Update gdb's configure instructions

gdb's README and configure instructions in the manual are quite out of
date.  They mention options that haven't existed for many years, among
other things.

This patch attempts to modernize the instructions somewhat.  It is not
exhaustive, just an improvement -- more could be done.  Perhaps even a
couple of the nodes should simply be removed and replaced by
references to the Autoconf manual.

The README file seems to have been generated from the Texinfo at some
point in the past.  I did not continue this, but instead edited it
separately.

gdb/ChangeLog
2018-09-29  Tom Tromey  <tom@tromey.com>

	* PROBLEMS: Rewrite.
	* README: Update.

gdb/doc/ChangeLog
2018-09-29  Tom Tromey  <tom@tromey.com>

	* gdb.texinfo (Requirements): Mention C++, GNU make.
	(Requirements): Sort the table.  Add more libraries.
	(Running Configure): Remove obsolete text.
	(Separate Objdir): Likewise.
	(Configure Options): Likewise.
This commit is contained in:
Tom Tromey 2018-09-13 22:24:07 -06:00
parent 6424bdfcfc
commit 7f0bd4202c
5 changed files with 207 additions and 181 deletions

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@ -1,3 +1,8 @@
2018-09-29 Tom Tromey <tom@tromey.com>
* PROBLEMS: Rewrite.
* README: Update.
2018-09-28 John Baldwin <jhb@FreeBSD.org>
* disasm-selftests.c (print_one_insn_test): Add bfd_arch_riscv to

View File

@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
Known problems in GDB can be found by searching GDB's Bugzilla, here:
Known problems in GDB 7.2.50
https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/query.cgi?product=gdb
See also: http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/
None worth mentioning here.
For help on searching, click the "Help" link at the top of the page.

View File

@ -7,11 +7,8 @@ A summary of new features is in the file `gdb/NEWS'.
Check the GDB home page at http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/ for up to
date release information, mailing list links and archives, etc.
The file `gdb/PROBLEMS' contains information on problems identified
late in the release cycle. GDB's bug tracking data base at
http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/ contains a more complete list of
bugs.
GDB's bug tracking data base can be found at
http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/
Unpacking and Installation -- quick overview
==========================
@ -37,9 +34,8 @@ source directory called `gdb-VERSION'.
You can build GDB right in the source directory:
cd gdb-VERSION
./configure
make
cp gdb/gdb /usr/local/bin/gdb (or wherever you want)
./configure --prefix=/usr/local (or wherever you want)
make all install
However, we recommend that an empty directory be used instead.
This way you do not clutter your source tree with binary files
@ -50,9 +46,8 @@ You can build GDB in any empty build directory:
mkdir build
cd build
<full path to your sources>/gdb-VERSION/configure
make
cp gdb/gdb /usr/local/bin/gdb (or wherever you want)
<full path to your sources>/gdb-VERSION/configure [etc...]
make all install
(Building GDB with DJGPP tools for MS-DOS/MS-Windows is slightly
different; see the file gdb-VERSION/gdb/config/djgpp/README for details.)
@ -77,25 +72,26 @@ such as:
If you get other compiler errors during this stage, see the `Reporting
Bugs' section below; there are a few known problems.
GDB requires an ISO C (ANSI C) compiler. If you do not have an ISO
C compiler for your system, you may be able to download and install
GDB's `configure' script has many options to enable or disable
different features or dependencies. These options are not generally
known to the top-level `configure', so if you want to see a complete
list of options, invoke the subdirectory `configure', like:
/berman/migchain/source/gdb-VERSION/gdb/configure --help
(Take note of how this differs from the invocation used to actually
configure the build tree.)
GDB requires a C++11 compiler. If you do not have a
C++11 compiler for your system, you may be able to download and install
the GNU CC compiler. It is available via anonymous FTP from the
directory `ftp://ftp.gnu.org/pub/gnu/gcc'. GDB also requires an ISO
C standard library. The GDB remote server, GDBserver, builds with some
non-ISO standard libraries - e.g. for Windows CE.
GDB uses Expat, an XML parsing library, to implement some target-specific
features. Expat will be linked in if it is available at build time, or
those features will be disabled. The latest version of Expat should be
available from `http://expat.sourceforge.net'.
GDB uses GNU MPFR, a library for multiple-precision floating-point
computation with correct rounding, to emulate target floating-point
arithmetic during expression evaluation when the target uses different
floating-point formats than the host. MPFR will be linked in if it is
available at build time. If GNU MPFR it is not available, GDB will fall
back to using host floating-point arithmetic. The latest version of
GNU MPFR should be available from `http://www.mpfr.org'.
GDB can optionally be built against various external libraries.
These dependencies are described below in the "`configure options"
section of this README.
GDB can be used as a cross-debugger, running on a machine of one
type while debugging a program running on a machine of another type.
@ -348,20 +344,21 @@ you can use it to test your guesses on abbreviations--for example:
Here is a summary of the `configure' options and arguments that are
most often useful for building GDB. `configure' also has several other
options not listed here. *note : (configure.info)What Configure Does,
for a full explanation of `configure'.
options not listed here. There are many options to gdb's `configure'
script, some of which are only useful in special situation.
*note : (autoconf.info)Running configure scripts, for a full
explanation of `configure'.
configure [--help]
[--prefix=DIR]
[--srcdir=PATH]
[--norecursion] [--rm]
[--enable-build-warnings]
[--target=TARGET]
[--host=HOST]
[HOST]
You may introduce options with a single `-' rather than `--' if you
prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'. Some
more obscure GDB `configure' options are not listed here.
`--help'
Display a quick summary of how to invoke `configure'.
@ -392,31 +389,6 @@ prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
Same as `--host=HOST'. If you omit this, GDB will guess; it's
quite accurate.
`--norecursion'
Configure only the directory level where `configure' is executed;
do not propagate configuration to subdirectories.
`--rm'
Remove the configuration that the other arguments specify.
`--enable-build-warnings'
When building the GDB sources, ask the compiler to warn about any
code which looks even vaguely suspicious. You should only using
this feature if you're compiling with GNU CC. It passes the
following flags:
-Wimplicit
-Wreturn-type
-Wcomment
-Wtrigraphs
-Wformat
-Wparentheses
-Wpointer-arith
`--enable-werror'
Treat compiler warnings as werrors. Use this only with GCC. It
adds the -Werror flag to the compiler, which will fail the
compilation if the compiler outputs any warning messages.
`--target=TARGET'
Configure GDB for cross-debugging programs running on the specified
TARGET. Without this option, GDB is configured to debug programs
@ -425,6 +397,12 @@ prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available
targets.
`--enable-targets=TARGET,TARGET,...'
`--enable-targets=all`
Configure GDB for cross-debugging programs running on the
specified list of targets. The special value `all' configures
GDB for debugging programs running on any target it supports.
`--with-gdb-datadir=PATH'
Set the GDB-specific data directory. GDB will look here for
certain supporting files or scripts. This defaults to the `gdb'
@ -450,58 +428,86 @@ prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
Requires a curses library (ncurses and cursesX are also
supported).
`--enable-gdbtk'
Build GDB with the gdbtk GUI interface. Requires TCL/Tk to be
installed.
`--with-curses'
Use the curses library instead of the termcap library, for
text-mode terminal operations.
`--with-libunwind-ia64'
Use the libunwind library for unwinding function call stack on ia64
target platforms.
See http://www.nongnu.org/libunwind/index.html for details.
`--with-curses'
Use the curses library instead of the termcap library, for
text-mode terminal operations.
`--enable-profiling' Enable profiling of GDB itself. Necessary if you
want to use the "maint set profile" command for profiling GDB.
Requires the functions `monstartup' and `_mcleanup' to be present
in the standard C library used to build GDB, and also requires a
compiler that supports the `-pg' option.
`--with-system-readline'
Use the readline library installed on the host, rather than the
library supplied as part of GDB tarball.
`--with-system-zlib
Use the zlib library installed on the host, rather than the
library supplied as part of GDB tarball.
`--with-expat'
Build GDB with the libexpat library. (Done by default if
libexpat is installed and found at configure time.) This library
is used to read XML files supplied with GDB. If it is
unavailable, some features, such as remote protocol memory maps,
target descriptions, and shared library lists, that are based on
XML files, will not be available in GDB. If your host does not
have libexpat installed, you can get the latest version from
http://expat.sourceforge.net.
Build GDB with Expat, a library for XML parsing. (Done by
default if libexpat is installed and found at configure time.)
This library is used to read XML files supplied with GDB. If it
is unavailable, some features, such as remote protocol memory
maps, target descriptions, and shared library lists, that are
based on XML files, will not be available in GDB. If your host
does not have libexpat installed, you can get the latest version
from `http://expat.sourceforge.net'.
`--with-libiconv-prefix[=DIR]'
Build GDB with GNU libiconv, a character set encoding conversion
library. This is not done by default, as on GNU systems the
`iconv' that is built in to the C library is sufficient. If your
host does not have a working `iconv', you can get the latest
version of GNU iconv from `https://www.gnu.org/software/libiconv/'.
GDB's build system also supports building GNU libiconv as part of
the overall build. See the GDB manual instructions on how to do
this.
`--with-lzma'
Build GDB with LZMA, a compression library. (Done by default if
liblzma is installed and found at configure time.) LZMA is used
by GDB's "mini debuginfo" feature, which is only useful on
platforms using the ELF object file format. If your host does
not have liblzma installed, you can get the latest version from
`https://tukaani.org/xz/'.
`--with-mpfr'
Build GDB with the GNU MPFR library. (Done by default if
GNU MPFR is installed and found at configure time.) This library
is used to emulate target floating-point arithmetic during expression
evaluation when the target uses different floating-point formats than
the host. If GNU MPFR is not available, GDB will fall back to using
host floating-point arithmetic. If your host does not have GNU MPFR
installed, you can get the latest version from http://www.mpfr.org.
Build GDB with GNU MPFR, a library for multiple-precision
floating-point computation with correct rounding. (Done by
default if GNU MPFR is installed and found at configure time.)
This library is used to emulate target floating-point arithmetic
during expression evaluation when the target uses different
floating-point formats than the host. If GNU MPFR is not
available, GDB will fall back to using host floating-point
arithmetic. If your host does not have GNU MPFR installed, you
can get the latest version from `http://www.mpfr.org'.
`--with-python[=PATH]'
`--with-python[=PYTHON]'
Build GDB with Python scripting support. (Done by default if
libpython is present and found at configure time.) Python makes
GDB scripting much more powerful than the restricted CLI
scripting language. If your host does not have Python installed,
you can find it on http://www.python.org/download/. The oldest
you can find it on `http://www.python.org/download/'. The oldest
version of Python supported by GDB is 2.4. The optional argument
PATH says where to find the Python headers and libraries; the
configure script will look in PATH/include for headers and in
PATH/lib for the libraries.
PYTHON is used to find the Python headers and libraries. It can
be either the name of a Python executable, or the name of the
directory in which Python is installed.
names a Python executable, which will be queried to find
the Python headers and libraries.
`--with-guile[=GUILE]'
Build GDB with GNU Guile scripting support. (Done by default if
libguile is present and found at configure time.) If your host
does not have Guile installed, you can find it at
`https://www.gnu.org/software/guile/'. The optional argument
GUILE can be a version number, which will cause `configure' to
try to use that version of Guile; or the file name of a
`pkg-config' executable, which will be queried to find the
information needed to compile and link against Guile.
`--without-included-regex'
Don't use the regex library included with GDB (as part of the
@ -524,9 +530,19 @@ prefer; but you may abbreviate option names if you use `--'.
after being built, the location of the system-wide init file will
be adjusted accordingly.
`--enable-build-warnings'
When building the GDB sources, ask the compiler to warn about any
code which looks even vaguely suspicious. It passes many
different warning flags, depending on the exact version of the
compiler you are using.
`--enable-werror'
Treat compiler warnings as werrors. It adds the -Werror flag to
the compiler, which will fail the compilation if the compiler
outputs any warning messages.
`configure' accepts other options, for compatibility with configuring
other GNU tools recursively; but these are the only options that affect
GDB or its supporting libraries.
other GNU tools recursively.
Remote debugging
@ -541,18 +557,12 @@ with the remote.c stub over a serial line.
allows remote debugging for Unix applications. GDBserver is only
supported for some native configurations, including Sun 3, Sun 4, and
Linux.
The file gdb/gdbserver/README includes further notes on GDBserver; in
The file gdb/gdbserver/README includes further notes on GDBserver; in
particular, it explains how to build GDBserver for cross-debugging
(where GDBserver runs on the target machine, which is of a different
architecture than the host machine running GDB).
There are a number of remote interfaces for talking to existing ROM
monitors and other hardware:
remote-mips.c MIPS remote debugging protocol
remote-sds.c PowerPC SDS monitor
remote-sim.c Generalized simulator protocol
Reporting Bugs in GDB
=====================
@ -567,11 +577,13 @@ address "bug-gdb@gnu.org".
When submitting a bug, please include the GDB version number, and
how you configured it (e.g., "sun4" or "mach386 host,
i586-intel-synopsys target"). Since GDB now supports so many
i586-intel-synopsys target"). Since GDB supports so many
different configurations, it is important that you be precise about
this. If at all possible, you should include the actual banner
that GDB prints when it starts up, or failing that, the actual
configure command that you used when configuring GDB.
this. The simplest way to do this is to include the output from these
commands:
% gdb --version
% gdb --config
For more information on how/whether to report bugs, see the
Reporting Bugs chapter of the GDB manual (gdb/doc/gdb.texinfo).
@ -583,7 +595,7 @@ Graphical interface to GDB -- X Windows, MS Windows
Several graphical interfaces to GDB are available. You should
check:
http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/links/
https://sourceware.org/gdb/wiki/GDB%20Front%20Ends
for an up-to-date list.

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@ -1,3 +1,11 @@
2018-09-29 Tom Tromey <tom@tromey.com>
* gdb.texinfo (Requirements): Mention C++, GNU make.
(Requirements): Sort the table. Add more libraries.
(Running Configure): Remove obsolete text.
(Separate Objdir): Likewise.
(Configure Options): Likewise.
2018-09-28 Andrew Burgess <andrew.burgess@embecosm.com>
* gdb.texinfo (Frames): Rewrite the description of 'frame number'

View File

@ -35222,10 +35222,13 @@ Other packages will be used only if they are found.
@heading Tools/Packages Necessary for Building @value{GDBN}
@table @asis
@item ISO C90 compiler
@value{GDBN} is written in ISO C90. It should be buildable with any
working C90 compiler, e.g.@: GCC.
@item C@t{++}11 compiler
@value{GDBN} is written in C@t{++}11. It should be buildable with any
recent C@t{++}11 compiler, e.g.@: GCC.
@item GNU make
@value{GDBN}'s build system relies on features only found in the GNU
make program. Other variants of @code{make} will not work.
@end table
@heading Tools/Packages Optional for Building @value{GDBN}
@ -35258,6 +35261,51 @@ Branch trace (@pxref{Branch Trace Format},
@pxref{Branch Trace Configuration Format})
@end itemize
@item Guile
@value{GDBN} can be scripted using GNU Guile. @xref{Guile}. By
default, @value{GDBN} will be compiled if the Guile libraries are
installed and are found by @file{configure}. You can use the
@code{--with-guile} option to request Guile, and pass either the Guile
version number or the file name of the relevant @code{pkg-config}
program to choose a particular version of Guile.
@item iconv
@value{GDBN}'s features related to character sets (@pxref{Character
Sets}) require a functioning @code{iconv} implementation. If you are
on a GNU system, then this is provided by the GNU C Library. Some
other systems also provide a working @code{iconv}.
If @value{GDBN} is using the @code{iconv} program which is installed
in a non-standard place, you will need to tell @value{GDBN} where to
find it. This is done with @option{--with-iconv-bin} which specifies
the directory that contains the @code{iconv} program. This program is
run in order to make a list of the available character sets.
On systems without @code{iconv}, you can install GNU Libiconv. If
Libiconv is installed in a standard place, @value{GDBN} will
automatically use it if it is needed. If you have previously
installed Libiconv in a non-standard place, you can use the
@option{--with-libiconv-prefix} option to @file{configure}.
@value{GDBN}'s top-level @file{configure} and @file{Makefile} will
arrange to build Libiconv if a directory named @file{libiconv} appears
in the top-most source directory. If Libiconv is built this way, and
if the operating system does not provide a suitable @code{iconv}
implementation, then the just-built library will automatically be used
by @value{GDBN}. One easy way to set this up is to download GNU
Libiconv, unpack it inside the top-level directory of the @value{GDBN}
source tree, and then rename the directory holding the Libiconv source
code to @samp{libiconv}.
@item lzma
@value{GDBN} can support debugging sections that are compressed with
the LZMA library. @xref{MiniDebugInfo}. If this library is not
included with your operating system, you can find it in the xz package
at @url{http://tukaani.org/xz/}. If the LZMA library is available in
the usual place, then the @file{configure} script will use it
automatically. If it is installed in an unusual path, you can use the
@option{--with-lzma-prefix} option to specify its location.
@item MPFR
@anchor{MPFR}
@value{GDBN} can use the GNU MPFR multiple-precision floating-point
@ -35273,6 +35321,15 @@ expression evaluation when the target uses different floating-point
formats than the host. If GNU MPFR it is not available, @value{GDBN}
will fall back to using host floating-point arithmetic.
@item Python
@value{GDBN} can be scripted using Python language. @xref{Python}.
By default, @value{GDBN} will be compiled if the Python libraries are
installed and are found by @file{configure}. You can use the
@code{--with-python} option to request Python, and pass either the
file name of the relevant @code{python} executable, or the name of the
directory in which Python is installed, to choose a particular
installation of Python.
@item zlib
@cindex compressed debug sections
@value{GDBN} will use the @samp{zlib} library, if available, to read
@ -35284,30 +35341,6 @@ information in such binaries.
The @samp{zlib} library is likely included with your operating system
distribution; if it is not, you can get the latest version from
@url{http://zlib.net}.
@item iconv
@value{GDBN}'s features related to character sets (@pxref{Character
Sets}) require a functioning @code{iconv} implementation. If you are
on a GNU system, then this is provided by the GNU C Library. Some
other systems also provide a working @code{iconv}.
If @value{GDBN} is using the @code{iconv} program which is installed
in a non-standard place, you will need to tell @value{GDBN} where to find it.
This is done with @option{--with-iconv-bin} which specifies the
directory that contains the @code{iconv} program.
On systems without @code{iconv}, you can install GNU Libiconv. If you
have previously installed Libiconv, you can use the
@option{--with-libiconv-prefix} option to configure.
@value{GDBN}'s top-level @file{configure} and @file{Makefile} will
arrange to build Libiconv if a directory named @file{libiconv} appears
in the top-most source directory. If Libiconv is built this way, and
if the operating system does not provide a suitable @code{iconv}
implementation, then the just-built library will automatically be used
by @value{GDBN}. One easy way to set this up is to download GNU
Libiconv, unpack it, and then rename the directory holding the
Libiconv source code to @samp{libiconv}.
@end table
@node Running Configure
@ -35351,14 +35384,10 @@ source for the library of opcode tables and disassemblers
@item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/readline
source for the @sc{gnu} command-line interface
@item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/glob
source for the @sc{gnu} filename pattern-matching subroutine
@item gdb-@value{GDBVN}/mmalloc
source for the @sc{gnu} memory-mapped malloc package
@end table
There may be other subdirectories as well.
The simplest way to configure and build @value{GDBN} is to run @file{configure}
from the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} source directory, which in
this example is the @file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} directory.
@ -35372,20 +35401,14 @@ For example:
@smallexample
cd gdb-@value{GDBVN}
./configure @var{host}
./configure
make
@end smallexample
@noindent
where @var{host} is an identifier such as @samp{sun4} or
@samp{decstation}, that identifies the platform where @value{GDBN} will run.
(You can often leave off @var{host}; @file{configure} tries to guess the
correct value by examining your system.)
Running @samp{configure @var{host}} and then running @code{make} builds the
@file{bfd}, @file{readline}, @file{mmalloc}, and @file{libiberty}
libraries, then @code{gdb} itself. The configured source files, and the
binaries, are left in the corresponding source directories.
Running @samp{configure} and then running @code{make} builds the
included supporting libraries, then @code{gdb} itself. The configured
source files, and the binaries, are left in the corresponding source
directories.
@need 750
@file{configure} is a Bourne-shell (@code{/bin/sh}) script; if your
@ -35393,16 +35416,9 @@ system does not recognize this automatically when you run a different
shell, you may need to run @code{sh} on it explicitly:
@smallexample
sh configure @var{host}
sh configure
@end smallexample
If you run @file{configure} from a directory that contains source
directories for multiple libraries or programs, such as the
@file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}} source directory for version @value{GDBVN},
@file{configure}
creates configuration files for every directory level underneath (unless
you tell it not to, with the @samp{--norecursion} option).
You should run the @file{configure} script from the top directory in the
source tree, the @file{gdb-@var{version-number}} directory. If you run
@file{configure} from one of the subdirectories, you will configure only
@ -35413,11 +35429,9 @@ configuration of @file{bfd}, @file{readline}, and other sibling
directories of the @file{gdb} subdirectory. This leads to build errors
about missing include files such as @file{bfd/bfd.h}.
You can install @code{@value{GDBP}} anywhere; it has no hardwired paths.
However, you should make sure that the shell on your path (named by
the @samp{SHELL} environment variable) is publicly readable. Remember
that @value{GDBN} uses the shell to start your program---some systems refuse to
let @value{GDBN} debug child processes whose programs are not readable.
You can install @code{@value{GDBN}} anywhere. The best way to do this
is to pass the @code{--prefix} option to @code{configure}, and then
install it with @code{make install}.
@node Separate Objdir
@section Compiling @value{GDBN} in Another Directory
@ -35446,7 +35460,7 @@ separate directory for a Sun 4 like this:
cd gdb-@value{GDBVN}
mkdir ../gdb-sun4
cd ../gdb-sun4
../gdb-@value{GDBVN}/configure sun4
../gdb-@value{GDBVN}/configure
make
@end group
@end smallexample
@ -35532,18 +35546,17 @@ directory (@file{gdb-@value{GDBVN}}, for version @value{GDBVN}).
@section @file{configure} Options
Here is a summary of the @file{configure} options and arguments that
are most often useful for building @value{GDBN}. @file{configure} also has
several other options not listed here. @inforef{What Configure
Does,,configure.info}, for a full explanation of @file{configure}.
are most often useful for building @value{GDBN}. @file{configure}
also has several other options not listed here. @inforef{Running
configure scripts,,autoconf.info}, for a full
explanation of @file{configure}.
@smallexample
configure @r{[}--help@r{]}
@r{[}--prefix=@var{dir}@r{]}
@r{[}--exec-prefix=@var{dir}@r{]}
@r{[}--srcdir=@var{dirname}@r{]}
@r{[}--norecursion@r{]} @r{[}--rm@r{]}
@r{[}--target=@var{target}@r{]}
@var{host}
@end smallexample
@noindent
@ -35566,8 +35579,6 @@ Configure the source to install programs under directory
@c avoid splitting the warning from the explanation:
@need 2000
@item --srcdir=@var{dirname}
@strong{Warning: using this option requires @sc{gnu} @code{make}, or another
@code{make} that implements the @code{VPATH} feature.}@*
Use this option to make configurations in directories separate from the
@value{GDBN} source directories. Among other things, you can use this to
build (or maintain) several configurations simultaneously, in separate
@ -35577,21 +35588,12 @@ directory @var{dirname}. @file{configure} creates directories under
the working directory in parallel to the source directories below
@var{dirname}.
@item --norecursion
Configure only the directory level where @file{configure} is executed; do not
propagate configuration to subdirectories.
@item --target=@var{target}
Configure @value{GDBN} for cross-debugging programs running on the specified
@var{target}. Without this option, @value{GDBN} is configured to debug
programs that run on the same machine (@var{host}) as @value{GDBN} itself.
There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available targets.
@item @var{host} @dots{}
Configure @value{GDBN} to run on the specified @var{host}.
There is no convenient way to generate a list of all available hosts.
@end table
There are many other options available as well, but they are generally