NAME

       file.pc — pkg-config file format

DESCRIPTION

       pkg-config  files provide a useful mechanism for storing various information about libraries and packages
       on a given system.  Information stored by .pc files include compiler and linker flags necessary to use  a
       given library, as well as any other relevant metadata.

       These .pc files are processed by a utility called pkg-config, of which pkgconf is an implementation.

   FILE SYNTAX
       The  .pc  file  follows a format inspired by RFC822.  Comments are prefixed by a pound sign, hash sign or
       octothorpe (#), and variable assignment  is  similar  to  POSIX  shell.   Properties  are  defined  using
       RFC822-style stanzas.

   VARIABLES
       Variable definitions start with an alphanumeric string, followed by an equal sign, and then the value the
       variable should contain.

       Variable references are always written as "${variable}".  It is possible to escape literal "${" as "$${".

   PROPERTIES
       Properties  are  set  using  RFC822-style stanzas which consist of a keyword, followed by a colon (:) and
       then the value the property should be set to.  Variable substitution is always  performed  regardless  of
       property type.

       There are three types of property:

       Literal
               The property will be set to the text of the value.

       Dependency List
               The  property  will  be set to a list of dependencies parsed from the text.  Dependency lists are
               defined by this ABNF syntax:

               package-list = *WSP *( package-spec *( package-sep ) )
               package-sep  = WSP / ","
               package-spec = package-key [ ver-op package-version ]
               ver-op       = "<" / "<=" / "=" / "!=" / ">=" / ">"

       Fragment List
               The property will be set to a list of fragments parsed from the text.  The input text must be  in
               a  format  that  is  suitable  for  passing  to  a POSIX shell without any shell expansions after
               variable substitution has been done.

   PROPERTY KEYWORDS
       Name    The displayed name of the package.  (mandatory; literal)

       Version
               The version of the package.  (mandatory; literal)

       Description
               A description of the package.  (mandatory; literal)

       URL     A URL to a webpage for the package.  This is used  to  recommend  where  newer  versions  of  the
               package can be acquired.  (mandatory; literal)

       Cflags  Required  compiler  flags.  These flags are always used, regardless of whether static compilation
               is requested.  (optional; fragment list)

       Cflags.private
               Required compiler flags for static compilation.  (optional; fragment list; pkgconf extension)

       Libs    Required linking flags for this package.  Libraries this package depends on for  linking  against
               it, which are not described as dependencies should be specified here.  (optional; fragment list)

       Libs.private
               Required  linking  flags  for  this  package  that  are  only  required  when linking statically.
               Libraries this package depends on for linking against it statically, which are not  described  as
               dependencies should be specified here.  (optional; fragment list)

       Requires
               Required  dependencies  that  must be met for the package to be usable.  All dependencies must be
               satisfied or the pkg-config implementation must not use the package.  (optional; dependency list)

       Requires.private
               Required dependencies that must be met for the package to be  usable  for  static  linking.   All
               dependencies  must  be  satisfied  or  the pkg-config implementation must not use the package for
               static linking.  (optional; dependency list)

       Conflicts
               Dependencies that must not be met for the package to be usable.  If any package in  the  proposed
               dependency  solution  match any dependency in the Conflicts list, the package being considered is
               not usable.  (optional; dependency list)

       Provides
               Dependencies that may be provided by an alternate package.  If a package  cannot  be  found,  the
               entire  package  collection  is  scanned  for providers which can match the requested dependency.
               (optional; dependency list; pkgconf extension)

   EXTENSIONS
       Features that have been marked as a pkgconf extension are  only  guaranteed  to  work  with  the  pkgconf
       implementation of pkg-config.  Other implementations may or may not support the extensions.

       Accordingly,  it  is  suggested  that  .pc  files  which  absolutely depend on these extensions declare a
       requirement on the pkgconf virtual.

EXAMPLES

       An example .pc file:

       # This is a comment
       prefix=/home/kaniini/pkg   # this defines a variable
       exec_prefix=${prefix}      # defining another variable with a substitution
       libdir=${exec_prefix}/lib
       includedir=${prefix}/include

       Name: libfoo                                  # human-readable name
       Description: an example library called libfoo # human-readable description
       Version: 1.0
       URL: http://www.pkgconf.org
       Requires: libbar > 2.0.0
       Conflicts: libbaz <= 3.0.0
       Libs: -L${libdir} -lfoo
       Libs.private: -lm
       Cflags: -I${includedir}/libfoo

SEE ALSO

       pkgconf(1), pkg.m4(7)

Debian                                          December 15, 2017                                          PC(5)