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This is Info file gperf.info, produced by Makeinfo version 1.68 from
the input file gperf.texi.
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Gperf: (gperf). Perfect Hash Function Generator.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
This file documents the features of the GNU Perfect Hash Function
Generator
Copyright (C) 1989-1998 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also
that the section entitled "GNU General Public License" is included
exactly as in the original, and provided that the entire resulting
derived work is distributed under the terms of a permission notice
identical to this one.
Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that the section entitled "GNU `gperf' General Public
License" and this permission notice may be included in translations
approved by the Free Software Foundation instead of in the original
English.

File: gperf.info, Node: Top, Next: Copying, Prev: (dir), Up: (dir)
Introduction
************
This manual documents the GNU `gperf' perfect hash function generator
utility, focusing on its features and how to use them, and how to report
bugs.
* Menu:
* Copying:: GNU `gperf' General Public License says
how you can copy and share `gperf'.
* Contributors:: People who have contributed to `gperf'.
* Motivation:: Static search structures and GNU GPERF.
* Search Structures:: Static search structures and GNU `gperf'
* Description:: High-level discussion of how GPERF functions.
* Options:: A description of options to the program.
* Bugs:: Known bugs and limitations with GPERF.
* Projects:: Things still left to do.
* Implementation:: Implementation Details for GNU GPERF.
* Bibliography:: Material Referenced in this Report.
-- The Detailed Node Listing --
High-Level Description of GNU `gperf'
* Input Format:: Input Format to `gperf'
* Output Format:: Output Format for Generated C Code with `gperf'
Input Format to `gperf'
* Declarations:: `struct' Declarations and C Code Inclusion.
* Keywords:: Format for Keyword Entries.
* Functions:: Including Additional C Functions.
Options to the `gperf' Utility
* Input Details:: Options that affect Interpretation of the Input File
* Output Language:: Specifying the Language for the Output Code
* Output Details:: Fine tuning Details in the Output Code
* Algorithmic Details:: Changing the Algorithms employed by `gperf'
* Verbosity:: Informative Output

File: gperf.info, Node: Copying, Next: Contributors, Prev: Top, Up: Top
GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE
**************************
Version 1, February 1989
Copyright (C) 1989 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies
of this license document, but changing it is not allowed.
Preamble
========
The license agreements of most software companies try to keep users
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When we speak of free software, we are referring to freedom, not
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We protect your rights with two steps: (1) copyright the software,
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Appendix: How to Apply These Terms to Your New Programs
=======================================================
If you develop a new program, and you want it to be of the greatest
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SIGNATURE OF TY COON, 1 April 1989
Ty Coon, President of Vice
That's all there is to it!

File: gperf.info, Node: Contributors, Next: Motivation, Prev: Copying, Up: Top
Contributors to GNU `gperf' Utility
***********************************
* The GNU `gperf' perfect hash function generator utility was
originally written in GNU C++ by Douglas C. Schmidt. It is now
also available in a highly-portable "old-style" C version. The
general idea for the perfect hash function generator was inspired
by Keith Bostic's algorithm written in C, and distributed to
net.sources around 1984. The current program is a heavily
modified, enhanced, and extended implementation of Keith's basic
idea, created at the University of California, Irvine. Bugs,
patches, and suggestions should be reported to
`<bug-gnu-utils@gnu.org>' and `<schmidt@ics.uci.edu>'.
* Special thanks is extended to Michael Tiemann and Doug Lea, for
providing a useful compiler, and for giving me a forum to exhibit
my creation.
In addition, Adam de Boor and Nels Olson provided many tips and
insights that greatly helped improve the quality and functionality
of `gperf'.

File: gperf.info, Node: Motivation, Next: Search Structures, Prev: Contributors, Up: Top
Introduction
************
`gperf' is a perfect hash function generator written in C++. It
transforms an N element user-specified keyword set W into a perfect
hash function F. F uniquely maps keywords in W onto the range 0..K,
where K >= N. If K = N then F is a *minimal* perfect hash function.
`gperf' generates a 0..K element static lookup table and a pair of C
functions. These functions determine whether a given character string
S occurs in W, using at most one probe into the lookup table.
`gperf' currently generates the reserved keyword recognizer for
lexical analyzers in several production and research compilers and
language processing tools, including GNU C, GNU C++, GNU Pascal, GNU
Modula 3, and GNU indent. Complete C++ source code for `gperf' is
available via anonymous ftp from `ics.uci.edu' and `ftp.santafe.edu'.
`gperf' was also distributed along with the GNU libg++ library for
several years. A highly portable, functionally equivalent K&R C
version of `gperf' is archived in comp.sources.unix, volume 20.
Finally, a paper describing `gperf''s design and implementation in
greater detail is available in the Second USENIX C++ Conference
proceedings.

File: gperf.info, Node: Search Structures, Next: Description, Prev: Motivation, Up: Top
Static search structures and GNU `gperf'
****************************************
A "static search structure" is an Abstract Data Type with certain
fundamental operations, e.g., *initialize*, *insert*, and *retrieve*.
Conceptually, all insertions occur before any retrievals. In practice,
`gperf' generates a `static' array containing search set keywords and
any associated attributes specified by the user. Thus, there is
essentially no execution-time cost for the insertions. It is a useful
data structure for representing *static search sets*. Static search
sets occur frequently in software system applications. Typical static
search sets include compiler reserved words, assembler instruction
opcodes, and built-in shell interpreter commands. Search set members,
called "keywords", are inserted into the structure only once, usually
during program initialization, and are not generally modified at
run-time.
Numerous static search structure implementations exist, e.g.,
arrays, linked lists, binary search trees, digital search tries, and
hash tables. Different approaches offer trade-offs between space
utilization and search time efficiency. For example, an N element
sorted array is space efficient, though the average-case time
complexity for retrieval operations using binary search is proportional
to log N. Conversely, hash table implementations often locate a table
entry in constant time, but typically impose additional memory overhead
and exhibit poor worst case performance.
*Minimal perfect hash functions* provide an optimal solution for a
particular class of static search sets. A minimal perfect hash
function is defined by two properties:
* It allows keyword recognition in a static search set using at most
*one* probe into the hash table. This represents the "perfect"
property.
* The actual memory allocated to store the keywords is precisely
large enough for the keyword set, and *no larger*. This is the
"minimal" property.
For most applications it is far easier to generate *perfect* hash
functions than *minimal perfect* hash functions. Moreover, non-minimal
perfect hash functions frequently execute faster than minimal ones in
practice. This phenomena occurs since searching a sparse keyword table
increases the probability of locating a "null" entry, thereby reducing
string comparisons. `gperf''s default behavior generates
*near-minimal* perfect hash functions for keyword sets. However,
`gperf' provides many options that permit user control over the degree
of minimality and perfection.
Static search sets often exhibit relative stability over time. For
example, Ada's 63 reserved words have remained constant for nearly a
decade. It is therefore frequently worthwhile to expend concerted
effort building an optimal search structure *once*, if it subsequently
receives heavy use multiple times. `gperf' removes the drudgery
associated with constructing time- and space-efficient search
structures by hand. It has proven a useful and practical tool for
serious programming projects. Output from `gperf' is currently used in
several production and research compilers, including GNU C, GNU C++,
GNU Pascal, and GNU Modula 3. The latter two compilers are not yet
part of the official GNU distribution. Each compiler utilizes `gperf'
to automatically generate static search structures that efficiently
identify their respective reserved keywords.

File: gperf.info, Node: Description, Next: Options, Prev: Search Structures, Up: Top
High-Level Description of GNU `gperf'
*************************************
* Menu:
* Input Format:: Input Format to `gperf'
* Output Format:: Output Format for Generated C Code with `gperf'
The perfect hash function generator `gperf' reads a set of
"keywords" from a "keyfile" (or from the standard input by default).
It attempts to derive a perfect hashing function that recognizes a
member of the "static keyword set" with at most a single probe into the
lookup table. If `gperf' succeeds in generating such a function it
produces a pair of C source code routines that perform hashing and
table lookup recognition. All generated C code is directed to the
standard output. Command-line options described below allow you to
modify the input and output format to `gperf'.
By default, `gperf' attempts to produce time-efficient code, with
less emphasis on efficient space utilization. However, several options
exist that permit trading-off execution time for storage space and vice
versa. In particular, expanding the generated table size produces a
sparse search structure, generally yielding faster searches.
Conversely, you can direct `gperf' to utilize a C `switch' statement
scheme that minimizes data space storage size. Furthermore, using a C
`switch' may actually speed up the keyword retrieval time somewhat.
Actual results depend on your C compiler, of course.
In general, `gperf' assigns values to the characters it is using for
hashing until some set of values gives each keyword a unique value. A
helpful heuristic is that the larger the hash value range, the easier
it is for `gperf' to find and generate a perfect hash function.
Experimentation is the key to getting the most from `gperf'.

File: gperf.info, Node: Input Format, Next: Output Format, Prev: Description, Up: Description
Input Format to `gperf'
=======================
You can control the input keyfile format by varying certain
command-line arguments, in particular the `-t' option. The input's
appearance is similar to GNU utilities `flex' and `bison' (or UNIX
utilities `lex' and `yacc'). Here's an outline of the general format:
declarations
%%
keywords
%%
functions
*Unlike* `flex' or `bison', all sections of `gperf''s input are
optional. The following sections describe the input format for each
section.
* Menu:
* Declarations:: `struct' Declarations and C Code Inclusion.
* Keywords:: Format for Keyword Entries.
* Functions:: Including Additional C Functions.

File: gperf.info, Node: Declarations, Next: Keywords, Prev: Input Format, Up: Input Format
`struct' Declarations and C Code Inclusion
------------------------------------------
The keyword input file optionally contains a section for including
arbitrary C declarations and definitions, as well as provisions for
providing a user-supplied `struct'. If the `-t' option *is* enabled,
you *must* provide a C `struct' as the last component in the
declaration section from the keyfile file. The first field in this
struct must be a `char *' identifier called `name', although it is
possible to modify this field's name with the `-K' option described
below.
Here is simple example, using months of the year and their
attributes as input:
struct months { char *name; int number; int days; int leap_days; };
%%
january, 1, 31, 31
february, 2, 28, 29
march, 3, 31, 31
april, 4, 30, 30
may, 5, 31, 31
june, 6, 30, 30
july, 7, 31, 31
august, 8, 31, 31
september, 9, 30, 30
october, 10, 31, 31
november, 11, 30, 30
december, 12, 31, 31
Separating the `struct' declaration from the list of key words and
other fields are a pair of consecutive percent signs, `%%', appearing
left justified in the first column, as in the UNIX utility `lex'.
Using a syntax similar to GNU utilities `flex' and `bison', it is
possible to directly include C source text and comments verbatim into
the generated output file. This is accomplished by enclosing the region
inside left-justified surrounding `%{', `%}' pairs. Here is an input
fragment based on the previous example that illustrates this feature:
%{
#include <assert.h>
/* This section of code is inserted directly into the output. */
int return_month_days (struct months *months, int is_leap_year);
%}
struct months { char *name; int number; int days; int leap_days; };
%%
january, 1, 31, 31
february, 2, 28, 29
march, 3, 31, 31
...
It is possible to omit the declaration section entirely. In this
case the keyfile begins directly with the first keyword line, e.g.:
january, 1, 31, 31
february, 2, 28, 29
march, 3, 31, 31
april, 4, 30, 30
...

File: gperf.info, Node: Keywords, Next: Functions, Prev: Declarations, Up: Input Format
Format for Keyword Entries
--------------------------
The second keyfile format section contains lines of keywords and any
associated attributes you might supply. A line beginning with `#' in
the first column is considered a comment. Everything following the `#'
is ignored, up to and including the following newline.
The first field of each non-comment line is always the key itself.
It should be given as a simple name, i.e., without surrounding string
quotation marks, and be left-justified flush against the first column.
In this context, a "field" is considered to extend up to, but not
include, the first blank, comma, or newline. Here is a simple example
taken from a partial list of C reserved words:
# These are a few C reserved words, see the c.`gperf' file
# for a complete list of ANSI C reserved words.
unsigned
sizeof
switch
signed
if
default
for
while
return
Note that unlike `flex' or `bison' the first `%%' marker may be
elided if the declaration section is empty.
Additional fields may optionally follow the leading keyword. Fields
should be separated by commas, and terminate at the end of line. What
these fields mean is entirely up to you; they are used to initialize the
elements of the user-defined `struct' provided by you in the
declaration section. If the `-t' option is *not* enabled these fields
are simply ignored. All previous examples except the last one contain
keyword attributes.

File: gperf.info, Node: Functions, Prev: Keywords, Up: Input Format
Including Additional C Functions
--------------------------------
The optional third section also corresponds closely with conventions
found in `flex' and `bison'. All text in this section, starting at the
final `%%' and extending to the end of the input file, is included
verbatim into the generated output file. Naturally, it is your
responsibility to ensure that the code contained in this section is
valid C.

File: gperf.info, Node: Output Format, Prev: Input Format, Up: Description
Output Format for Generated C Code with `gperf'
===============================================
Several options control how the generated C code appears on the
standard output. Two C function are generated. They are called `hash'
and `in_word_set', although you may modify the name for `in_word_set'
with a command-line option. Both functions require two arguments, a
string, `char *' STR, and a length parameter, `int' LEN. Their default
function prototypes are as follows:
static int hash (char *str, int len);
int in_word_set (char *str, int len);
By default, the generated `hash' function returns an integer value
created by adding LEN to several user-specified STR key positions
indexed into an "associated values" table stored in a local static
array. The associated values table is constructed internally by
`gperf' and later output as a static local C array called HASH_TABLE;
its meaning and properties are described below. *Note
Implementation::. The relevant key positions are specified via the `-k'
option when running `gperf', as detailed in the *Options* section
below. *Note Options::.
Two options, `-g' (assume you are compiling with GNU C and its
`inline' feature) and `-a' (assume ANSI C-style function prototypes),
alter the content of both the generated `hash' and `in_word_set'
routines. However, function `in_word_set' may be modified more
extensively, in response to your option settings. The options that
affect the `in_word_set' structure are:
`-t'
Make use of the user-defined `struct'.
`-S TOTAL SWITCH STATEMENTS'
Generate 1 or more C `switch' statement rather than use a
large, (and potentially sparse) static array. Although the
exact time and space savings of this approach vary according
to your C compiler's degree of optimization, this method
often results in smaller and faster code.
If the `-t' and `-S' options are omitted, the default action is to
generate a `char *' array containing the keys, together with additional
null strings used for padding the array. By experimenting with the
various input and output options, and timing the resulting C code, you
can determine the best option choices for different keyword set
characteristics.

File: gperf.info, Node: Options, Next: Input Details, Prev: Description, Up: Top
Options to the `gperf' Utility
******************************
There are *many* options to `gperf'. They were added to make the
program more convenient for use with real applications. "On-line" help
is readily available via the `-h' option. Here is the complete list of
options.
* Menu:
* Input Details:: Options that affect Interpretation of the Input File
* Output Language:: Specifying the Language for the Output Code
* Output Details:: Fine tuning Details in the Output Code
* Algorithmic Details:: Changing the Algorithms employed by `gperf'
* Verbosity:: Informative Output

File: gperf.info, Node: Input Details, Next: Output Language, Prev: Options, Up: Options
Options that affect Interpretation of the Input File
====================================================
`-e KEYWORD DELIMITER LIST'
Allows the user to provide a string containing delimiters
used to separate keywords from their attributes. The default
is ",\n". This option is essential if you want to use
keywords that have embedded commas or newlines. One useful
trick is to use -e'TAB', where TAB is the literal tab
character.
`-t'
Allows you to include a `struct' type declaration for
generated code. Any text before a pair of consecutive %% is
consider part of the type declaration. Key words and
additional fields may follow this, one group of fields per
line. A set of examples for generating perfect hash tables
and functions for Ada, C, and G++, Pascal, and Modula 2 and 3
reserved words are distributed with this release.

File: gperf.info, Node: Output Language, Next: Output Details, Prev: Input Details, Up: Options
Options to specify the Language for the Output Code
===================================================
`-L GENERATED LANGUAGE NAME'
Instructs `gperf' to generate code in the language specified
by the option's argument. Languages handled are currently:
`KR-C'
Old-style K&R C. This language is understood by
old-style C compilers and ANSI C compilers, but
ANSI C compilers may flag warnings (or even errors)
because of lacking `const'.
`C'
Common C. This language is understood by ANSI C
compilers, and also by old-style C compilers,
provided that you `#define const' to empty for
compilers which don't know about this keyword.
`ANSI-C'
ANSI C. This language is understood by ANSI C
compilers and C++ compilers.
`C++'
C++. This language is understood by C++ compilers.
The default is C.
`-a'
This option is supported for compatibility with previous
releases of `gperf'. It does not do anything.
`-g'
This option is supported for compatibility with previous
releases of `gperf'. It does not do anything.

File: gperf.info, Node: Output Details, Next: Algorithmic Details, Prev: Output Language, Up: Options
Options for fine tuning Details in the Output Code
==================================================
`-K KEY NAME'
This option is only useful when option `-t' has been given.
By default, the program assumes the structure component
identifier for the keyword is `name'. This option allows an
arbitrary choice of identifier for this component, although
it still must occur as the first field in your supplied
`struct'.
`-H HASH FUNCTION NAME'
Allows you to specify the name for the generated hash
function. Default name is `hash'. This option permits the
use of two hash tables in the same file.
`-N LOOKUP FUNCTION NAME'
Allows you to specify the name for the generated lookup
function. Default name is `in_word_set'. This option
permits completely automatic generation of perfect hash
functions, especially when multiple generated hash functions
are used in the same application.
`-Z CLASS NAME'
This option is only useful when option `-L C++' has been
given. It allows you to specify the name of generated C++
class. Default name is `Perfect_Hash'.
`-7'
This option specifies that all strings that will be passed as
arguments to the generated hash function and the generated
lookup function will solely consist of 7-bit ASCII characters
(characters in the range 0..127). (Note that the ANSI C
functions `isalnum' and `isgraph' do *not* guarantee that a
character is in this range. Only an explicit test like `c >=
'A' && c <= 'Z'' guarantees this.) This was the default in
earlier versions of `gperf'; now the default is to assume
8-bit characters.
`-c'
Generates C code that uses the `strncmp' function to perform
string comparisons. The default action is to use `strcmp'.
`-C'
Makes the contents of all generated lookup tables constant,
i.e., "readonly". Many compilers can generate more efficient
code for this by putting the tables in readonly memory.
`-E'
Define constant values using an enum local to the lookup
function rather than with #defines. This also means that
different lookup functions can reside in the same file.
Thanks to James Clark `<jjc@ai.mit.edu>'.
`-I'
Include the necessary system include file, `<string.h>', at
the beginning of the code. By default, this is not done; the
user must include this header file himself to allow
compilation of the code.
`-G'
Generate the static table of keywords as a static global
variable, rather than hiding it inside of the lookup function
(which is the default behavior).
`-W HASH TABLE ARRAY NAME'
Allows you to specify the name for the generated array
containing the hash table. Default name is `wordlist'. This
option permits the use of two hash tables in the same file,
even when the option `-G' is given.
`-S TOTAL SWITCH STATEMENTS'
Causes the generated C code to use a `switch' statement
scheme, rather than an array lookup table. This can lead to
a reduction in both time and space requirements for some
keyfiles. The argument to this option determines how many
`switch' statements are generated. A value of 1 generates 1
`switch' containing all the elements, a value of 2 generates
2 tables with 1/2 the elements in each `switch', etc. This
is useful since many C compilers cannot correctly generate
code for large `switch' statements. This option was inspired
in part by Keith Bostic's original C program.
`-T'
Prevents the transfer of the type declaration to the output
file. Use this option if the type is already defined
elsewhere.
`-p'
This option is supported for compatibility with previous
releases of `gperf'. It does not do anything.

File: gperf.info, Node: Algorithmic Details, Next: Verbosity, Prev: Output Details, Up: Options
Options for changing the Algorithms employed by `gperf'
=======================================================
`-k KEYS'
Allows selection of the character key positions used in the
keywords' hash function. The allowable choices range between
1-126, inclusive. The positions are separated by commas,
e.g., `-k 9,4,13,14'; ranges may be used, e.g., `-k 2-7'; and
positions may occur in any order. Furthermore, the
meta-character '*' causes the generated hash function to
consider *all* character positions in each key, whereas '$'
instructs the hash function to use the "final character" of a
key (this is the only way to use a character position greater
than 126, incidentally).
For instance, the option `-k 1,2,4,6-10,'$'' generates a hash
function that considers positions 1,2,4,6,7,8,9,10, plus the
last character in each key (which may differ for each key,
obviously). Keys with length less than the indicated key
positions work properly, since selected key positions
exceeding the key length are simply not referenced in the
hash function.
`-l'
Compare key lengths before trying a string comparison. This
might cut down on the number of string comparisons made
during the lookup, since keys with different lengths are
never compared via `strcmp'. However, using `-l' might
greatly increase the size of the generated C code if the
lookup table range is large (which implies that the switch
option `-S' is not enabled), since the length table contains
as many elements as there are entries in the lookup table.
`-D'
Handle keywords whose key position sets hash to duplicate
values. Duplicate hash values occur for two reasons:
* Since `gperf' does not backtrack it is possible for it
to process all your input keywords without finding a
unique mapping for each word. However, frequently only
a very small number of duplicates occur, and the
majority of keys still require one probe into the table.
* Sometimes a set of keys may have the same names, but
possess different attributes. With the -D option
`gperf' treats all these keys as part of an equivalence
class and generates a perfect hash function with multiple
comparisons for duplicate keys. It is up to you to
completely disambiguate the keywords by modifying the
generated C code. However, `gperf' helps you out by
organizing the output.
Option `-D' is extremely useful for certain large or highly
redundant keyword sets, e.g., assembler instruction opcodes.
Using this option usually means that the generated hash
function is no longer perfect. On the other hand, it permits
`gperf' to work on keyword sets that it otherwise could not
handle.
`-f ITERATION AMOUNT'
Generate the perfect hash function "fast". This decreases
`gperf''s running time at the cost of minimizing generated
table-size. The iteration amount represents the number of
times to iterate when resolving a collision. `0' means
iterate by the number of keywords. This option is probably
most useful when used in conjunction with options `-D' and/or
`-S' for *large* keyword sets.
`-i INITIAL VALUE'
Provides an initial VALUE for the associate values array.
Default is 0. Increasing the initial value helps inflate the
final table size, possibly leading to more time efficient
keyword lookups. Note that this option is not particularly
useful when `-S' is used. Also, `-i' is overriden when the
`-r' option is used.
`-j JUMP VALUE'
Affects the "jump value", i.e., how far to advance the
associated character value upon collisions. JUMP VALUE is
rounded up to an odd number, the default is 5. If the JUMP
VALUE is 0 `gperf' jumps by random amounts.
`-n'
Instructs the generator not to include the length of a
keyword when computing its hash value. This may save a few
assembly instructions in the generated lookup table.
`-o'
Reorders the keywords by sorting the keywords so that
frequently occuring key position set components appear first.
A second reordering pass follows so that keys with "already
determined values" are placed towards the front of the
keylist. This may decrease the time required to generate a
perfect hash function for many keyword sets, and also produce
more minimal perfect hash functions. The reason for this is
that the reordering helps prune the search time by handling
inevitable collisions early in the search process. On the
other hand, if the number of keywords is *very* large using
`-o' may *increase* `gperf''s execution time, since
collisions will begin earlier and continue throughout the
remainder of keyword processing. See Cichelli's paper from
the January 1980 Communications of the ACM for details.
`-r'
Utilizes randomness to initialize the associated values
table. This frequently generates solutions faster than using
deterministic initialization (which starts all associated
values at 0). Furthermore, using the randomization option
generally increases the size of the table. If `gperf' has
difficultly with a certain keyword set try using `-r' or `-D'.
`-s SIZE-MULTIPLE'
Affects the size of the generated hash table. The numeric
argument for this option indicates "how many times larger or
smaller" the maximum associated value range should be, in
relationship to the number of keys. If the SIZE-MULTIPLE is
negative the maximum associated value is calculated by
*dividing* it into the total number of keys. For example, a
value of 3 means "allow the maximum associated value to be
about 3 times larger than the number of input keys".
Conversely, a value of -3 means "allow the maximum associated
value to be about 3 times smaller than the number of input
keys". Negative values are useful for limiting the overall
size of the generated hash table, though this usually
increases the number of duplicate hash values.
If `generate switch' option `-S' is *not* enabled, the maximum
associated value influences the static array table size, and
a larger table should decrease the time required for an
unsuccessful search, at the expense of extra table space.
The default value is 1, thus the default maximum associated
value about the same size as the number of keys (for
efficiency, the maximum associated value is always rounded up
to a power of 2). The actual table size may vary somewhat,
since this technique is essentially a heuristic. In
particular, setting this value too high slows down `gperf''s
runtime, since it must search through a much larger range of
values. Judicious use of the `-f' option helps alleviate this
overhead, however.

File: gperf.info, Node: Verbosity, Next: Bugs, Prev: Algorithmic Details, Up: Options
Informative Output
==================
`-h'
Prints a short summary on the meaning of each program option.
Aborts further program execution.
`-v'
Prints out the current version number.
`-d'
Enables the debugging option. This produces verbose
diagnostics to "standard error" when `gperf' is executing.
It is useful both for maintaining the program and for
determining whether a given set of options is actually
speeding up the search for a solution. Some useful
information is dumped at the end of the program when the `-d'
option is enabled.

File: gperf.info, Node: Bugs, Next: Projects, Prev: Verbosity, Up: Top
Known Bugs and Limitations with `gperf'
***************************************
The following are some limitations with the current release of
`gperf':
* The `gperf' utility is tuned to execute quickly, and works quickly
for small to medium size data sets (around 1000 keywords). It is
extremely useful for maintaining perfect hash functions for
compiler keyword sets. Several recent enhancements now enable
`gperf' to work efficiently on much larger keyword sets (over
15,000 keywords). When processing large keyword sets it helps
greatly to have over 8 megs of RAM.
However, since `gperf' does not backtrack no guaranteed solution
occurs on every run. On the other hand, it is usually easy to
obtain a solution by varying the option parameters. In
particular, try the `-r' option, and also try changing the default
arguments to the `-s' and `-j' options. To *guarantee* a
solution, use the `-D' and `-S' options, although the final
results are not likely to be a *perfect* hash function anymore!
Finally, use the `-f' option if you want `gperf' to generate the
perfect hash function *fast*, with less emphasis on making it
minimal.
* The size of the generate static keyword array can get *extremely*
large if the input keyword file is large or if the keywords are
quite similar. This tends to slow down the compilation of the
generated C code, and *greatly* inflates the object code size. If
this situation occurs, consider using the `-S' option to reduce
data size, potentially increasing keyword recognition time a
negligible amount. Since many C compilers cannot correctly
generated code for large switch statements it is important to
qualify the -S option with an appropriate numerical argument that
controls the number of switch statements generated.
* The maximum number of key positions selected for a given key has an
arbitrary limit of 126. This restriction should be removed, and if
anyone considers this a problem write me and let me know so I can
remove the constraint.

File: gperf.info, Node: Projects, Next: Implementation, Prev: Bugs, Up: Top
Things Still Left to Do
***********************
It should be "relatively" easy to replace the current perfect hash
function algorithm with a more exhaustive approach; the perfect hash
module is essential independent from other program modules. Additional
worthwhile improvements include:
* Make the algorithm more robust. At present, the program halts
with an error diagnostic if it can't find a direct solution and
the `-D' option is not enabled. A more comprehensive, albeit
computationally expensive, approach would employ backtracking or
enable alternative options and retry. It's not clear how helpful
this would be, in general, since most search sets are rather small
in practice.
* Another useful extension involves modifying the program to generate
"minimal" perfect hash functions (under certain circumstances, the
current version can be rather extravagant in the generated table
size). Again, this is mostly of theoretical interest, since a
sparse table often produces faster lookups, and use of the `-S'
`switch' option can minimize the data size, at the expense of
slightly longer lookups (note that the gcc compiler generally
produces good code for `switch' statements, reducing the need for
more complex schemes).
* In addition to improving the algorithm, it would also be useful to
generate a C++ class or Ada package as the code output, in
addition to the current C routines.

File: gperf.info, Node: Implementation, Next: Bibliography, Prev: Projects, Up: Top
Implementation Details of GNU `gperf'
*************************************
A paper describing the high-level description of the data structures
and algorithms used to implement `gperf' will soon be available. This
paper is useful not only from a maintenance and enhancement perspective,
but also because they demonstrate several clever and useful programming
techniques, e.g., `Iteration Number' boolean arrays, double hashing, a
"safe" and efficient method for reading arbitrarily long input from a
file, and a provably optimal algorithm for simultaneously determining
both the minimum and maximum elements in a list.

File: gperf.info, Node: Bibliography, Prev: Implementation, Up: Top
Bibliography
************
[1] Chang, C.C.: A Scheme for Constructing Ordered Minimal Perfect
Hashing Functions Information Sciences 39(1986), 187-195.
[2] Cichelli, Richard J. Author's Response to "On Cichelli's Minimal
Perfect Hash Functions Method" Communications of the ACM, 23,
12(December 1980), 729.
[3] Cichelli, Richard J. Minimal Perfect Hash Functions Made Simple
Communications of the ACM, 23, 1(January 1980), 17-19.
[4] Cook, C. R. and Oldehoeft, R.R. A Letter Oriented Minimal
Perfect Hashing Function SIGPLAN Notices, 17, 9(September 1982), 18-27.
[5] Cormack, G. V. and Horspool, R. N. S. and Kaiserwerth, M.
Practical Perfect Hashing Computer Journal, 28, 1(January 1985), 54-58.
[6] Jaeschke, G. Reciprocal Hashing: A Method for Generating Minimal
Perfect Hashing Functions Communications of the ACM, 24, 12(December
1981), 829-833.
[7] Jaeschke, G. and Osterburg, G. On Cichelli's Minimal Perfect
Hash Functions Method Communications of the ACM, 23, 12(December 1980),
728-729.
[8] Sager, Thomas J. A Polynomial Time Generator for Minimal Perfect
Hash Functions Communications of the ACM, 28, 5(December 1985), 523-532
[9] Schmidt, Douglas C. GPERF: A Perfect Hash Function Generator
Second USENIX C++ Conference Proceedings, April 1990.
[10] Sebesta, R.W. and Taylor, M.A. Minimal Perfect Hash Functions
for Reserved Word Lists SIGPLAN Notices, 20, 12(September 1985), 47-53.
[11] Sprugnoli, R. Perfect Hashing Functions: A Single Probe
Retrieving Method for Static Sets Communications of the ACM, 20
11(November 1977), 841-850.
[12] Stallman, Richard M. Using and Porting GNU CC Free Software
Foundation, 1988.
[13] Stroustrup, Bjarne The C++ Programming Language.
Addison-Wesley, 1986.
[14] Tiemann, Michael D. User's Guide to GNU C++ Free Software
Foundation, 1989.

Tag Table:
Node: Top1228
Node: Copying2845
Node: Contributors16148
Node: Motivation17279
Node: Search Structures18560
Node: Description22105
Node: Input Format23925
Node: Declarations24720
Node: Keywords27025
Node: Functions28614
Node: Output Format29108
Node: Options31474
Node: Input Details32192
Node: Output Language33268
Node: Output Details34742
Node: Algorithmic Details39066
Node: Verbosity46861
Node: Bugs47612
Node: Projects49842
Node: Implementation51419
Node: Bibliography52136

End Tag Table
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