306 database which gets configured with @code{localedef}. For example, to
307 set up a German locale with name @code{de_DE}, simply issue the command
308 @samp{localedef -i de_DE -f ISO-8859-1 de_DE}. To configure all locales
309 that are supported by glibc, you can issue from your build directory the
310 command @samp{make localedata/install-locales}.
312 To configure the locally used timezone, set the @code{TZ} environment
313 variable. The script @code{tzselect} helps you to select the right value.
314 As an example, for Germany, @code{tzselect} would tell you to use
315 @samp{TZ='Europe/Berlin'}. For a system wide installation (the given
316 paths are for an installation with @samp{--prefix=/usr}), link the
317 timezone file which is in @file{/usr/share/zoneinfo} to the file
318 @file{/etc/localtime}. For Germany, you might execute @samp{ln -s
319 /usr/share/zoneinfo/Europe/Berlin /etc/localtime}.
321 @node Tools for Compilation
322 @appendixsec Recommended Tools for Compilation
323 @cindex installation tools
324 @cindex tools, for installing library
326 We recommend installing the following GNU tools before attempting to
327 build the GNU C library:
331 GNU @code{make} 3.79 or newer
333 You need the latest version of GNU @code{make}. Modifying the GNU C
334 Library to work with other @code{make} programs would be so difficult that
335 we recommend you port GNU @code{make} instead. @strong{Really.} We
336 recommend GNU @code{make} version 3.79. All earlier versions have severe
337 bugs or lack features.
342 The GNU C library can only be compiled with the GNU C compiler family.
343 As of the 2.3 release, GCC 3.2 or higher is required. As of this
344 writing, GCC 3.2 is the compiler we advise to use.
346 You can use whatever compiler you like to compile programs that use GNU
347 libc, but be aware that both GCC 2.7 and 2.8 have bugs in their
348 floating-point support that may be triggered by the math library.
350 Check the FAQ for any special compiler issues on particular platforms.
353 GNU @code{binutils} 2.13 or later
355 You must use GNU @code{binutils} (as and ld) to build the GNU C library.
356 No other assembler and linker has the necessary functionality in the
360 GNU @code{texinfo} 3.12f
362 To correctly translate and install the Texinfo documentation you need
363 this version of the @code{texinfo} package. Earlier versions do not
364 understand all the tags used in the document, and the installation
365 mechanism for the info files is not present or works differently.
368 GNU @code{awk} 3.0, or some other POSIX awk
370 @code{Awk} is used in several places to generate files. The scripts
371 should work with any POSIX-compliant @code{awk} implementation;
372 @code{gawk} 3.0 and @code{mawk} 1.3 are known to work.
377 Perl is not required, but it is used if present to test the
378 installation. We may decide to use it elsewhere in the future.
381 GNU @code{sed} 3.02 or newer
383 @code{Sed} is used in several places to generate files. Most scripts work
384 with any version of @code{sed}. The known exception is the script
385 @code{po2test.sed} in the @code{intl} subdirectory which is used to
386 generate @code{msgs.h} for the test suite. This script works correctly
387 only with GNU @code{sed} 3.02. If you like to run the test suite, you
388 should definitely upgrade @code{sed}.
393 If you change any of the @file{configure.in} files you will also need
397 GNU @code{autoconf} 2.12 or higher
401 and if you change any of the message translation files you will need
405 GNU @code{gettext} 0.10.36 or later
409 You may also need these packages if you upgrade your source tree using
410 patches, although we try to avoid this.
412 @node Supported Configurations
413 @appendixsec Supported Configurations
414 @cindex configurations, all supported
416 The GNU C Library currently supports configurations that match the
420 alpha@var{*}-@var{*}-linux
424 i@var{x}86-@var{*}-gnu
425 i@var{x}86-@var{*}-linux
428 mips@var{*}-@var{*}-linux
429 powerpc-@var{*}-linux
433 sparc64-@var{*}-linux
436 Former releases of this library (version 2.1 and/or 2.0) used to run on
437 the following configurations:
440 arm-@var{*}-linuxaout
444 Very early releases (version 1.09.1 and perhaps earlier versions) used
445 to run on the following configurations:
449 alpha-@var{*}-linuxecoff
450 i@var{x}86-@var{*}-bsd4.3
451 i@var{x}86-@var{*}-isc2.2
452 i@var{x}86-@var{*}-isc3.@var{n}
453 i@var{x}86-@var{*}-sco3.2
454 i@var{x}86-@var{*}-sco3.2v4
455 i@var{x}86-@var{*}-sysv
456 i@var{x}86-@var{*}-sysv4
457 i@var{x}86-force_cpu386-none
458 i@var{x}86-sequent-bsd
465 m68k-sun-sunos4.@var{n}
466 mips-dec-ultrix4.@var{n}
467 mips-sgi-irix4.@var{n}
468 sparc-sun-solaris2.@var{n}
469 sparc-sun-sunos4.@var{n}
472 Since no one has volunteered to test and fix these configurations,
473 they are not supported at the moment. They probably don't compile;
474 they definitely don't work anymore. Porting the library is not hard.
475 If you are interested in doing a port, please contact the glibc
476 maintainers by sending electronic mail to @email{bug-glibc@@gnu.org}.
478 Valid cases of @samp{i@var{x}86} include @samp{i386}, @samp{i486},
479 @samp{i586}, and @samp{i686}. All of those configurations produce a
480 library that can run on this processor and newer processors. The GCC
481 compiler by default generates code that's optimized for the machine it's
482 configured for and will use the instructions available on that machine.
483 For example if your GCC is configured for @samp{i686}, gcc will optimize
484 for @samp{i686} and might issue some @samp{i686} specific instructions.
485 To generate code for other models, you have to configure for that model
486 and give GCC the appropriate @samp{-march=} and @samp{-mcpu=} compiler
487 switches via @var{CFLAGS}.
490 @appendixsec Specific advice for GNU/Linux systems
491 @cindex upgrading from libc5
492 @cindex kernel header files
494 If you are installing GNU libc on a GNU/Linux system, you need to have the
495 header files from a 2.2 or newer kernel around for reference. For some
496 architectures, like ia64, sh and hppa, you need at least headers from
497 kernel 2.3.99 (sh and hppa) or 2.4.0 (ia64). You do not need to use
498 that kernel, just have its headers where glibc can access at them. The
499 easiest way to do this is to unpack it in a directory such as
500 @file{/usr/src/linux-2.2.1}. In that directory, run @samp{make config}
501 and accept all the defaults. Then run @samp{make
502 include/linux/version.h}. Finally, configure glibc with the option
503 @samp{--with-headers=/usr/src/linux-2.2.1/include}. Use the most recent
504 kernel you can get your hands on.
506 An alternate tactic is to unpack the 2.2 kernel and run @samp{make
507 config} as above; then, rename or delete @file{/usr/include}, create a
508 new @file{/usr/include}, and make symbolic links of
509 @file{/usr/include/linux} and @file{/usr/include/asm} into the kernel
510 sources. You can then configure glibc with no special options. This
511 tactic is recommended if you are upgrading from libc5, since you need to
512 get rid of the old header files anyway.
514 After installing GNU libc, you may need to remove or rename
515 @file{/usr/include/linux} and @file{/usr/include/asm}, and replace them
516 with copies of @file{include/linux} and
517 @file{include/asm-$@var{ARCHITECTURE}} taken from the Linux source
518 package which supplied kernel headers for building the library.
519 @var{ARCHITECTURE} will be the machine architecture for which the
520 library was built, such as @samp{i386} or @samp{alpha}. You do not need
521 to do this if you did not specify an alternate kernel header source
522 using @samp{--with-headers}. The intent here is that these directories
523 should be copies of, @strong{not} symlinks to, the kernel headers used to
526 Note that @file{/usr/include/net} and @file{/usr/include/scsi} should
527 @strong{not} be symlinks into the kernel sources. GNU libc provides its
528 own versions of these files.
530 GNU/Linux expects some components of the libc installation to be in
531 @file{/lib} and some in @file{/usr/lib}. This is handled automatically
532 if you configure glibc with @samp{--prefix=/usr}. If you set some other
533 prefix or allow it to default to @file{/usr/local}, then all the
534 components are installed there.
536 If you are upgrading from libc5, you need to recompile every shared
537 library on your system against the new library for the sake of new code,
538 but keep the old libraries around for old binaries to use. This is
539 complicated and difficult. Consult the Glibc2 HOWTO at
540 @url{http://www.imaxx.net/~thrytis/glibc} for details.
542 You cannot use @code{nscd} with 2.0 kernels, due to bugs in the
543 kernel-side thread support. @code{nscd} happens to hit these bugs
544 particularly hard, but you might have problems with any threaded
548 @appendixsec Reporting Bugs
549 @cindex reporting bugs
550 @cindex bugs, reporting
552 There are probably bugs in the GNU C library. There are certainly
553 errors and omissions in this manual. If you report them, they will get
554 fixed. If you don't, no one will ever know about them and they will
555 remain unfixed for all eternity, if not longer.
557 It is a good idea to verify that the problem has not already been
558 reported. Bugs are documented in two places: The file @file{BUGS}
559 describes a number of well known bugs and the bug tracking system has a
561 @url{http://www-gnats.gnu.org:8080/cgi-bin/wwwgnats.pl}. The WWW
562 interface gives you access to open and closed reports. A closed report
563 normally includes a patch or a hint on solving the problem.
565 To report a bug, first you must find it. With any luck, this will be the
566 hard part. Once you've found a bug, make sure it's really a bug. A
567 good way to do this is to see if the GNU C library behaves the same way
568 some other C library does. If so, probably you are wrong and the
569 libraries are right (but not necessarily). If not, one of the libraries
570 is probably wrong. It might not be the GNU library. Many historical
571 Unix C libraries permit things that we don't, such as closing a file
574 If you think you have found some way in which the GNU C library does not
575 conform to the ISO and POSIX standards (@pxref{Standards and
576 Portability}), that is definitely a bug. Report it!
578 Once you're sure you've found a bug, try to narrow it down to the
579 smallest test case that reproduces the problem. In the case of a C
580 library, you really only need to narrow it down to one library
581 function call, if possible. This should not be too difficult.
583 The final step when you have a simple test case is to report the bug.
584 Do this using the @code{glibcbug} script. It is installed with libc, or
585 if you haven't installed it, will be in your build directory. Send your
586 test case, the results you got, the results you expected, and what you
587 think the problem might be (if you've thought of anything).
588 @code{glibcbug} will insert the configuration information we need to
589 see, and ship the report off to @email{bugs@@gnu.org}. Don't send
590 a message there directly; it is fed to a program that expects mail to be
591 formatted in a particular way. Use the script.
593 If you are not sure how a function should behave, and this manual
594 doesn't tell you, that's a bug in the manual. Report that too! If the
595 function's behavior disagrees with the manual, then either the library
596 or the manual has a bug, so report the disagreement. If you find any
597 errors or omissions in this manual, please report them to the Internet
598 address @email{bug-glibc-manual@@gnu.org}. If you refer to specific
599 sections of the manual, please include the section names for easier