GNU Info

(gmp.info)Notes for Package Builds

---

Next: Notes for Particular Systems Prev: ABI and ISA Up: Installing GMP

---

Enter node , (file) or (file)node

Notes for Package Builds
========================

   GMP should present no great difficulties for packaging in a binary
distribution.

   Libtool is used to build the library and `-version-info' is set
appropriately, having started from `3:0:0' in GMP 3.0.  The GMP 4 series
will be upwardly binary compatible in each release and will be upwardly
binary compatible with all of the GMP 3 series.  Additional function
interfaces may be added in each release, so on systems where libtool
versioning is not fully checked by the loader an auxiliary mechanism
may be needed to express that a dynamic linked application depends on a
new enough GMP.

   An auxiliary mechanism may also be needed to express that
`libgmpxx.la' (from `--enable-cxx', Note: Build Options) requires
`libgmp.la' from the same GMP version, since this is not done by the
libtool versioning, nor otherwise.  A mismatch will result in
unresolved symbols from the linker, or perhaps the loader.

   When building a package for a CPU family, care should be taken to use
`--host' (or `--build') to choose the least common denominator among
the CPUs which might use the package.  For example this might
necessitate `i386' for x86s, or plain `sparc' (meaning V7) for SPARCs.

   Users who care about speed will want GMP built for their exact CPU
type, to make use of the available optimizations.  Providing a way to
suitably rebuild a package may be useful.  This could be as simple as
making it possible for a user to omit `--build' (and `--host') so
`./config.guess' will detect the CPU.  But a way to manually specify a
`--build' will be wanted for systems where `./config.guess' is inexact.

   Note that `gmp.h' is a generated file, and will be architecture and
ABI dependent.