| 1 | GNU `m4' is an implementation of the traditional Unix macro
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| 2 | processor. It is mostly SVR4 compatible, although it has some
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| 3 | extensions (for example, handling more than 9 positional parameters
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| 4 | to macros). `m4' also has built-in functions for including files,
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| 5 | running shell commands, doing arithmetic, etc. Autoconf needs GNU
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| 6 | `m4' for generating `configure' scripts, but not for running them.
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| 7 |
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| 8 | GNU `m4' was originally written by Rene' Seindal, from Denmark.
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| 9 | This release is considered stable.
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| 10 |
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| 11 | If GNU `m4' is meant to serve GNU `autoconf', beware that `m4'
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| 12 | should be fully installed *prior to* configuring `autoconf' itself.
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| 13 | Likewise, if you intend on hacking GNU `m4' from CVS, the bootstrap
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| 14 | process requires that you first install a released copy of GNU `m4'.
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| 15 |
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| 16 | If you are just trying to build `m4' from a released tarball, you
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| 17 | should not normally need to run `./bootstrap' or `autoreconf'; just go
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| 18 | ahead and start with `./configure'. If you are trying to build `m4'
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| 19 | from CVS, more information can be found in the CVS-only file HACKING.
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| 20 |
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| 21 | In the subdirectory `examples' you will find various m4 files, ranging
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| 22 | from trivial test files to rather advanced macros. If you intend to
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| 23 | use m4 seriously, you might find useful material down there.
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| 24 |
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| 25 | See file `BACKLOG' for a summary of pending mail and articles.
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| 26 | See file `COPYING' for copying conditions.
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| 27 | See file `INSTALL' for compilation and installation instructions.
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| 28 | See file `NEWS' for a list of major changes in the current release.
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| 29 | See file `THANKS' for a list of contributors.
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| 30 |
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| 31 | By using `./configure --enable-changeword', you get an experimental
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| 32 | feature which allows for changing the syntax of what is a "word" in
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| 33 | `m4'. This feature will not be present in m4 2.0, but will be
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| 34 | replaced by other new features which provide similar capability, so
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| 35 | do not count on it.
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| 36 |
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| 37 | Send bug reports to `bug-m4@gnu.org'. A bug report is an adequate
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| 38 | description of the problem: your input, what you expected, what you got,
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| 39 | and why this is wrong. Diffs are welcome, but they only describe a
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| 40 | solution, from which the problem might be uneasy to infer.
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| 41 |
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| 42 | ========================================================================
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| 43 |
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| 44 | Copyright (C) 2000, 2005, 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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| 45 |
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| 46 | Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
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| 47 | under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or
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| 48 | any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
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| 49 | Invariant Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover
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| 50 | Texts. A copy of the license is included in the ``GNU Free
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| 51 | Documentation License'' file as part of this distribution.
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