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xstr(1)

NAME

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

SYNOPSIS

     xstr [-c] [-] [-v] [file]

DESCRIPTION

     The xstr utility 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.

     The following options are available:

     -	     Read from the standard input.

     -c      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 suffixes of
	     existing strings do not cause changes to the data base.

     -v      Verbose mode.

     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.

     The xstr utility 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 defi-
     nitions 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

     The xstr utility 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
     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.

FreeBSD 5.4		       December 30, 1993		   FreeBSD 5.4

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