huschi.net

PC(5)                       BSD File Formats Manual                      PC(5)
NAME
     file.pc -- pkg-config file format
DESCRIPTION
     pkg-config files provide a useful mechanism for storing various informa-
     tion about libraries and packages on a given system.  Information stored
     by .pc files include compiler and linker flags necessary to use a given
     library, as well as any other relevant metadata.
     These .pc files are processed by a utility called pkg-config, of which
     pkgconf is an implementation.
   FILE SYNTAX
     The .pc file follows a format inspired by RFC822.  Comments are prefixed
     by a pound sign, hash sign or octothorpe (#), and variable assignment is
     similar to POSIX shell.  Properties are defined using RFC822-style stan-
     zas.
   VARIABLES
     Variable definitions start with an alphanumeric string, followed by an
     equal sign, and then the value the variable should contain.
     Variable references are always written as "${variable}".  It is possible
     to escape literal "${" as "$${".
   PROPERTIES
     Properties are set using RFC822-style stanzas which consist of a keyword,
     followed by a colon (:) and then the value the property should be set to.
     Variable substitution is always performed regardless of property type.
     There are three types of property:
     Literal       The property will be set to the text of the value.
     Dependency List
                   The property will be set to a list of dependencies parsed
                   from the text.  Dependency lists are defined by this ABNF
                   syntax:
                   package-list = *WSP *( package-spec *( package-sep ) )
                   package-sep  = WSP / ","
                   package-spec = package-key [ ver-op package-version ]
                   ver-op       = "<" / "<=" / "=" / "!=" / ">=" / ">"
     Fragment List
                   The property will be set to a list of fragments parsed from
                   the text.  The input text must be in a format that is suit-
                   able for passing to a POSIX shell without any shell expan-
                   sions after variable substitution has been done.
   PROPERTY KEYWORDS
     Name          The displayed name of the package.  (mandatory; literal)
     Version       The version of the package.  (mandatory; literal)
     Description   A description of the package.  (mandatory; literal)
     URL           A URL to a webpage for the package.  This is used to recom-
                   mend where newer versions of the package can be acquired.
                   (mandatory; literal)
     Cflags        Required compiler flags.  These flags are always used,
                   regardless of whether static compilation is requested.
                   (optional; fragment list)
     Cflags.private
                   Required compiler flags for static compilation.  (optional;
                   fragment list; pkgconf extension)
     Libs          Required linking flags for this package.  Libraries this
                   package depends on for linking against it, which are not
                   described as dependencies should be specified here.
                   (optional; fragment list)
     Libs.private  Required linking flags for this package that are only
                   required when linking statically.  Libraries this package
                   depends on for linking against it statically, which are not
                   described as dependencies should be specified here.
                   (optional; fragment list)
     Requires      Required dependencies that must be met for the package to
                   be usable.  All dependencies must be satisfied or the pkg-
                   config implementation must not use the package.  (optional;
                   dependency list)
     Requires.private
                   Required dependencies that must be met for the package to
                   be usable for static linking.  All dependencies must be
                   satisfied or the pkg-config implementation must not use the
                   package for static linking.  (optional; dependency list)
     Conflicts     Dependencies that must not be met for the package to be
                   usable.  If any package in the proposed dependency solution
                   match any dependency in the Conflicts list, the package
                   being considered is not usable.  (optional; dependency
                   list)
     Provides      Dependencies that may be provided by an alternate package.
                   If a package cannot be found, the entire package collection
                   is scanned for providers which can match the requested
                   dependency.  (optional; dependency list; pkgconf extension)
   EXTENSIONS
     Features that have been marked as a pkgconf extension are only guaranteed
     to work with the pkgconf implementation of pkg-config.  Other implementa-
     tions may or may not support the extensions.
     Accordingly, it is suggested that .pc files which absolutely depend on
     these extensions declare a requirement on the pkgconf virtual.
EXAMPLES
     An example .pc file:
     # This is a comment
     prefix=/home/kaniini/pkg   # this defines a variable
     exec_prefix=${prefix}      # defining another variable with a substitution
     libdir=${exec_prefix}/lib
     includedir=${prefix}/include
     Name: libfoo                                  # human-readable name
     Description: an example library called libfoo # human-readable description
     Version: 1.0
     URL: http://www.pkgconf.org
     Requires: libbar > 2.0.0
     Conflicts: libbaz <= 3.0.0
     Libs: -L${libdir} -lfoo
     Libs.private: -lm
     Cflags: -I${includedir}/libfoo
SEE ALSO
     pkgconf(1), pkg.m4(7)
BSD                            December 15, 2017                           BSD