ctags(1)                                                           User Commands                                                          ctags(1)

NAME

       ctags - create a tags file for use with ex and vi

SYNOPSIS

       /usr/bin/ctags [-aBFtuvwx] [-f tagsfile] file...

       /usr/xpg4/bin/ctags [-aBFuvwx] [-f tagsfile] file...

DESCRIPTION

       The  ctags  utility makes a tags file for ex(1) from the specified C, C++, Pascal, FORTRAN, yacc(1), and  lex(1) sources. A tags file gives
       the locations of specified objects (in this case functions and typedefs) in a group of files.  Each line of  the  tags  file  contains  the
       object  name,  the  file in which it is defined, and an address specification for the object definition. Functions are searched with a pat-
       tern, typedefs with a line number. Specifiers are given in separate fields on the line, separated by <SPACE> or <TAB> characters. Using the
       tags file, ex can quickly find these objects' definitions.

       Normally,  ctags places the tag descriptions in a file called tags; this may be overridden with the -f option.

       Files  with  names ending in  .c or .h are assumed to be either C or C++ source files and are searched for C/C++  routine and macro defini-
       tions. Files with names ending in .cc, .C, or  .cxx, are assumed to be C++ source files. Files with names ending in .y are  assumed  to  be
       yacc source files. Files with names ending in .l are assumed to be  lex files.  Others are first examined to see if they contain any Pascal
       or FORTRAN routine definitions; if not, they are processed again looking for C  definitions.

       The tag main is treated specially in C or C++ programs.  The tag formed is created by prepending M to file, with a trailing  .c ,  .cc  .C,
       or  .cxx  removed, if any, and leading path name components also removed.   This makes use of ctags practical in directories with more than
       one program.

OPTIONS

       The precedence of the options that pertain to printing is -x, -v, then the remaining options. The following options are supported:

       -a              Appends output to an existing tags file.

       -B              Uses backward searching patterns (?...?).

       -f tagsfile     Places the tag descriptions in a file called tagsfile instead of tags.

       -F              Uses forward searching patterns (/.../) (default).

       -t              Creates tags for typedefs. /usr/xpg4/bin/ctags creates tags for typedefs by default.

       -u              Updates the specified files in tags, that is, all references to them are deleted, and the new values are  appended  to  the
                       file.  Beware:  this  option  is  implemented in a way that is rather slow; it is usually faster to simply rebuild the tags
                       file.

       -v              Produces on the standard output an index listing the function name, file name, and page number (assuming  64  line  pages).
                       Since the output will be sorted into lexicographic order, it may be desired to run the output through sort -f.

       -w              Suppresses warning diagnostics.

       -x              Produces  a  list of object names, the line number and file name on which each is defined, as well as the text of that line
                       and prints this on the standard output. This is a simple index which can be printed out as an  off-line  readable  function
                       index.

OPERANDS

       The following file operands are supported:

       file.c          Files with basenames ending with the .c suffix are treated as C-language source code.

       file.h          Files with basenames ending with the .h suffix are treated as C-language source code.

       file.f          Files with basenames ending with the .f suffix are treated as FORTRAN-language source code.

USAGE

       The -v option is mainly used with vgrind which will be part of the optional BSD Compatibility Package.

EXAMPLES

       Example 1: Producing entries in alphabetical order

       Using ctags with the -v option produces entries in an order which may not always be appropriate for vgrind. To produce results in alphabet-
       ical order, you may want to run the output through sort -f.

       example% ctags -v filename.c filename.h | sort -f > index
       example% vgrind -x index

       Example 2: Building a tags file

       To build a tags file for C sources in a directory hierarchy rooted at sourcedir, first create an empty tags file, and then run  find(1)

       example% cd sourcedir  ; rm -f tags ; touch tags
       example% find . ( -name SCCS -prune -name \
              '*.c' -o -name '*.h' ) -exec ctags -u {} ;

       Notice that spaces must be entered exactly as shown.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

       See environ(5) for descriptions of the following environment variables that affect  the  execution  of  ctags:  LANG,  LC_ALL,  LC_COLLATE,
       LC_CTYPE, LC_MESSAGES, and NLSPATH.

EXIT STATUS

       The following exit values are returned:

       0               Successful completion.

       >0              An error occurred.

FILES

       tags            output tags file

ATTRIBUTES

       See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:

   /usr/bin/ctags
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |      ATTRIBUTE TYPE         |      ATTRIBUTE VALUE        |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Availability                 |SUNWtoo                      |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

   /usr/xpg4/bin/ctags
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |      ATTRIBUTE TYPE         |      ATTRIBUTE VALUE        |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Availability                 |SUNWxcu4                     |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
       |Interface Stability          |Standard                     |
       +-----------------------------+-----------------------------+

SEE ALSO

       ex(1), lex(1), vgrind(1), vi(1), yacc(1), attributes(5), environ(5), standards(5)

NOTES

       Recognition of functions, subroutines, and procedures for FORTRAN and Pascal is done in a very simpleminded way. No attempt is made to deal
       with block structure; if you have two Pascal procedures in different blocks with the same name, you lose.

       The method of deciding whether to look for C or Pascal and FORTRAN functions is a hack.

       The ctags utility does not know about #ifdefs.

       The ctags utility should know about Pascal types. Relies on the input being well formed to detect typedefs. Use of -tx shows only the  last
       line of typedefs.

SunOS 5.10                                                          18 Mar 1997                                                           ctags(1)