XSTR(1)                     386BSD Reference Manual                    XSTR(1)

NAME
     xstr - extract strings from C programs to implement shared strings

SYNOPSIS
     xstr [-c] [-] [file]

DESCRIPTION
     Xstr maintains a file strings into which strings in component parts of a
     large program are hashed.  These strings are replaced with references to
     this common area.  This serves to implement shared constant strings, most
     useful if they are also read-only.

     Available options:

     -       Xstr reads from the standard input.

     -c      Xstr will extract the strings from the C source file or the
             standard input (-), replacing string references by expressions of
             the form (&xstr[number]) for some number.  An appropriate
             declaration of xstr is prepended to the file.  The resulting C
             text is placed in the file x.c, to then be compiled.  The strings
             from this file are placed in the strings data base if they are
             not there already.  Repeated strings and strings which are
             suffices of existing strings do not cause changes to the data
             base.

     After all components of a large program have been compiled a file xs.c
     declaring the common xstr space can be created by a command of the form

           xstr

     The file xs.c should then be compiled and loaded with the rest of the
     program.  If possible, the array can be made read-only (shared) saving
     space and swap overhead.

     Xstr can also be used on a single file.  A command

           xstr name

     creates files x.c and xs.c as before, without using or affecting any
     strings file in the same directory.

     It may be useful to run xstr after the C preprocessor if any macro
     definitions yield strings or if there is conditional code which contains
     strings which may not, in fact, be needed.  An appropriate command
     sequence for running xstr after the C preprocessor is:

           cc -E name.c | xstr -c -
           cc -c x.c
           mv x.o name.o

     Xstr does not touch the file strings unless new items are added, thus
     make(1) can avoid remaking xs.o unless truly necessary.

FILES
     strings     Data base of strings
     x.c         Massaged C source
     xs.c        C source for definition of array `xstr'
     /tmp/xs*    Temp file when `xstr name' doesn't touch strings

SEE ALSO
     mkstr(1)

BUGS
     If a string is a suffix of another string in the data base, but the
     shorter string is seen first by xstr both strings will be placed in the
     data base, when just placing the longer one there will do.

HISTORY
     The xstr command appeared in 3.0BSD.

3rd Berkeley Distribution       April 24, 1991                               2