##### Document Index

- Building and Installing TAO from a distribution
- Building and Installing TAO from anonymous CVS

#### Building and Installing TAO from a distribution

The following table summarizes platforms on which TAO runs, see the ACE installation notes for an overview of all the platforms ACE runs on, these are all candidates to run TAO on:

Fully supported, i.e., continually tested and used daily | Solaris 7, 8 and 9, Windows 2000/XP (7.1, and 8.0 and Borland C++ Builder 6/2006), Linux/Intel (Redhat, Debian and SuSe), Linux/Alpha (SuSe), VxWorks 5.5.1/6.2, OpenVMS 8.2
Nearly fully supported, i.e., periodically tested | Windows 9x/ME, HP/UX 11.x, LynxOS, and AIX 4.x
Partially supported, i.e., infrequently tested | FreeBSD, NetBSD, Chorus, Tandem NS, DEC UNIX 6.5, Linux/Alpha (Redhat and Debian), and MACOSX
Planned support, i.e., pending | MVS, Windows CE, SCO, UnixWare
Compilers whose support were dropped recently | Borland C++ Builder 4 and 5, Sun/C++ 5.1 through 5.4, g++ prior to 2.95.x, HP/UX 10.x, pSoS, Chorus

Any UNIX/POSIX/Win32 variation is a potential target platform for TAO. If you have porting questions or have a problem compiling the TAO along with ACE wrappers on the platforms shown above please send email to either the Newsgroup or to the TAO mailing list and we'll try to help you fix the problems. You can also submit bug reports and enhancement requests in our bug tracking system.

TAO can be obtained electronically via the WWW and ftp. TAO is bundled with the ACE release. You'll always need the most recent version of ACE because TAO tracks and influences changes to ACE. Always use the ACE+TAO release bundle as a single piece instead of trying to mix and match things up.

### On UNIX platforms

1. Set `ACE_ROOT` environment variable as outlined in the ACE installation notes.

2. Build and install ACE under `$ACE_ROOT`.

   - Change directory to `$ACE_ROOT/ace` and execute `make`.

   - Also build GPERF under `$ACE_ROOT/apps/gperf`

3. Set `TAO_ROOT` environment variable to `$ACE_ROOT/TAO`.

4. Build and install the TAO release under `$TAO_ROOT`.

   TAO also uses GNUmakefiles and project files generated from MPC to compile. The beta or the release distribution will come with stock GNUmakefiles, project files (for VC7.1 and VC 8) and Borland makefiles which were all generated by MPC.

   The easiest and recommended way to compile the complete TAO distribution by simply simply executing `make` in the `$TAO_ROOT` directory.

   A smaller subset, that may be of interest to test basic TAO functionality, is: `$TAO_ROOT/tao`, `$TAO_ROOT/TAO_IDL`, `$TAO_ROOT/tests/Param_Test`. Then you can execute the `run_test.pl` script in `$TAO_ROOT/tests/Param_Test` and/or follow the instructions contained in the `README` file in the same directory.

   If you wish to compile the ORB services distributed with TAO, including the `Naming_Service` you must include `$TAO_ROOT/orbsvcs` to the list above. Please see the TAO configuration documentation for a discussion on how to create a subset configuration of specific TAO ORB servcies.

   If you wish to compile all the core tao and orbsvcs, including its dependencies in ACE and ACEXML, you can do the following (1) Unpack the distribution from DOC group's website. (2) Set the environment variables $ACE_ROOT and $TAO_ROOT. (3) Create config.h and platform_macros.GNU at the right places (4) Delete all the GNUmakefiles (or sln and vproj file as the case may be) from the TAO distrbution using the 'find' command. (5) Change directory to $TAO_ROOT. (6) Run MPC like this, $ACE_ROOT/bin/mwc.pl TAO_ACE.mwc. (7) Run 'make'. This will create all the required libraries for TAO and TAO orbsvcs. In step 6, use -type vc71 if you want to generate VC71 project and workspace files for Win32. Please see MPC USAGE document for details on how to generate build files for other compilers and tools.

5. To test that the TAO release is properly configured, follow instructions on executing the various examples under `$TAO_ROOT/tests`.

### Note About g++ On Solaris for x86 Target

If you install g++/gcc from blastwave then this note is applicable for you. If you are in the habit of building g++/gcc from sources directly, please feel free to skip this section.

The distribution from blastwave has, as we believe, a bug in it. This bug manifests as compilation errors when you try to build the orbsvcs when debugging is enabled. Please remember that debugging is enabled in your platform_macros.GNU if you haven't specifically disabled it. The easiest way to address this issue is to set debug=0 in platform_macros.GNu file or build a g++ compiler for your target platform. A bug has been registered with blastwave. If you have more questions please feel to contact Bala Natarajan .

## A Note On Make

Since TAO is built atop ACE, TAO re-uses ACE's Makefile structure as well. Thus, just like ACE requires GNU Make, so too does TAO. More exactly, versions of `make` which are known to not work include those from Solaris 4.x and 5.x, HP-UX, the latest BSD, etc.

GNU Make can be obtained from various places in source and binary form. Please see ACE-INSTALL.html for details from where they can be obtained.

## Explicit templates

It is not possible to use TAO with explicit templates. Your compiler must support implicit templates.

### For Cross-Compiled Targets, such as VxWorks and LynxOS

If you are building TAO for a VxWorks target, please see the detailed instructions for building and installing ACE and TAO in $ACE_ROOT/ACE-INSTALL.html.

Cross-compiling TAO is not much different than building it for self-host. The one major difference is that TAO's IDL compiler must be built and run on the host; it's not necessary to run it on the target. There are several ways to do this, below we document the two most common approaches:

#### Modifying the default location for the IDL compiler

By default TAO assumes that the IDL compiler is located in: `$TAO_ROOT/bin/tao_idl` and that the GPERF tool is located in `$ACE_ROOT/bin/gperf`, this is fine for hosted builds, but not for cross-compilation. Unfortunately there is no good default for cross-compilation builds because different sites choose a different location for their tools.

You can override the default values by adding several new lines in your platform_macros.GNU file assuming $(HOST_ROOT) is set to the location of your host build where you have build gperf and tao_idl, as follows:

    $ echo 'TAO_IDL := $(HOST_ROOT)/bin/tao_idl' \
    $ echo 'TAO_IDLFLAGS += -g $(HOST_ROOT)/bin/gperf' \
    $ echo 'TAO_IDL_DEP := $(HOST_ROOT)/bin/tao_idl$(EXEEXT)' \
         >> platform_macros.GNU

Obviously you must first build the tools for the host platform, typically you would do this as follows:

    # (1) Create a clone directory for the host:

    $ cd ACE_wrappers
    $ mkdir -p build/HOST
    $ ./bin/create_ace_build build/HOST

    # (2) Configure the host build:

    $ echo '#include "ace/config-HOST.h"' > build/HOST/ace/config.h
    $ echo 'include $(ACE_ROOT)/include/makeinclude/platform_HOST.GNU' \
         > build/HOST/include/makeinclude/platform_macros.GNU

    # Often host builds are static:
    $ echo 'static_libs_only=1' \
         >> build/HOST/include/makeinclude/platform_macros.GNU

    # (3) Build the host tools

    $ cd build/HOST
    $ export ACE_ROOT=$PWD
    $ make -C ace
    $ make -C apps/gperf
    $ make -C TAO/TAO_IDL

Then configuring the location of the tools for the target could be done as shown here:

    # (4) Create a clone directory for the target:

    $ cd ACE_wrappers
    $ mkdir -p build/TARGET
    $ ./bin/create_ace_build build/TARGET

    # (5) Configure the target build:

    $ echo '#include "ace/config-TARGET.h"' > build/HOST/ace/config.h
    $ echo 'include $(ACE_ROOT)/include/makeinclude/platform_TARGET.GNU' \
         > build/TARGET/include/makeinclude/platform_macros.GNU

    # (6) Configure the TARGET build to use the HOST IDL compiler and
    #     gperf tools, as described above.

#### Alternative configuration, using links

Some developers prefer to set up the host tools using symbolic links (Unix) or copy of `tao_idl` (NT). By way of example, here is how you could setup a croos-compilation environment for Unix, the host is `SunOS5/g++`, the target is `VxWorks`. It assumes that the ACE+TAO distribution has been unpacked, with TAO below ACE_wrappers. It uses the ACE_wrappers/bin/create_ace_build script to create a shadow build tree:

1. `cd ACE_wrappers`
2. `bin/create_ace_build SunOS5_g++`
3. `bin/create_ace_build vxworks`
4. `cd build/vxworks/bin`
5. `/bin/rm -r tao_idl`
6. `ln -s ../../SunOS5_g++/bin/tao_idl`

To build on the host:

1. `cd build/SunOS5_g++`
2. `export ACE_ROOT=`pwd`; export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=`pwd`/ace:`pwd`/lib:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH`
3. `(cd ace; make && cd ../tests; make && cd ../TAO; make) > make.log`
4. `cd ../vxworks`
5. `export ACE_ROOT=`pwd``
6. `(cd ace; make && cd ../tests; make && cd ../TAO; make) > make.log`

For Win32 hosts, please see the detailed instructions for building and installing ACE and TAO in ../ACE-INSTALL.html, and Building ACE on Tornado/NT hosts for VxWorks targets

Please note that dynamic loading of libraries is not supported by TAO for any cross-compiled target. Therefore, dynamic service configuration of the TAO ORB is not supported.

If using perfect hashing, TAO_IDL needs gperf to be built on the host. That's the default on many platforms. First, build `gperf` in the `ACE_wrappers/apps/gperf/src/` directory.

#### Which one is right for me?

Using links to cross-compile TAO may appear simpler at first glance. However, storing the location in the `platform_macros.GNU` is more amenable for sites where many developers share the same configuration files, or where ACE+TAO are compiled once and used by a medium or large size group.

### On Windows NT and Windows 2000 and Windows XP

`TAO_IDL` does not contain its own preprocessor, so it needs to use an external preprocessor. Depending on which compiler was used to build `TAO_IDL`, the default preprocessor will change. For example, if compiled with MSVC, `TAO_IDL` will look for CL.EXE in the path. There are cases where this will not work, such as in cross-compiling or if the preprocessor is not in the path. These situations require that environment variables are set on the machine to override the built-in settings. More information about these environment variables can be found in the TAO_IDL documentation.

It is also advisable to set either the `ACE_ROOT` environment variable as outlined in the ACE installation notes or the `TAO_ROOT` environment variable.

Remember to set up ACE before building TAO.

#### Visual C++ 7.1 and newer

It works best if TAO is placed in ACE_wrappers so TAO ends up in `ACE_wrappers\TAO` because the Visual C++ 7.1 Project files are setup up to work in this configuration. If you move it, then make sure you regenerate the project files to look for the include and library files in the correct place. The default place for placing the library files are $ACE_ROOT/lib. You can change this setting in this base project file.

1. Make sure ACE is built (For Visual C++ 7.1, use ACE.sln).

2. First make sure `ACE_wrappers\bin` is listed in the Executable Directories in Tools|Options. This is needed if using the TAO_IDL compiler under MSVC. If you intend to also use the release version of the libraries in the same workspace you have to be careful, since the executable name for TAO_IDL is same in debug and release builds. You can use only or the oethr in the same workspace. This shouldn't be an issue since the projects for tests and examples are set up to transparently use one or the other.

3. Load the workspace `$TAO_ROOT\TAO.dsw` and build the TAO library. This workspace has almost all the projects under TAO which can be built. Therefore please pick and choose projects that you want to build.

4. To build the Param_Test, load the workspace `tests\tests.dsw` and build both client and server.

#### Visual C++ 7.1

The DOC group doesn't support TAO on VC++ 7.0 since the libraries that were shipped with VC++ 7.0 did not work well. The DOC group supports only VC++ 7.1, which is used by their sponsors. The above mentioned points are also relevant to users who are trying to use TAO with VC++ 7.1. Additionally, all required options are set for the generated .sln files. If something is missing then it is probably a bug with MPC. Please report such bugs to the tao-users newsgroups.

#### Borland C++ Builder

To build TAO using C++Builder please follow the ACE installation notes, with the difference being that you first build ACE and then you give the following command in the $ACE_ROOT\TAO directory:

> `make -f Makefile.bor`

For more detailed information on building and using TAO with Borland's C++ Builder environment, please see the online help provided by Christopher Kohlhoff.

#### Upgrading From Older Releases

When a newer version of ACE/TAO is installed, rebuild all should be used to make sure everything is built correctly.

#### Changing Include Paths

If you prefer `#include <corba.h>` over `#include <tao/corba.h>` then you will need to change your Project Settings to also contain the `TAO/tao` directory. You'll find this in the C/C++ settings under Input.

#### Creating Static Libraries (*.lib)

Instructions for dynamic libraries apply to static libraries as well. Users will have to use _Static.dsw's and _Static.sln files for creating static libraries and linking with them.

#### MinGW and Cygwin

First, follow the build instructions in the ACE installation notes. When building with MinGW and Cygwin you are using the GNU make under Windows. When you use make from the commandline, make sure that `TAO_ROOT` is set to a full path or to `%ACE_ROOT%/TAO`, which will also result in setting a full path. Setting it with the Unix style to `$ACE_ROOT/TAO` will not work, setting it using the make style to `$(ACE_ROOT)/TAO` looks to work but will cause problems when building the TAO services, so don't do that. The correct way is:

> `set TAO_ROOT=%ACE_ROOT%/TAO`

### Perl Scripts

Several of TAO's tests and examples contain perl scripts that automate the execution of these tests. The scripts are found as "run_test.pl" in the directory of the test.

The versions of perl that we use are 5.005_02 on NT and 5.003 on Solaris. The scripts may work on earlier versions of perl, but we cannot say for sure that they do.

### Native Exceptions

TAO will use native exceptions if ACE_HAS_EXCEPTIONS is defined when it is compiled. This can be accomplished in two ways: by defining ACE_HAS_EXCEPTIONS in the config.h or config-*.h files (such as on Windows) or by using `make exceptions=1` when you compile TAO.

Take note though, that this only enables support in ACE/TAO, the correct compiler flags must also be given to the compiler to enable them.

### minimumTAO

By default, all components in TAO will be compiled. If you only want support for minimumTAO, define TAO_HAS_MINIMUM_CORBA. This can be accomplished in two ways: by defining TAO_HAS_MINIMUM_CORBA in the config.h or orbconf.h files or by using `make minimum_corba=1` when you compile TAO.

WARNING: Make sure that if you build liborbsvcs with minimum_corba=1 you also build libTAO with minimum_corba=1!

### System Resource Requirements

Please see the ACE-INSTALL.html System Resource Requirements discussion for information on system resources required to build ACE and TAO.

#### Building and Installing TAO from anonymous CVS

If users are building from our anon cvs the GNUmakefiles, and project files for building on various platforms will not be available. Users from anon cvs are expected to generate them using MPC before building ACE, TAO or CIAO. We point out some suggestions below to get bootstrapped quickly.

- Please see instructions above to download MPC from anon cvs repository

- Please make sure that you have perl installed, preferably perl 5.8 or higher. Users on Win32 based platforms are recommended to use Active State Perl . We use active state perl without problems. We have ran into problems trying to use the cygwin version of perl on Win32 based platforms.

- If you just want to build TAO and associated tests, examples, and associated utility libraries, we recommend the following alternatives:
  - Build ACE and TAO seperately. ACE needs to be built first and instructins for building ACE are available at ACE-INSTALL. GNUmakefiles and project files for TAO can be generated by using the following commands:

    `$ACE_ROOT/bin/mwc.pl TAO.mwc`

    from `$TAO_ROOT` to generate GNUmakefiles. Use `-type vc71` or `-type vc8` to generate VC71 and VC8 project and solution files.

  - Build ACE+TAO together in one shot. To do that please issue the following commands:

    `$ACE_ROOT/bin/mwc.pl TAO_ACE.mwc`

    from `$TAO_ROOT`. This will generate GNUmakefiles for ACE, gperf, and core ACE+TAO libraries. Issuing a `'make'` from `$TAO_ROOT` will build all of the above in one shot. You can use `-type vc71` to generate VC71 project and workspace files. `TAO_ACE.sln` can be used by users to build ACE+TAO from a single workspace file. Users can use `-type vc8` to generate the VC8 solutions files.

- If you want to build CIAO and its associated libraries please see CIAO-INSTALL for details.

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