Details on this package are located in Section 10.43.2, “Contents of File.”
The File package contains a utility for determining the type of a given file or files.
One method that file
uses for identifying a given file is to run “magic tests”, where it compares the file's
contents to data in “magic
files”, which contain information about a number of
standard file formats. When File is compiled, it will run
file -C to combine
the information from the magic files in its source tree into a
single magic.mgc file, which it will
use after it is installed. When we build File in Constructing
a Temporary System, it will be cross-compiled, so it will not
be able to run the file program that it just built,
which means that we need one that will run on the host system.
Prepare File for compilation:
./configure --prefix=/cross-tools --disable-static
The meaning of the configure options:
--prefix=/cross-tools
This tells the configure script to prepare to install the
package in the /cross-tools
directory.
--disable-static
This tells the File package not to compile or install static libraries, which are not needed for the Cross-Tools
Compile the package:
make
Install the package:
make install
Details on this package are located in Section 10.43.2, “Contents of File.”