CTAGS CTAGS
NAME
ctags - Generates "tags" and (optionally) "refs" files
SYNOPSIS
ctags [-stvra] filesnames...
DESCRIPTION
ctags generates the "tags" and "refs" files from a group of
C source files. The "tags" file is used by Elvis' ":tag"
command, control-] command, and -t option. The "refs" file
is sometimes used by the ref(1) program.
Each C source file is scanned for #define statements and
global function definitions. The name of the macro or
function becomes the name of a tag. For each tag, a line is
added to the "tags" file which contains:
- the name of the tag
- a tab character
- the name of the file containing the tag
- a tab character
- a way to find the particular line within the file.
The filenames list will typically be the names of all C
source files in the current directory, like this:
$ ctags -stv *.[ch]
OPTIONS
-t Include typedefs. A tag will be generated for each
user-defined type. Also tags will be generated for
struct and enum names. Types are considered to be
global if they are defined in a header file, and static
if they are defined in a C source file.
-v Include variable declarations. A tag will be generated
for each variable, except for those that are declared
inside the body of a function.
-s Include static tags. Ctags will normally put global
tags in the "tags" file, and silently ignore the static
tags. This flag causes both global and static tags to
be added. The name of a static tag is generated by
prefixing the name of the declared item with the name
of the file where it is defined, with a colon in
between. For example, "static foo(){}" in "bar.c"
results in a tag named "bar.c:foo".
-r This causes ctags to generate both "tags" and "refs".
Without -r, it would only generate "tags".
-a Append to "tags", and maybe "refs". Normally, ctags
overwrites these files each time it is invoked. This
flag is useful when you have to many files in the
current directory for you to list them on a single
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CTAGS CTAGS
command-line; it allows you to split the arguments
among several invocations.
FILES
tags A cross-reference that lists each tag name, the name of
the source file that contains it, and a way to locate a
particular line in the source file.
refs The "refs" file contains the definitions for each tag
in the "tags" file, and very little else. This file
can be useful, for example, when licensing restrictions
prevent you from making the source code to the standard
C library readable by everybody, but you still
everybody to know what arguments the library functions
need.
BUGS
ctags is sensitive to indenting and line breaks.
Consequently, it might not discover all of the tags in a
file that is formatted in an unusual way.
SEE ALSO
elvis(1), refs(1)
AUTHOR
Steve Kirkendall
kirkenda@cs.pdx.edu
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