ocaml.m4(1)
NAME
ocaml.m4 - Autoconf macros for OCaml
SUMMARY
AC_PROG_OCAML
AC_PROG_FINDLIB
AC_PROG_OCAMLLEX
AC_PROG_OCAMLYACC
AC_PROG_CAMLP4
AC_CHECK_OCAML_PKG([name])
AC_CHECK_OCAML_MODULE(VARIABLE,NAME,MODULE,INCLUDE-PATHS)
AC_CHECK_OCAML_WORD_SIZE
DESCRIPTION
ocaml.m4 is a file containing standard, useful autoconf macros for
detecting the OCaml, findlib, OCaml packages, and so on in your
autoconf-generated ./configure scripts.
To begin using these macros, you will need to copy the "ocaml.m4" file
(usually located at "/usr/share/aclocal/ocaml.m4") to the autoconf
macros directory in your project. Normally this is the "m4/" directory
in your project, but the directory can be changed using the
"AC_CONFIG_MACRO_DIR(DIR)" directive. If you have just created the
"m4/" directory, then you may also need to do:
aclocal -I m4
You can then add any of the macros described below to your
"configure.ac" (or "configure.in"). Almost every OCaml project should
use "AC_PROG_OCAML" first and probably "AC_PROG_FINDLIB" right after
it.
This manual page does not describe how to use autoconf. For that you
should read the detailed autoconf info file ("info autoconf").
AC_PROG_OCAML
This macro detects which tools of the usual OCaml toolchain are
available. It defines and substitutes the following variables:
OCAMLC set to the name of the bytecode compiler
(eg. "ocamlc" or "ocamlc.opt"), or "no" if
no OCaml installation was found
OCAMLOPT the name of the native-code compiler, eg. "ocamlopt",
"ocamlopt.opt" or "no"
OCAMLBEST "byte" (if only the bytecode compiler is available)
or "opt" (if both bytecode and native code compilers
are available)
OCAMLDEP the name of the dependency resolver, eg. "ocamldep"
OCAMLMKTOP the name of ocamlmktop
OCAMLMKLIB the name of ocamlmklib
OCAMLDOC the name of ocamldoc
OCAMLBUILD the name of ocamlbuild
OCAMLLIB the OCaml library path (eg. C</usr/lib/ocaml/>)
OCAMLVERSION the compiler version (eg. C<3.11.0>)
Detecting if OCaml is installed
Unlike old versions of these macros, "AC_PROG_OCAML" does not exit if
no OCaml installation is detected. Therefore if you want to detect if
OCaml is installed you have to do something like this:
AC_PROG_OCAML
if test "$OCAMLC" = "no"; then
AC_MSG_ERROR([You must install the OCaml compiler])
fi
This behaviour and usage pattern are consistent with other macros of
the "AC_PROG_*") family.
Cross-compiling
If the configure script is invoked for cross-compiling then
"AC_PROG_OCAML" will detect the cross-compiler versions of the OCaml
compiler, eg. "OCAMLC=i686-pc-mingw32-ocamlc" etc. This happens
automatically, and for most purposes you don't need to worry about it.
AC_PROG_FINDLIB
This macro checks for the presence of the ocamlfind program (part of
findlib). It defines and substitutes "OCAMLFIND" to the name of the
ocamlfind program, or "no" if not found.
Note that this macro does not fail if ocamlfind is not found. If you
want to force the user to install findlib, you should do:
AC_PROG_FINDLIB
if test "$OCAMLFIND" = "no"; then
AC_MSG_ERROR([You must install OCaml findlib (the ocamlfind command)])
fi
See also "AC_CHECK_OCAML_PKG".
AC_PROG_OCAMLLEX
This checks for the ocamllex program and sets "OCAMLLEX" to the name of the program (eg. "ocamllex" or "ocamllex.opt"), or "no" if not found.
AC_PROG_OCAMLYACC
This checks for the ocamlyacc program and sets "OCAMLYACC" to the name of the program, or "no" if not found.
AC_PROG_CAMLP4
This checks for camlp4, and checks that the version matches the
compiler version found previously. It sets "CAMLP4" to the name of the
basic camlp4 program, or "no" if not found.
The macro also checks for other tools of the camlp4 suite like camlp4o,
camlp4orf, etc. For each of them, a fully capitalized variable is set
to the tool name (or "no" if not found); all variable are substituted
for when filling .in files. The full list of tools and respective
variable names is as follows:
camlp4 CAMLP4
camlp4boot CAMLP4BOOT
camlp4o CAMLP4O
camlp4of CAMLP4OF
camlp4oof CAMLP4OOF
camlp4orf CAMLP4ORF
camlp4prof CAMLP4PROF
camlp4r CAMLP4R
camlp4rf CAMLP4RF
AC_CHECK_OCAML_PKG
This is the main macro that can be used to detect the presence of OCaml
findlib packages. This macro uses ocamlfind to look up findlib
packages (and thus requires that findlib itself has been installed, and
that the package has been properly packaged with a META file etc.) If
you want to find an OCaml findlib package which hasn't been installed
with findlib then you should try using "AC_CHECK_OCAML_MODULE" instead.
AC_CHECK_OCAML_PKG([name])
checks for an OCaml findlib package with the given name. If found, it
defines and substitutes the variable "OCAML_PKG_name" where the "name"
part is substituted for the package name by replacing all dashes with
underscores.
For example,
AC_CHECK_OCAML_PKG([xml-light])
will set "OCAML_PKG_xml_light" to either "xml-light" or "no".
To have the configure script fail if a package is not installed, do:
AC_CHECK_OCAML_PKG([foo])
if test "$OCAML_PKG_foo" = "no"; then
AC_MSG_ERROR([Please install OCaml findlib module 'foo'.])
fi
In your Makefile.in, use the substitution variable in conjunction with
ocamlfind, eg:
.ml.cmo:
$(OCAMLFIND) ocamlc -package @OCAML_PKG_foo@ -c $< -o $@
Note that also in the substitution variable dashes are replaced with
underscores.
Checking for alternative findlib package names
In the (unlikely) case where the same library corresponds to different
findlib package names on different systems, you can improve portability
by checking for the alternative names passing a second argument to
"AC_CHECK_OCAML_PKG":
AC_CHECK_OCAML_PKG(PKGNAME,ALTERNATIVE-NAMES)
The behaviour is the same as before if "PKGNAME" is found. Otherwise
all names in "ALTERNATIVE-NAMES" are tested in turn as findlib package
names. If one is found, it is set as the value set by the macro and
substituted in .in files; otherwise "no" is set.
Note that the variable name is determined by "PKGNAME", while the value
depends on the actual alternative name found.
For example, to detect the camlzip findlib package, either called "zip"
or "camlzip", and to store the found value in the "OCAML_PKG_zip"
variable you can do in your configure.ac:
AC_CHECK_OCAML_PKG(zip,camlzip)
and have a portable Makefile.in build line such as:
.ml.cmo:
$(OCAMLFIND) ocamlc -package @OCAML_PKG_zip@ -c $< -o $@
AC_CHECK_OCAML_MODULE(VARIABLE,NAME,MODULE,INCLUDE-PATHS)
"AC_CHECK_OCAML_MODULE" is the hairier alternative to
"AC_CHECK_OCAML_PKG". You should always use "AC_CHECK_OCAML_PKG" and
ocamlfind/findlib if possible.
The parameters are:
VARIABLE
This is the environment variable that is set. It will either be
set to the include path, or to "no" if the module was not found.
NAME
This is the name of the module we are looking for. This parameter
is just used for printing messages, and does not affect how the
module is found.
MODULE
This should be an OCaml module name, representing the module name
being looked up. You can put sub-modules here, eg.
"CalendarLib.Date"
INCLUDE-PATHS
This is the default list of include directories to search, eg.
"+calendar"
For example, the following code will check for the OCaml Calendar
module, and will distinguish between version 1 and version 2 of this
module (which have incompatible APIs).
AC_CHECK_OCAML_PKG(calendar)
AC_CHECK_OCAML_MODULE(is_calendar2,calendar,[CalendarLib.Date],[+calendar])
After the above code has run, variables "OCAML_PKG_calendar" and
"is_calendar2" will be set as follows:
OCAML_PKG_calendar is_calendar2 Result
yes +calendar Calendar v2 is installed
yes no Calendar v1 is installed
no no No Calendar module installed
AC_CHECK_OCAML_WORD_SIZE
This checks the word size of the OCaml compiler, and sets "OCAML_WORD_SIZE" to either 32 or 64.
SEE ALSO
autoconf(1), <http://ocaml-autoconf.forge.ocamlcore.org>, <http://caml.inria.fr/>
FILES
* /usr/share/aclocal/ocaml.m4
AUTHORS
Various people have contributed to these macros over many years: * Olivier Andrieu * Jean-Christophe Filliatre * Richard W.M. Jones * Georges Mariano * Jim Meyering * Stefano Zacchiroli
LICENSE
Copyright X 2009 Richard W.M. Jones
Copyright X 2009 Stefano Zacchiroli
Copyright X 2000-2005 Olivier Andrieu
Copyright X 2000-2005 Jean-Christophe Filliatre
Copyright X 2000-2005 Georges Mariano
All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification,
are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
* Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice, this
list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
* Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
* The names of the contributors may not be used to endorse or promote
products derived from this software without specific prior written
permission.
THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ''AS IS'' AND ANY
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE
DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
(INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES;
LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON
ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
(INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
REPORTING BUGS
Please report bugs to the authors at the project page: <http://forge.ocamlcore.org/projects/ocaml-autoconf/>, using the forge bug tracker <http://forge.ocamlcore.org/tracker/?group_id=69>.
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