README for example pd external package 'hello' Last updated for hello v0.01 DESCRIPTION The 'hello' package is an example external package intended to demonstrate one way of using GNU autotools (automake, autoconf, autoheader) to manage a Pd external distribution. See "HOWTO" for a developer-oriented introduction. INSTALLATION Issue the following commands to the shell: cd PACKAGE-XX.YY (or wherever you extracted the distribution) ./configure make make install CONFIGURATION OPTIONS The 'configure' script supports the following options, among others: * --help Output a brief usage summary of the 'configure' script, including a list of supported options and influential environment variables. * --enable-debug , --disable-debug Whether to enable verbose debugging messages. Default=no. * --with-pd-dir=PD_DIR Set base Pd directory. Default PREFIX/pd * --with-pd-include=PD_INC Where to look for m_pd.h * --with-pd-extdir=PD_EXTERNS Where to install compiled externals. Default: PD_DIR/externs * --enable-object-externals , --disable-object-externals Whether to build single-object externals or only multilibs (default), for packages which support both. HOWTO This section provides a brief developer-oriented description of how to use GNU autotools to manage your own Pd external package. Files $(top_srcdir)/m4 The directory m4/ should be copied to your top-level package directory. See "ax_pd_external.m4" for details. $(top_srcdir)/pdexternal.am The file pdexternal.am should be copied to your top-level package directory See "pdexternal.am" for details. $(srcdir)/mooPdUtils.h (optional) The file mooPdUtils.h may be copied to your source-level directory. Currently, this only provides a PDEXT_UNUSED macro to avoid annoying gcc warnings under -W. Running aclocal You must pass the "-I m4" flag to aclocal when you call it. For maintainer-mode rebuilding and autoreconf, you should add the following to your top-level Makefile.am: ACLOCAL_AMFLAGS = -I m4 See the example package's autogen.sh for a useful wrapper script. configure.ac You must call the macro AX_PD_EXTERNAL from configure.ac. Before doing so (and before calling AC_PROG_CC), make sure that you cache the values of important user flags in shell variables: ##-- save user's CFLAGS,CPPFLAGS UCPPFLAGS="$CPPFLAGS" UCFLAGS="$CFLAGS" ULDFLAGS="$LDFLAGS" ##-- Pd external stuff AX_PD_EXTERNAL See the example package's configure.ac for a complete working example. Makefile.am You probably want to include $(top_srcdir)/pdexternal.am in your Makefile.am(s). This will allow you to build Pd externals as "_PROGRAMS" targets. In particular, pdext_PROGRAMS targets will be built as externals and installed in PDEXT_DIR (see above). See the example package's Makefile.am for a complete working example. Externals To build & install the external "hello.$(PDEXT)", add the following to Makefile.am: pdexterns_PROGRAMS = hello hello_SOURCES = hello.c mooPdUtils.h Abstractions To install the abstraction "heynow.pd", add the following to Makefile.am: pdexterns_DATA = heynow.pd Documentation To install the documentation patch "hello-help.pd", add the following to Makefile.am: pddoc_DATA = hello-help.pd ax_pd_external.m4 The AX_PD_EXTERNAL macro defined in m4/ax_pd_external.m4 is intended to perform all common autoconf-level checks and substitutions necessary for building Pd external packages on various systems. Among other things, this includes: * Providing --with-FEATURE and --enable-FEATURE arguments such as --with-pd-dir (see "CONFIGURATION OPTIONS", above). * Defining automake-style "Xdir" variables for easy definition of package externals, abstractions, and documentation. * Checking for the required header "m_pd.h". * Defining platform-dependent compiler and linker flags for building Pd externals, and adding these to the relevant system variables (CPPFLAGS, CFLAGS, LDFLAGS, etc.) See the comments at the top of m4/ax_pd_external.m4 for more details on the AX_PD_EXTERNAL macro. pdexternal.am pdexternal.am is intended to be included in your package's Makefile.am. It redefines the automake EXEEXT to allow building Pd externals using automake's _PROGRAMS targets. Additionally, it defines the automake varibles PDEXT, SUFFIXES, EXTRA_DIST, CLEANFILES, DISTCLEANFILES, and MAINTAINERCLEANFILES. Multilibs and Single-Object Externals You can use automake's EXTRA_PROGRAMS variable, together with the pdexterns_PROGRAMS automake target, the automake conditional WANT_OBJECT_EXTERNALS, and the C preprocessor macro WANT_OBJECT_EXTERNALS to allow building single-object-externals or multilibs from a single source distribution. Makefile.am should contain something like: ##-- always build these externals pdexterns_PROGRAMS = hello ##-- potential single-object externals (as _PROGRAMS) EXTRA_PROGRAMS = goodbye ##-- build single-object externals? if WANT_OBJECT_EXTERNALS pdexterns_PROGRAMS += goodbye endif If single-object externals were requested by the user, then the C preprocessor macro WANT_OBJECT_EXTERNALS will be defined by autoheader, to allow you to conditionally #include<> the EXTRA_PROGRAMS sources in your top-level multilib source file if desired. In the above example, hello.c might contain: #ifdef HAVE_CONFIG_H # include "config.h" #endif #ifndef WANT_OBJECT_EXTERNALS /*-- Multilib build: include source for the goodbye external --*/ # include "goodbye.c" #endif /*... local definitions etc. go here ...*/ void hello_setup(void) { #ifndef WANT_OBJECT_EXTERNALS goodbye_setup(); #endif /*... local setup code goes here ...*/ } ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS PD by Miller Puckette and others. AUTHOR Bryan Jurish