NAME
mkbundle, mkbundle2 - Creates a bundled executable.
SYNOPSIS
mkbundle [options] assembly1 [assembly2 ...]
DESCRIPTION
mkbundle generates an executable program that will contain static
copies of the assemblies listed on the command line. By default only
the assemblies specified in the command line will be included in the
bundle. To automatically include all of the dependencies referenced,
use the "--deps" command line option.
Use mkbundle when you want the startup runtime to load the 1.0 profile,
and use mkbundle2 when you want the startup runtime to load the 2.0
profile.
For example, to create a bundle for hello world, use the following
command:
$ mkbundle -o hello hello.exe
The above will pull hello.exe into a native program called "hello".
Notice that the produced image still contains the CIL image and no
precompilation is done.
In addition, it is possible to control whether mkbundle should compile
the resulting executable or not with the -c option. This is useful if
you want to link additional libraries or control the generated output
in more detail. For example, this could be used to link some libraries
statically:
$ mkbundle -c -o host.c -oo bundles.o --deps hello.exe
$ cc host.c bundles.o /usr/lib/libmono.a -lc -lrt
You may also use mkbundle to generate a bundle you can use when
embedding the Mono runtime in a native application. In that case, use
both the -c and --nomain options. The resulting host.c file will not
have a main() function. Call mono_mkbundle_init() before initializing
the JIT in your code so that the bundled assemblies are available to
the embedded runtime.
OPTIONS
-c Produce the stub file, do not compile the resulting stub.
-o filename
Places the output on `out'. If the flag -c is specified, this
is the C host program. If not, this contains the resulting
executable.
-oo filename
Specifies the name to be used for the helper object file that
contains the bundle.
-L path
Adds the `path' do the search list for assemblies. The rules
are the same as for the compiler -lib: or -L flags.
Specifies that a machine.config file must be bundled as well.
Typically this is $prefix/etc/mono/1.0/machine.config or
$prefix/etc/mono/2.0/machine.config depending on the profile
that you are using (1.0 or 2.0)
--nodeps
This is the default: mkbundle will only include the assemblies
that were specified on the command line to reduce the size of
the resulting image created.
--deps This option will bundle all of the referenced assemblies for the
assemblies listed on the command line option. This is useful to
distribute a self-contained image.
--keeptemp
By default mkbundle will delete the temporary files that it uses
to produce the bundle. This option keeps the file around.
--machine-config FILE
Uses the given FILE as the machine.config file for the generated
application.
--nomain
With the -c option, generate the host stub without a main()
function.
--config-dir DIR
When passed, DIR will be set for the MONO_CFG_DIR environment
variable
--static
By default mkbundle dynamically links to mono and glib. This
option causes it to statically link instead.
Important:
Since the Mono runtime is licensed under the LGPL, even if you
use static you should transfer the component pieces of the
mkbundle to your users so they are able to upgrade the Mono
runtime on their own.
If you want to use this for commercial licenses, you must obtain a
proprietary license for Mono from mono@novell.com
-z Compresses the assemblies before embedding. This results in
smaller executable files, but increases startup time and
requires zlib to be installed on the target system.
WINDOWS
On Windows systems, it it necessary to have Unix-like toolchain to be
installed for mkbundle to work. You can use cygwin's and install gcc,
gcc-mingw and as packages.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
AS Assembler command. The default is "as".
CC C compiler command. The default is "cc" under Linux and "gcc
-mno-cygwin" under Windows.
MONO_BUNDLED_OPTIONS
Options to be passed to the bundled Mono runtime, separated by
spaces. See the mono(1) manual page or run mono --help.
FILES
This program will load referenced assemblies from the Mono assembly
cache.
BUGS
The option "--static" is not supported under Windows. Moreover, a full
cygwin environment containing at least "gcc" and "as" is required for
the build process. The generated executable does not depend on cygwin.
MAILING LISTS
Visit http://lists.ximian.com/mailman/listinfo/mono-devel-list for
details.
WEB SITE
Visit: http://www.mono-project.com for details
SEE ALSO
mcs(1),mono(1),mono-config(5).
mkbundle(mkbundle 1.0)