Xref: utzoo comp.lang.c:20353 comp.unix.questions:15392
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!auspex!guy
From: guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c,comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: ranlib
Message-ID: <2330@auspex.auspex.com>
Date: 3 Aug 89 18:10:33 GMT
References: <457@mccc.UUCP>
Reply-To: guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris)
Followup-To: comp.unix.questions
Distribution: na
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara
Lines: 32

>Some recently posted programs have requested the use of 'ranlib' but my
>3B2/400 SV R3.1 doesn't have it.  
>
>Wjat is 'ranlib'?

A program that adds a "table of contents" as the first member of an
archive; said "table of contents" basically lists external symbol
definitions from members of the archive that are object files, and gives
a pointer to the archive member that defines them.

The equivalent program in System V is called "ar"; it automatically
reconstructs a table-of-contents member every time you modify the
archive.

>What can I use as a work-around?

Change the Makefile to have

	#
	# For BSD (and V7? - it was there, but I don't know how well it
	# worked) systems, uncomment the "RANLIB=ranlib" line.
	# For S5 systems (and S3 systems), uncomment the "RANLIB=:" line.
	#
	#RANLIB=ranlib
	#RANLIB=:

at the beginning (or wherever the other configuration instructions were
put - if somebody posts a program, there *should* be configuration
instructions unless they've only gotten it to work on one particular
UNIX version), and replace all other occurences of "ranlib" with
"$(RANLIB)".  That way, on S5 systems, "ranlib" will be defined as ":",
which is a do-nothing command.