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date)](https://img.shields.io/github/v/release/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack)](https://github.com/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack/releases/)\n[![npm (scoped)](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@xpack-dev-tools/m4.svg?color=blue)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@xpack-dev-tools/m4/)\n[![license](https://img.shields.io/github/license/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack)](https://github.com/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack/blob/xpack/LICENSE)\n\n# The xPack GNU M4\n\nA standalone cross-platform (macOS/Linux) **GNU M4**\nbinary distribution, intended for reproducible builds.\n\nThe main target is Ubuntu 18, whose older version of this utility\nfails some builds.\n\nIn addition to the the binary archives and the package meta data,\nthis project also includes the build scripts.\n\n## Overview\n\nThis open source project is hosted on GitHub as\n[`xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack`](https://github.com/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack)\nand provides the platform specific binaries for the\n[xPack GNU M4](https://xpack.github.io/m4/).\n\nThis distribution follows the official\n[GNU M4](https://www.gnu.org/software/m4/) releases.\n\nThe binaries can be installed automatically as **binary xPacks** or manually as\n**portable archives**.\n\n## Release schedule\n\nThe xPack GNU Bash release schedule generally follows the original GNU\n[releases](https://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/m4/).\n\n## User info\n\nThis section is intended as a shortcut for those who plan\nto use the GNU M4 binaries. For full details please read the\n[xPack GNU M4](https://xpack.github.io/m4/) pages.\n\n### Easy install\n\nThe easiest way to install GNU M4 is using the **binary xPack**, available as\n[`@xpack-dev-tools/m4`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@xpack-dev-tools/m4)\nfrom the [`npmjs.com`](https://www.npmjs.com) registry.\n\n#### Prerequisites\n\nA recent [xpm](https://xpack.github.io/xpm/),\nwhich is a portable [Node.js](https://nodejs.org/) command line application\nthat complements [npm](https://docs.npmjs.com)\nwith several extra features specific to\n**C/C++ projects**.\n\nIt is recommended to install/update to the latest version with:\n\n```sh\nnpm install --location=global xpm@latest\n```\n\nFor details please follow the instructions in the\n[xPack install](https://xpack.github.io/install/) page.\n\n#### Install\n\nWith the `xpm` tool available, installing\nthe latest version of the package and adding it as\na development dependency for a project is quite easy:\n\n```sh\ncd my-project\nxpm init # Add a package.json if not already present\n\nxpm install @xpack-dev-tools/m4@latest --verbose\n\nls -l xpacks/.bin\n```\n\nThis command will:\n\n- install the latest available version,\ninto the central xPacks store, if not already there\n- add symbolic links to the central store\n(or `.cmd` forwarders on Windows) into\nthe local `xpacks/.bin` folder.\n\nThe central xPacks store is a platform dependent\nlocation in the home folder;\ncheck the output of the `xpm` command for the actual\nfolder used on your platform.\nThis location is configurable via the environment variable\n`XPACKS_STORE_FOLDER`; for more details please check the\n[xpm folders](https://xpack.github.io/xpm/folders/) page.\n\nIt is also possible to install GNU M4 globally, in the user home folder:\n\n```sh\nxpm install --global @xpack-dev-tools/m4@latest --verbose\n```\n\nAfter install, the package should create a structure like this (macOS files;\nonly the first two depth levels are shown):\n\n```console\n$ tree -L 2 /Users/ilg/Library/xPacks/\\@xpack-dev-tools/m4/1.4.19-3.1/.content/\n/Users/ilg/Library/xPacks/\\@xpack-dev-tools/m4/1.4.19-3.1/.content/\n├── README.md\n├── bin\n│   ├── gm4 -\u003e m4\n│   └── m4\n├── distro-info\n│   ├── CHANGELOG.md\n│   ├── licenses\n│   └── scripts\n├── libexec\n│   └── libiconv.2.dylib\n└── share\n    └── info\n\n8 directories, 5 files\n```\n\nNo other files are installed in any system folders or other locations.\n\n#### Uninstall\n\nThe binaries are distributed as portable archives; thus they do not need\nto run a setup and do not require an uninstall; simply removing the\nfolder is enough.\n\nTo remove the links created by xpm in the current project:\n\n```sh\ncd my-project\n\nxpm uninstall @xpack-dev-tools/m4\n```\n\nTo completely remove the package from the central xPack store:\n\n```sh\nxpm uninstall --global @xpack-dev-tools/m4\n```\n\n### Manual install\n\nFor all platforms, the **xPack GNU M4**\nbinaries are released as portable\narchives that can be installed in any location.\n\nThe archives can be downloaded from the\nGitHub [Releases](https://github.com/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack/releases/)\npage.\n\nFor more details please read the\n[Install](https://xpack.github.io/m4/install/) page.\n\n### Versioning\n\nThe version strings used by the GNU M4 project are two number strings\nlike `9.1`, extended to `1.4.19` to look like semver;\nto this string the xPack distribution adds a four number,\nbut since semver allows only three numbers, all additional ones can\nbe added only as pre-release strings, separated by a dash,\nlike `1.4.19-3`. When published as a npm package, the version gets\na fifth number, like `1.4.19-3.1`.\n\nSince adherence of third party packages to semver is not guaranteed,\nit is recommended to use semver expressions like `^1.4.19` and `~1.4.19`\nwith caution, and prefer exact matches, like `1.4.19-3.1`.\n\n## Maintainer info\n\nFor maintainer info, please see the\n[README-MAINTAINER](https://github.com/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack/blob/xpack/README-MAINTAINER.md).\n\n## Support\n\nThe quick advice for getting support is to use the GitHub\n[Discussions](https://github.com/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack/discussions/).\n\nFor more details please read the\n[Support](https://xpack.github.io/m4/support/) page.\n\n## License\n\nUnless otherwise stated, the content is released under the terms of the\n[MIT License](https://opensource.org/licenses/mit/),\nwith all rights reserved to\n[Liviu Ionescu](https://github.com/ilg-ul).\n\nThe binary distributions include several open-source components; the\ncorresponding licenses are available in the installed\n`distro-info/licenses` folder.\n\n## Download analytics\n\n- GitHub [`xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack`](https://github.com/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack/) repo\n  - latest xPack release\n[![Github All Releases](https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack/latest/total.svg)](https://github.com/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack/releases/)\n  - all xPack releases [![Github All Releases](https://img.shields.io/github/downloads/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack/total.svg)](https://github.com/xpack-dev-tools/m4-xpack/releases/)\n  - [individual file counters](https://somsubhra.github.io/github-release-stats/?username=xpack-dev-tools\u0026repository=m4-xpack) (grouped per release)\n- npmjs.com [`@xpack-dev-tools/m4`](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@xpack-dev-tools/m4/) xPack\n  - latest release, per month\n[![npm (scoped)](https://img.shields.io/npm/v/@xpack-dev-tools/m4.svg)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@xpack-dev-tools/m4/)\n[![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/dm/@xpack-dev-tools/m4.svg)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@xpack-dev-tools/m4/)\n  - all releases [![npm](https://img.shields.io/npm/dt/@xpack-dev-tools/m4.svg)](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@xpack-dev-tools/m4/)\n\nCredit to [Shields IO](https://shields.io) for the badges and to\n[Somsubhra/github-release-stats](https://github.com/Somsubhra/github-release-stats)\nfor the individual file counters.\n","project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fxpack-dev-tools%2Fm4-xpack","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Fxpack-dev-tools%2Fm4-xpack","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fxpack-dev-tools%2Fm4-xpack/lists"}