bash: Optional Features
10.8 Optional Features
======================
The Bash 'configure' has a number of '--enable-FEATURE' options, where
FEATURE indicates an optional part of Bash. There are also several
'--with-PACKAGE' options, where PACKAGE is something like 'bash-malloc'
or 'purify'. To turn off the default use of a package, use
'--without-PACKAGE'. To configure Bash without a feature that is
enabled by default, use '--disable-FEATURE'.
Here is a complete list of the '--enable-' and '--with-' options that
the Bash 'configure' recognizes.
'--with-afs'
Define if you are using the Andrew File System from Transarc.
'--with-bash-malloc'
Use the Bash version of 'malloc' in the directory 'lib/malloc'.
This is not the same 'malloc' that appears in GNU libc, but an
older version originally derived from the 4.2 BSD 'malloc'. This
'malloc' is very fast, but wastes some space on each allocation.
This option is enabled by default. The 'NOTES' file contains a
list of systems for which this should be turned off, and
'configure' disables this option automatically for a number of
systems.
'--with-curses'
Use the curses library instead of the termcap library. This should
be supplied if your system has an inadequate or incomplete termcap
database.
'--with-gnu-malloc'
A synonym for '--with-bash-malloc'.
'--with-installed-readline[=PREFIX]'
Define this to make Bash link with a locally-installed version of
Readline rather than the version in 'lib/readline'. This works
only with Readline 5.0 and later versions. If PREFIX is 'yes' or
not supplied, 'configure' uses the values of the make variables
'includedir' and 'libdir', which are subdirectories of 'prefix' by
default, to find the installed version of Readline if it is not in
the standard system include and library directories. If PREFIX is
'no', Bash links with the version in 'lib/readline'. If PREFIX is
set to any other value, 'configure' treats it as a directory
pathname and looks for the installed version of Readline in
subdirectories of that directory (include files in PREFIX/'include'
and the library in PREFIX/'lib').
'--with-purify'
Define this to use the Purify memory allocation checker from
Rational Software.
'--enable-minimal-config'
This produces a shell with minimal features, close to the
historical Bourne shell.
There are several '--enable-' options that alter how Bash is compiled
and linked, rather than changing run-time features.
'--enable-largefile'
Enable support for large files
(http://www.sas.com/standards/large_file/x_open.20Mar96.html) if
the operating system requires special compiler options to build
programs which can access large files. This is enabled by default,
if the operating system provides large file support.
'--enable-profiling'
This builds a Bash binary that produces profiling information to be
processed by 'gprof' each time it is executed.
'--enable-static-link'
This causes Bash to be linked statically, if 'gcc' is being used.
This could be used to build a version to use as root's shell.
The 'minimal-config' option can be used to disable all of the
following options, but it is processed first, so individual options may
be enabled using 'enable-FEATURE'.
All of the following options except for 'disabled-builtins',
'direxpand-default', and 'xpg-echo-default' are enabled by default,
unless the operating system does not provide the necessary support.
'--enable-alias'
Allow alias expansion and include the 'alias' and 'unalias'
builtins (
Aliases).
'--enable-arith-for-command'
Include support for the alternate form of the 'for' command that
behaves like the C language 'for' statement (Looping
Constructs).
'--enable-array-variables'
Include support for one-dimensional array shell variables (
Arrays).
'--enable-bang-history'
Include support for 'csh'-like history substitution (History
Interaction).
'--enable-brace-expansion'
Include 'csh'-like brace expansion ( 'b{a,b}c' ==> 'bac bbc' ).
See Brace Expansion, for a complete description.
'--enable-casemod-attributes'
Include support for case-modifying attributes in the 'declare'
builtin and assignment statements. Variables with the UPPERCASE
attribute, for example, will have their values converted to
uppercase upon assignment.
'--enable-casemod-expansion'
Include support for case-modifying word expansions.
'--enable-command-timing'
Include support for recognizing 'time' as a reserved word and for
displaying timing statistics for the pipeline following 'time'
(Pipelines). This allows pipelines as well as shell
builtins and functions to be timed.
'--enable-cond-command'
Include support for the '[[' conditional command. (
Conditional Constructs).
'--enable-cond-regexp'
Include support for matching POSIX regular expressions using the
'=~' binary operator in the '[[' conditional command. (
Conditional Constructs).
'--enable-coprocesses'
Include support for coprocesses and the 'coproc' reserved word
(Pipelines).
'--enable-debugger'
Include support for the bash debugger (distributed separately).
'--enable-direxpand-default'
Cause the 'direxpand' shell option (The Shopt Builtin) to
be enabled by default when the shell starts. It is normally
disabled by default.
'--enable-directory-stack'
Include support for a 'csh'-like directory stack and the 'pushd',
'popd', and 'dirs' builtins (The Directory Stack).
'--enable-disabled-builtins'
Allow builtin commands to be invoked via 'builtin xxx' even after
'xxx' has been disabled using 'enable -n xxx'. See Bash
Builtins, for details of the 'builtin' and 'enable' builtin
commands.
'--enable-dparen-arithmetic'
Include support for the '((...))' command (Conditional
Constructs).
'--enable-extended-glob'
Include support for the extended pattern matching features
described above under Pattern Matching.
'--enable-extended-glob-default'
Set the default value of the EXTGLOB shell option described above
under The Shopt Builtin to be enabled.
'--enable-function-import'
Include support for importing function definitions exported by
another instance of the shell from the environment. This option is
enabled by default.
'--enable-glob-asciirange-default'
Set the default value of the GLOBASCIIRANGES shell option described
above under The Shopt Builtin to be enabled. This controls
the behavior of character ranges when used in pattern matching
bracket expressions.
'--enable-help-builtin'
Include the 'help' builtin, which displays help on shell builtins
and variables (Bash Builtins).
'--enable-history'
Include command history and the 'fc' and 'history' builtin commands
(Bash History Facilities).
'--enable-job-control'
This enables the job control features (Job Control), if the
operating system supports them.
'--enable-multibyte'
This enables support for multibyte characters if the operating
system provides the necessary support.
'--enable-net-redirections'
This enables the special handling of filenames of the form
'/dev/tcp/HOST/PORT' and '/dev/udp/HOST/PORT' when used in
redirections (Redirections).
'--enable-process-substitution'
This enables process substitution (Process Substitution) if
the operating system provides the necessary support.
'--enable-progcomp'
Enable the programmable completion facilities (Programmable
Completion). If Readline is not enabled, this option has no
effect.
'--enable-prompt-string-decoding'
Turn on the interpretation of a number of backslash-escaped
characters in the '$PS1', '$PS2', '$PS3', and '$PS4' prompt
strings. See Controlling the Prompt, for a complete list
of prompt string escape sequences.
'--enable-readline'
Include support for command-line editing and history with the Bash
version of the Readline library (Command Line Editing).
'--enable-restricted'
Include support for a "restricted shell". If this is enabled,
Bash, when called as 'rbash', enters a restricted mode. See
The Restricted Shell, for a description of restricted mode.
'--enable-select'
Include the 'select' compound command, which allows the generation
of simple menus (Conditional Constructs).
'--enable-separate-helpfiles'
Use external files for the documentation displayed by the 'help'
builtin instead of storing the text internally.
'--enable-single-help-strings'
Store the text displayed by the 'help' builtin as a single string
for each help topic. This aids in translating the text to
different languages. You may need to disable this if your compiler
cannot handle very long string literals.
'--enable-strict-posix-default'
Make Bash POSIX-conformant by default (Bash POSIX Mode).
'--enable-usg-echo-default'
A synonym for '--enable-xpg-echo-default'.
'--enable-xpg-echo-default'
Make the 'echo' builtin expand backslash-escaped characters by
default, without requiring the '-e' option. This sets the default
value of the 'xpg_echo' shell option to 'on', which makes the Bash
'echo' behave more like the version specified in the Single Unix
Specification, version 3. Bash Builtins, for a description
of the escape sequences that 'echo' recognizes.
The file 'config-top.h' contains C Preprocessor '#define' statements
for options which are not settable from 'configure'. Some of these are
not meant to be changed; beware of the consequences if you do. Read the
comments associated with each definition for more information about its
effect.
Info Catalog
bash: Operation Controls
bash: Installing Bash