[unix-history] / usr.bin / ctags / ctags.1

.\" Copyright (c) 1987, 1990 The Regents of the University of California.
.\" All rights reserved.
.\"
.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
.\" are met:
.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
.\"    notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
.\"    documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
.\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software
.\"    must display the following acknowledgement:
.\"	This product includes software developed by the University of
.\"	California, Berkeley and its contributors.
.\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
.\"    may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
.\"    without specific prior written permission.
.\"
.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
.\" ARE DISCLAIMED.  IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
.\" SUCH DAMAGE.
.\"
.\"     @(#)ctags.1	6.8 (Berkeley) 4/24/91
.\"
.Dd April 24, 1991
.Dt CTAGS 1
.Os BSD 4
.Sh NAME
.Nm ctags
.Nd create a tags file
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm ctags
.Op Fl BFadtuwvx
.Op Fl f Ar tagsfile
.Ar name ...
.Sh DESCRIPTION
.Nm Ctags
makes a tags file for
.Xr ex 1
from the specified C,
Pascal, Fortran,
.Tn YACC ,
lex, and lisp sources.  A tags file gives the
locations of specified objects in a group of files.  Each line of the
tags file contains the object name, the file in which it is defined,
and a search pattern for the object definition, separated by white-space.
Using the
.Ar tags
file,
.Xr ex 1
can quickly locate these object
definitions.  Depending on the options provided to
.Nm ctags ,
objects will consist of subroutines, typedefs, defines, structs,
enums and unions.
.Bl -tag -width Ds
.It Fl B
use backward searching patterns
.Pq Li ?...? .
.It Fl F
use forward searching patterns
.Pq Li /.../
(the default).
.It Fl a
append to
.Ar tags
file.
.It Fl d
create tags for
.Li #defines
that don't take arguments;
.Li #defines
that take arguments are tagged automatically.
.It Fl f
Places the tag descriptions in a file called
.Ar tagsfile .
The default behavior is to place them in a file
.Ar tags .
.It Fl t
create tags for typedefs, structs, unions, and enums.
.It Fl u
update the specified files in the
.Ar tags
file, that is, all
references to them are deleted, and the new values are appended to the
file.  (Beware: this option is implemented in a way which is rather
slow; it is usually faster to simply rebuild the
.Ar tags
file.)
.It Fl v
An index of the form expected by
.Xr vgrind 1
is produced on the standard output.  This listing
contains the object name, file name, and page number (assuming 64
line pages).  Since the output will be sorted into lexicographic order,
it may be desired to run the output through
.Xr sort 1 .
Sample use:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
ctags \-v files \&| sort \-f > index
vgrind \-x index
.Ed
.It Fl w
suppress warning diagnostics.
.It Fl x
.Nm ctags
produces a list of object
names, the line number and file name on which each is defined, as well
as the text of that line and prints this on the standard output.  This
is a simple index which can be printed out as an off-line readable
function index.
.El
.Pp
Files whose names end in
.Nm \&.c
or
.Nm \&.h
are assumed to be C
source files and are searched for C style routine and macro definitions.
Files whose names end in
.Nm \&.y
are assumed to be
.Tn YACC
source files.
Files whose names end in
.Nm \&.l
are assumed to be lisp files if their
first non-blank character is `;', `(', or `[',
otherwise, they are
treated as lex files.  Other files are first examined to see if they
contain any Pascal or Fortran routine definitions, and, if not, are
searched for C style definitions.
.Pp
The tag
.Li main
is treated specially in C programs.  The tag formed
is created by prepending
.Ar M
to the name of the file, with the
trailing
.Nm \&.c
and any leading pathname components removed.  This
makes use of
.Nm ctags
practical in directories with more than one
program.
.Pp
Yacc and lex files each have a special tag.
.Ar Yyparse
is the start
of the second section of the yacc file, and
.Ar yylex
is the start of
the second section of the lex file.
.Sh FILES
.Bl -tag -width tags -compact
.It Pa tags
default output tags file
.El
.Sh DIAGNOSTICS
.Nm Ctags
exits with a value of 1 if an error occurred, where
duplicate objects are not considered errors, 0 otherwise.
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr ex 1 ,
.Xr vi 1
.Sh BUGS
Recognition of
.Nm functions  ,
.Nm subroutines
and
.Nm procedures
for
.Tn FORTRAN
and Pascal is done is a very simpleminded way.  No attempt
is made to deal with block structure; if you have two Pascal procedures
in different blocks with the same name you lose.
.Nm Ctags
doesn't
understand about Pascal types.
.Pp
The method of deciding whether to look for C, Pascal or
.Tn FORTRAN
functions is a hack.
.Pp
.Nm Ctags
relies on the input being well formed, and any syntactical
errors will completely confuse it.  It also finds some legal syntax
confusing; for example, as it doesn't understand
.Li #ifdef Ns 's ,
(incidentally, that's a feature, not a bug) any code with unbalanced
braces inside
.Li #ifdef Ns 's
will cause it to become somewhat disoriented.
In a similar fashion, multiple line changes within a definition will
cause it to enter the last line of the object, rather than the first, as
the searching pattern.  The last line of multiple line
.Li typedef Ns 's
will similarly be noted.
.Sh HISTORY
The
.Nm
command appeared in 
.Bx 3.0 .
Commit	Line	Data
15637ed4 RG	1	.\" Copyright (c) 1987, 1990 The Regents of the University of California.
	2	.\" All rights reserved.
	3	.\"
	4	.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
	5	.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
	6	.\" are met:
	7	.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
	8	.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
	9	.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
	10	.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
	11	.\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
	12	.\" 3. All advertising materials mentioning features or use of this software
	13	.\" must display the following acknowledgement:
	14	.\" This product includes software developed by the University of
	15	.\" California, Berkeley and its contributors.
	16	.\" 4. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
	17	.\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
	18	.\" without specific prior written permission.
	19	.\"
	20	.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
	21	.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
	22	.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
	23	.\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
	24	.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
	25	.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
	26	.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
	27	.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
	28	.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
	29	.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
	30	.\" SUCH DAMAGE.
	31	.\"
	32	.\" @(#)ctags.1 6.8 (Berkeley) 4/24/91
	33	.\"
	34	.Dd April 24, 1991
	35	.Dt CTAGS 1
	36	.Os BSD 4
	37	.Sh NAME
	38	.Nm ctags
	39	.Nd create a tags file
	40	.Sh SYNOPSIS
	41	.Nm ctags
	42	.Op Fl BFadtuwvx
	43	.Op Fl f Ar tagsfile
	44	.Ar name ...
	45	.Sh DESCRIPTION
	46	.Nm Ctags
	47	makes a tags file for
	48	.Xr ex 1
	49	from the specified C,
	50	Pascal, Fortran,
	51	.Tn YACC ,
	52	lex, and lisp sources. A tags file gives the
	53	locations of specified objects in a group of files. Each line of the
	54	tags file contains the object name, the file in which it is defined,
	55	and a search pattern for the object definition, separated by white-space.
	56	Using the
	57	.Ar tags
	58	file,
	59	.Xr ex 1
	60	can quickly locate these object
	61	definitions. Depending on the options provided to
	62	.Nm ctags ,
	63	objects will consist of subroutines, typedefs, defines, structs,
	64	enums and unions.
65	.Bl -tag -width Ds
66	.It Fl B
67	use backward searching patterns
68	.Pq Li ?...? .
69	.It Fl F
70	use forward searching patterns
71	.Pq Li /.../
72	(the default).
73	.It Fl a
74	append to
75	.Ar tags
76	file.
77	.It Fl d
78	create tags for
79	.Li #defines
80	that don't take arguments;
81	.Li #defines
82	that take arguments are tagged automatically.
83	.It Fl f
84	Places the tag descriptions in a file called
85	.Ar tagsfile .
8f8a9528	86	The default behavior is to place them in a file
15637ed4 RG	87	.Ar tags .
	88	.It Fl t
	89	create tags for typedefs, structs, unions, and enums.
	90	.It Fl u
	91	update the specified files in the
	92	.Ar tags
	93	file, that is, all
	94	references to them are deleted, and the new values are appended to the
	95	file. (Beware: this option is implemented in a way which is rather
	96	slow; it is usually faster to simply rebuild the
	97	.Ar tags
	98	file.)
	99	.It Fl v
	100	An index of the form expected by
	101	.Xr vgrind 1
	102	is produced on the standard output. This listing
	103	contains the object name, file name, and page number (assuming 64
	104	line pages). Since the output will be sorted into lexicographic order,
	105	it may be desired to run the output through
	106	.Xr sort 1 .
	107	Sample use:
	108	.Bd -literal -offset indent
	109	ctags \-v files \&\| sort \-f > index
	110	vgrind \-x index
	111	.Ed
	112	.It Fl w
	113	suppress warning diagnostics.
	114	.It Fl x
	115	.Nm ctags
	116	produces a list of object
	117	names, the line number and file name on which each is defined, as well
	118	as the text of that line and prints this on the standard output. This
	119	is a simple index which can be printed out as an off-line readable
	120	function index.
	121	.El
	122	.Pp
	123	Files whose names end in
	124	.Nm \&.c
	125	or
	126	.Nm \&.h
	127	are assumed to be C
	128	source files and are searched for C style routine and macro definitions.
	129	Files whose names end in
	130	.Nm \&.y
	131	are assumed to be
	132	.Tn YACC
	133	source files.
	134	Files whose names end in
	135	.Nm \&.l
	136	are assumed to be lisp files if their
	137	first non-blank character is `;', `(', or `[',
	138	otherwise, they are
	139	treated as lex files. Other files are first examined to see if they
	140	contain any Pascal or Fortran routine definitions, and, if not, are
	141	searched for C style definitions.
	142	.Pp
	143	The tag
	144	.Li main
	145	is treated specially in C programs. The tag formed
	146	is created by prepending
	147	.Ar M
	148	to the name of the file, with the
	149	trailing
	150	.Nm \&.c
151	and any leading pathname components removed. This
152	makes use of
153	.Nm ctags
154	practical in directories with more than one
155	program.
156	.Pp
157	Yacc and lex files each have a special tag.
158	.Ar Yyparse
159	is the start
160	of the second section of the yacc file, and
161	.Ar yylex
162	is the start of
163	the second section of the lex file.
164	.Sh FILES
165	.Bl -tag -width tags -compact
166	.It Pa tags
167	default output tags file
168	.El
169	.Sh DIAGNOSTICS
170	.Nm Ctags
171	exits with a value of 1 if an error occurred, where
172	duplicate objects are not considered errors, 0 otherwise.
173	.Sh SEE ALSO
174	.Xr ex 1 ,
175	.Xr vi 1
176	.Sh BUGS
177	Recognition of
178	.Nm functions ,
179	.Nm subroutines
180	and
181	.Nm procedures
182	for
183	.Tn FORTRAN
184	and Pascal is done is a very simpleminded way. No attempt
185	is made to deal with block structure; if you have two Pascal procedures
186	in different blocks with the same name you lose.
187	.Nm Ctags
188	doesn't
189	understand about Pascal types.
190	.Pp
191	The method of deciding whether to look for C, Pascal or
192	.Tn FORTRAN
193	functions is a hack.
194	.Pp
195	.Nm Ctags
196	relies on the input being well formed, and any syntactical
197	errors will completely confuse it. It also finds some legal syntax
198	confusing; for example, as it doesn't understand
199	.Li #ifdef Ns 's ,
200	(incidentally, that's a feature, not a bug) any code with unbalanced
201	braces inside
202	.Li #ifdef Ns 's
203	will cause it to become somewhat disoriented.
204	In a similar fashion, multiple line changes within a definition will
205	cause it to enter the last line of the object, rather than the first, as
206	the searching pattern. The last line of multiple line
207	.Li typedef Ns 's
208	will similarly be noted.
209	.Sh HISTORY
210	The
211	.Nm
212	command appeared in
213	.Bx 3.0 .