mono/man/mkbundle.1

.\" 
.\" mkbundle manual page.
.\" (C) 2004 Ximian, Inc. 
.\" Author:
.\"   Miguel de Icaza ([email protected])
.\"
.de Sp \" Vertical space (when we can't use .PP)
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..
.TH mkbundle "mkbundle 1.0"
.SH NAME
mkbundle, mkbundle2 \- Creates a bundled executable.
.SH SYNOPSIS
.PP
.B mkbundle [options] assembly1 [assembly2 ...]
.SH DESCRIPTION
\fImkbundle\fP generates an executable program that will contain
static copies of the assemblies listed on the command line.  By
default only the assemblies specified in the command line will be
included in the bundle.  To automatically include all of the
dependencies referenced, use the "--deps" command line option.
.PP
Use \fImkbundle\FP when you want the startup runtime to load the 1.0
profile, and use \fImkbundle2\fP when you want the startup runtime to load
the 2.0 profile.
.PP
For example, to create a bundle for hello world, use the following
command:
.nf
	$ mkbundle -o hello hello.exe
.fi
.PP
The above will pull hello.exe into a native program called "hello".  Notice
that the produced image still contains the CIL image and no
precompilation is done.
.PP
In addition, it is possible to control whether \fImkbundle\fP should compile
the resulting executable or not with the -c option.  This is useful if
you want to link additional libraries or control the generated output
in more detail. For example, this could be used to link some libraries
statically:
.nf
	$ mkbundle -c -o host.c -oo bundles.o --deps hello.exe

	$ cc host.c bundles.o /usr/lib/libmono.a -lc -lrt
.fi
.PP
You may also use \fImkbundle\fP to generate a bundle you can use when
embedding the Mono runtime in a native application.  In that case, use
both the -c and --nomain options.  The resulting host.c file will
not have a main() function.  Call mono_mkbundle_init() before
initializing the JIT in your code so that the bundled assemblies
are available to the embedded runtime.
.SH OPTIONS
.TP
.I "-c"
Produce the stub file, do not compile the resulting stub.
.TP
.I "-o filename"
Places the output on `out'.  If the flag -c is specified, this is the
C host program.  If not, this contains the resulting executable.
.TP
.I "-oo filename"
Specifies the name to be used for the helper object file that contains
the bundle.
.TP
.I "-L path"
Adds the `path' do the search list for assemblies.  The rules are the
same as for the compiler -lib: or -L flags.
.TP "--config FILE"
Specifies that a machine.config file must be bundled as well.
Typically this is $prefix/etc/mono/1.0/machine.config or
$prefix/etc/mono/2.0/machine.config depending on the profile that you
are using (1.0 or 2.0)
.TP
.I  "--nodeps"
This is the default: \fImkbundle\fP will only include the assemblies that
were specified on the command line to reduce the size of the resulting
image created.
.TP
.I "--deps"
This option will bundle all of the referenced assemblies for the
assemblies listed on the command line option.  This is useful to
distribute a self-contained image.
.TP
.I "--keeptemp"
By default \fImkbundle\fP will delete the temporary files that it uses to
produce the bundle.  This option keeps the file around.
.TP
.I "--machine-config FILE"
Uses the given FILE as the machine.config file for the generated
application.   
.TP
.I "--nomain"
With the -c option, generate the host stub without a main() function.
.TP
.I "--config-dir DIR"
When passed, DIR will be set for the MONO_CFG_DIR environment variable
.TP
.I "--static"
By default \fImkbundle\fP dynamically links to mono and glib.  This option
causes it to statically link instead.
.TP
.B Important:
Since the Mono runtime is licensed under the LGPL, even if you use
static you should transfer the component pieces of the mkbundle to
your users so they are able to upgrade the Mono runtime on their own.
.TP
If you want to use this for commercial licenses, you must obtain a
proprietary license for Mono from [email protected]
.TP
.I "-z"
Compresses the assemblies before embedding. This results in smaller
executable files, but increases startup time and requires zlib to be
installed on the target system.
.SH WINDOWS
On Windows systems, it it necessary to have  Unix-like toolchain to be
installed for \fImkbundle\fP to work.  You can use cygwin's and install gcc,
gcc-mingw and as packages. 
.SH ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
.TP
.I "AS"
Assembler command. The default is "as".
.TP
.I "CC"
C compiler command. The default is "cc" under Linux and "gcc -mno-cygwin"
under Windows.
.SH FILES
This program will load referenced assemblies from the Mono assembly
cache. 
.SH BUGS
The option "--static" is not supported under Windows.
Moreover, a full cygwin environment containing at least "gcc" and "as"
is required for the build process. The generated executable does not
depend on cygwin.
.SH MAILING LISTS
Visit http://lists.ximian.com/mailman/listinfo/mono-devel-list for details.
.SH WEB SITE
Visit: http://www.mono-project.com for details
.SH SEE ALSO
.BR mcs(1), mono(1), mono-config(5).