--- App-Staticperl/staticperl.pod	2010/12/10 02:35:54	1.18
+++ App-Staticperl/staticperl.pod	2011/02/11 01:05:37	1.36
@@ -42,6 +42,10 @@
 that contains perl and 100 modules such as POSIX, AnyEvent, EV, IO::AIO,
 Coro and so on. Or any other choice of modules.
 
+To see how this turns out, you can try out smallperl and bigperl, two
+pre-built static and compressed perl binaries with many and even more
+modules: just follow the links at L<http://staticperl.schmorp.de/>.
+
 The created files do not need write access to the file system (like PAR
 does). In fact, since this script is in many ways similar to PAR::Packer,
 here are the differences:
@@ -120,10 +124,12 @@
 =head1 THE F<STATICPERL> SCRIPT
 
 This module installs a script called F<staticperl> into your perl
-binary directory. The script is fully self-contained, and can be used
-without perl (for example, in an uClibc chroot environment). In fact,
-it can be extracted from the C<App::Staticperl> distribution tarball as
-F<bin/staticperl>, without any installation.
+binary directory. The script is fully self-contained, and can be
+used without perl (for example, in an uClibc chroot environment). In
+fact, it can be extracted from the C<App::Staticperl> distribution
+tarball as F<bin/staticperl>, without any installation. The
+newest (possibly alpha) version can also be downloaded from
+L<http://staticperl.schmorp.de/staticperl>.
 
 F<staticperl> interprets the first argument as a command to execute,
 optionally followed by any parameters.
@@ -135,7 +141,7 @@
 =head2 PHASE 1 COMMANDS: INSTALLING PERL
 
 The most important command is F<install>, which does basically
-everything. The default is to download and install perl 5.12.2 and a few
+everything. The default is to download and install perl 5.12.3 and a few
 modules required by F<staticperl> itself, but all this can (and should) be
 changed - see L<CONFIGURATION>, below.
 
@@ -143,18 +149,27 @@
 
    staticperl install
 
-Is normally all you need: It installs the perl interpreter in
+is normally all you need: It installs the perl interpreter in
 F<~/.staticperl/perl>. It downloads, configures, builds and installs the
 perl interpreter if required.
 
-Most of the following commands simply run one or more steps of this
-sequence.
+Most of the following F<staticperl> subcommands simply run one or more
+steps of this sequence.
+
+If it fails, then most commonly because the compiler options I selected
+are not supported by your compiler - either edit the F<staticperl> script
+yourself or create F<~/.staticperl> shell script where your set working
+C<PERL_CCFLAGS> etc. variables.
 
 To force recompilation or reinstallation, you need to run F<staticperl
 distclean> first.
 
 =over 4
 
+=item F<staticperl version>
+
+Prints some info about the version of the F<staticperl> script you are using.
+
 =item F<staticperl fetch>
 
 Runs only the download and unpack phase, unless this has already happened.
@@ -201,11 +216,12 @@
 
 Deletes the perl source directory (and potentially cleans up other
 intermediate files). This can be used to clean up files only needed for
-building perl, without removing the installed perl interpreter, or to
-force a re-build from scratch.
+building perl, without removing the installed perl interpreter.
 
 At the moment, it doesn't delete downloaded tarballs.
 
+The exact semantics of this command will probably change.
+
 =item F<staticperl distclean>
 
 This wipes your complete F<~/.staticperl> directory. Be careful with this,
@@ -264,20 +280,54 @@
    # run it
    ./app
 
+Here are the three phase 2 commands:
+
+=over 4
+
+=item F<staticperl mkbundle> args...
+
+The "default" bundle command - it interprets the given bundle options and
+writes out F<bundle.h>, F<bundle.c>, F<bundle.ccopts> and F<bundle.ldopts>
+files, useful for embedding.
+
+=item F<staticperl mkperl> args...
+
+Creates a bundle just like F<staticperl mkbundle> (in fact, it's the same
+as invoking F<staticperl mkbundle --perl> args...), but then compiles and
+links a new perl interpreter that embeds the created bundle, then deletes
+all intermediate files.
+
+=item F<staticperl mkapp> filename args...
+
+Does the same as F<staticperl mkbundle> (in fact, it's the same as
+invoking F<staticperl mkbundle --app> filename args...), but then compiles
+and links a new standalone application that simply initialises the perl
+interpreter.
+
+The difference to F<staticperl mkperl> is that the standalone application
+does not act like a perl interpreter would - in fact, by default it would
+just do nothing and exit immediately, so you should specify some code to
+be executed via the F<--boot> option.
+
+=back
+
 =head3 OPTION PROCESSING
 
 All options can be given as arguments on the command line (typically
 using long (e.g. C<--verbose>) or short option (e.g. C<-v>) style). Since
-specifying a lot of modules can make the command line very cumbersome,
-you can put all long options into a "bundle specification file" (with or
-without C<--> prefix) and specify this bundle file instead.
+specifying a lot of options can make the command line very long and
+unwieldy, you can put all long options into a "bundle specification file"
+(one option per line, with or without C<--> prefix) and specify this
+bundle file instead.
 
-For example, the command given earlier could also look like this:
+For example, the command given earlier to link a new F<perl> could also
+look like this:
 
    staticperl mkperl httpd.bundle
 
-And all options could be in F<httpd.bundle>:
-   
+With all options stored in the F<httpd.bundle> file (one option per line,
+everything after the option is an argument):
+
    use "Config_heavy.pl"
    use AnyEvent::Impl::Perl
    use AnyEvent::HTTPD
@@ -285,92 +335,70 @@
    add eg/httpd httpd.pm
 
 All options that specify modules or files to be added are processed in the
-order given on the command line (that affects the C<--use> and C<--eval>
-options at the moment).
-
-=head3 MKBUNDLE OPTIONS
-
-=over 4
-
-=item --verbose | -v
+order given on the command line.
 
-Increases the verbosity level by one (the default is C<1>).
+=head3 BUNDLE CREATION WORKFLOW / STATICPELR MKBUNDLE OPTIONS
 
-=item --quiet | -q
-
-Decreases the verbosity level by one.
-
-=item --strip none|pod|ppi
-
-Specify the stripping method applied to reduce the file of the perl
-sources included.
+F<staticperl mkbundle> works by first assembling a list of candidate
+files and modules to include, then filtering them by include/exclude
+patterns. The remaining modules (together with their direct dependencies,
+such as link libraries and L<AutoLoader> files) are then converted into
+bundle files suitable for embedding. F<staticperl mkbundle> can then
+optionally build a new perl interpreter or a standalone application.
 
-The default is C<pod>, which uses the L<Pod::Strip> module to remove all
-pod documentation, which is very fast and reduces file size a lot.
+=over 4
 
-The C<ppi> method uses L<PPI> to parse and condense the perl sources. This
-saves a lot more than just L<Pod::Strip>, and is generally safer,
-but is also a lot slower (some files take almost a minute to strip -
-F<staticperl> maintains a cache of stripped files to speed up subsequent
-runs for this reason). Note that this method doesn't optimise for raw file
-size, but for best compression (that means that the uncompressed file size
-is a bit larger, but the files compress better, e.g. with F<upx>).
+=item Step 0: Generic argument processing.
 
-Last not least, if you need accurate line numbers in error messages,
-or in the unlikely case where C<pod> is too slow, or some module gets
-mistreated, you can specify C<none> to not mangle included perl sources in
-any way.
+The following options influence F<staticperl mkbundle> itself.
 
-=item --perl
+=over 4
 
-After writing out the bundle files, try to link a new perl interpreter. It
-will be called F<perl> and will be left in the current working
-directory. The bundle files will be removed.
+=item C<--verbose> | C<-v>
 
-This switch is automatically used when F<staticperl> is invoked with the
-C<mkperl> command (instead of C<mkbundle>):
+Increases the verbosity level by one (the default is C<1>).
 
-   # build a new ./perl with only common::sense in it - very small :)
-   staticperl mkperl -Mcommon::sense
+=item C<--quiet> | C<-q>
 
-=item --app name
+Decreases the verbosity level by one.
 
-After writing out the bundle files, try to link a new standalone
-program. It will be called C<name>, and the bundle files get removed after
-linking it.
+=item any other argument
 
-The difference to the (mutually exclusive) C<--perl> option is that the
-binary created by this option will not try to act as a perl interpreter -
-instead it will simply initialise the perl interpreter, clean it up and
-exit.
+Any other argument is interpreted as a bundle specification file, which
+supports all options (without extra quoting), one option per line, in the
+format C<option> or C<option argument>. They will effectively be expanded
+and processed as if they were directly written on the command line, in
+place of the file name.
 
-This switch is automatically used when F<staticperl> is invoked with the
-C<mkapp> command (instead of C<mkbundle>):
+=back
 
-To let it do something useful you I<must> add some boot code, e.g. with
-the C<--boot> option.
+=item Step 1: gather candidate files and modules
 
-Example: create a standalone perl binary that will execute F<appfile> when
-it is started.
+In this step, modules, perl libraries (F<.pl> files) and other files are
+selected for inclusion in the bundle. The relevant options are executed
+in order (this makes a difference mostly for C<--eval>, which can rely on
+earlier C<--use> options to have been executed).
 
-   staticperl mkbundle --app myexe --boot appfile
+=over 4
 
-=item --use module | -Mmodule
+=item C<--use> F<module> | C<-M>F<module>
 
-Include the named module and all direct dependencies. This is done by
-C<require>'ing the module in a subprocess and tracing which other modules
-and files it actually loads. If the module uses L<AutoLoader>, then all
-splitfiles will be included as well.
+Include the named module and trace direct dependencies. This is done by
+C<use>'ing the module from a fresh package in a subprocess and tracing
+which other modules and files it actually loads.
 
 Example: include AnyEvent and AnyEvent::Impl::Perl.
 
    staticperl mkbundle --use AnyEvent --use AnyEvent::Impl::Perl
 
-Sometimes you want to load old-style "perl libraries" (F<.pl> files), or
-maybe other weirdly named files. To do that, you need to quote the name in
-single or double quotes. When given on the command line, you probably need
-to quote once more to avoid your shell interpreting it. Common cases that
-need this are F<Config_heavy.pl> and F<utf8_heavy.pl>.
+Sometimes you want to load old-style "perl libraries" (F<.pl> files),
+or maybe other weirdly named files. To do that, you need to quote
+the name in single or double quotes (this is because F<staticperl>
+I<literally> just adds the string after the C<require> - which acts
+different when confronted with quoted vs. unquoted strings). When given on
+the command line, you probably need to quote once more to avoid your shell
+interpreting it. Common cases that need this are F<Config_heavy.pl> and
+F<utf8_heavy.pl>.
 
 Example: include the required files for F<perl -V> to work in all its
 glory (F<Config.pm> is included automatically by this).
@@ -381,21 +409,22 @@
    # bundle specification file
    use "Config_heavy.pl"
 
-The C<-Mmodule> syntax is included as an alias that might be easier to
-remember than C<use>. Or maybe it confuses people. Time will tell. Or
-maybe not. Argh.
+The C<-M>module syntax is included as a convenience that might be easier
+to remember than C<--use> - it's the same switch as perl itself uses
+to load modules. Or maybe it confuses people. Time will tell. Or maybe
+not. Sigh.
 
-=item --eval "perl code" | -e "perl code"
+=item C<--eval> "perl code" | C<-e> "perl code"
 
 Sometimes it is easier (or necessary) to specify dependencies using perl
 code, or maybe one of the modules you use need a special use statement. In
-that case, you can use C<eval> to execute some perl snippet or set some
-variables or whatever you need. All files C<require>'d or C<use>'d in the
-script are included in the final bundle.
-
-Keep in mind that F<mkbundle> will only C<require> the modules named
-by the C<--use> option, so do not expect the symbols from modules you
-C<--use>'d earlier on the command line to be available.
+that case, you can use C<--eval> to execute some perl snippet or set some
+variables or whatever you need. All files C<require>'d or C<use>'d while
+executing the snippet are included in the final bundle.
+
+Keep in mind that F<mkbundle> will not import any symbols from the modules
+named by the C<--use> option, so do not expect the symbols from modules
+you C<--use>'d earlier on the command line to be available.
 
 Example: force L<AnyEvent> to detect a backend and therefore include it
 in the final bundle.
@@ -403,96 +432,278 @@
    staticperl mkbundle --eval 'use AnyEvent; AnyEvent::detect'
 
    # or like this
-   staticperl mkbundle -MAnyEvent --eval 'use AnyEvent; AnyEvent::detect'
+   staticperl mkbundle -MAnyEvent --eval 'AnyEvent::detect'
 
 Example: use a separate "bootstrap" script that C<use>'s lots of modules
-and include this in the final bundle, to be executed automatically.
+and also include this in the final bundle, to be executed automatically
+when the interpreter is initialised.
 
    staticperl mkbundle --eval 'do "bootstrap"' --boot bootstrap
 
-=item --boot filename
+=item C<--boot> F<filename>
 
-Include the given file in the bundle and arrange for it to be executed
-(using a C<require>) before anything else when the new perl is
-initialised. This can be used to modify C<@INC> or anything else before
-the perl interpreter executes scripts given on the command line (or via
-C<-e>). This works even in an embedded interpreter.
-
-=item --incglob pattern
-
-This goes through all library directories and tries to match any F<.pm>
-and F<.pl> files against the extended glob pattern (see below). If a file
-matches, it is added. This switch will automatically detect L<AutoLoader>
-files and the required link libraries for XS modules, but it will I<not>
-scan the file for dependencies (at the moment).
+Include the given file in the bundle and arrange for it to be
+executed (using C<require>) before the main program when the new perl
+is initialised. This can be used to modify C<@INC> or do similar
+modifications before the perl interpreter executes scripts given on the
+command line (or via C<-e>). This works even in an embedded interpreter -
+the file will be executed during interpreter initialisation in that case.
+
+=item C<--incglob> pattern
+
+This goes through all standard library directories and tries to match any
+F<.pm> and F<.pl> files against the extended glob pattern (see below). If
+a file matches, it is added. The pattern is matched against the full path
+of the file (sans the library directory prefix), e.g. F<Sys/Syslog.pm>.
 
-This is mainly useful to include "everything":
+This is very useful to include "everything":
 
    --incglob '*'
 
-Or to include perl libraries, or trees of those, such as the unicode
-database files needed by many other modules:
+It is also useful for including perl libraries, or trees of those, such as
+the unicode database files needed by some perl built-ins, the regex engine
+and other modules.
 
    --incglob '/unicore/**.pl'
 
-=item --add file | --add "file alias"
+=item C<--add> F<file> | C<--add> "F<file> alias"
 
 Adds the given (perl) file into the bundle (and optionally call it
-"alias"). This is useful to include any custom files into the bundle.
+"alias"). The F<file> is either an absolute path or a path relative to the
+current directory. If an alias is specified, then this is the name it will
+use for C<@INC> searches, otherwise the path F<file> will be used as the
+internal name.
+
+This switch is used to include extra files into the bundle.
 
-Example: embed the file F<httpd> as F<httpd.pm> when creating the bundle.
+Example: embed the file F<httpd> in the current directory as F<httpd.pm>
+when creating the bundle.
 
    staticperl mkperl --add "httpd httpd.pm"
 
-It is also a great way to add any custom modules:
+   # can be accessed via "use httpd"
+
+Example: add a file F<initcode> from the current directory.
+
+   staticperl mkperl --add 'initcode &initcode'
+
+   # can be accessed via "do '&initcode'"
+
+Example: add local files as extra modules in the bundle.
 
    # specification file
-   add file1 myfiles/file1
-   add file2 myfiles/file2
-   add file3 myfiles/file3
+   add file1 myfiles/file1.pm
+   add file2 myfiles/file2.pm
+   add file3 myfiles/file3.pl
+
+   # then later, in perl, use
+   use myfiles::file1;
+   require myfiles::file2;
+   my $res = do "myfiles/file3.pl";
 
-=item --binadd file | --add "file alias"
+=item C<--binadd> F<file> | C<--add> "F<file> alias"
 
 Just like C<--add>, except that it treats the file as binary and adds it
-without any processing.
+without any postprocessing (perl files might get stripped to reduce their
+size).
 
-You should probably add a C</> prefix to avoid clashing with embedded
-perl files (whose paths do not start with C</>), and/or use a special
-directory, such as C</res/name>.
+If you specify an alias you should probably add a C<&> prefix to avoid
+clashing with embedded perl files (whose paths never start with C<&>),
+and/or use a special directory prefix, such as C<&res/name>.
 
 You can later get a copy of these files by calling C<staticperl::find
 "alias">.
 
-=item --include pattern | -i pattern | --exclude pattern | -x pattern
+An alternative way to embed binary files is to convert them to perl and
+use C<do> to get the contents - this method is a bit cumbersome, but works
+both inside and outside of a staticperl bundle:
+
+   # a "binary" file, call it "bindata.pl"
+   <<'SOME_MARKER'
+   binary data NOT containing SOME_MARKER
+   SOME_MARKER
+
+   # load the binary
+   chomp (my $data = do "bindata.pl");
+
+=back
+
+=item Step 2: filter all files using C<--include> and C<--exclude> options.
 
-These two options define an include/exclude filter that is used after all
-files selected by the other options have been found. Each include/exclude
-is applied to all files found so far - an include makes sure that the
-given files will be part of the resulting file set, an exclude will
-exclude files. The patterns are "extended glob patterns" (see below).
+After all candidate files and modules are added, they are I<filtered>
+by a combination of C<--include> and C<--exclude> patterns (there is an
+implicit C<--include *> at the end, so if no filters are specified, all
+files are included).
 
-For example, to include everything, except C<Devel> modules, but still
+All that this step does is potentially reduce the number of files that are
+to be included - no new files are added during this step.
+
+=over 4
+
+=item C<--include> pattern | C<-i> pattern | C<--exclude> pattern | C<-x> pattern
+
+These specify an include or exclude pattern to be applied to the candidate
+file list. An include makes sure that the given files will be part of the
+resulting file set, an exclude will exclude remaining files. The patterns
+are "extended glob patterns" (see below).
+
+The patterns are applied "in order" - files included via earlier
+C<--include> specifications cannot be removed by any following
+C<--exclude>, and likewise, and file excluded by an earlier C<--exclude>
+cannot be added by any following C<--include>.
+
+For example, to include everything except C<Devel> modules, but still
 include F<Devel::PPPort>, you could use this:
 
    --incglob '*' -i '/Devel/PPPort.pm' -x '/Devel/**'
 
-=item --static
+=back
+
+=item Step 3: add any extra or "hidden" dependencies.
+
+F<staticperl> currently knows about three extra types of depdendencies
+that are added automatically. Only one (F<.packlist> files) is currently
+optional and can be influenced, the others are always included:
+
+=over 4
+
+=item C<--usepacklists>
+
+Read F<.packlist> files for each distribution that happens to match a
+module name you specified. Sounds weird, and it is, so expect semantics to
+change somehow in the future.
+
+The idea is that most CPAN distributions have a F<.pm> file that matches
+the name of the distribution (which is rather reasonable after all).
+
+If this switch is enabled, then if any of the F<.pm> files that have been
+selected match an install distribution, then all F<.pm>, F<.pl>, F<.al>
+and F<.ix> files installed by this distribution are also included.
+
+For example, using this switch, when the L<URI> module is specified, then
+all L<URI> submodules that have been installed via the CPAN distribution
+are included as well, so you don't have to manually specify them.
+
+=item L<AutoLoader> splitfiles
+
+Some modules use L<AutoLoader> - less commonly (hopefully) used functions
+are split into separate F<.al> files, and an index (F<.ix>) file contains
+the prototypes.
+
+Both F<.ix> and F<.al> files will be detected automatically and added to
+the bundle.
+
+=item link libraries (F<.a> files)
+
+Modules using XS (or any other non-perl language extension compiled at
+installation time) will have a static archive (typically F<.a>). These
+will automatically be added to the linker options in F<bundle.ldopts>.
+
+Should F<staticperl> find a dynamic link library (typically F<.so>) it
+will warn about it - obviously this shouldn't happen unless you use
+F<staticperl> on the wrong perl, or one (probably wrongly) configured to
+use dynamic loading.
+
+=item extra libraries (F<extralibs.ld>)
 
-When C<--perl> is also given, link statically instead of dynamically. The
-default is to link the new perl interpreter fully dynamic (that means all
-perl modules are linked statically, but all external libraries are still
+Some modules need linking against external libraries - these are found in
+F<extralibs.ld> and added to F<bundle.ldopts>.
+
+=back
+
+=item Step 4: write bundle files and optionally link a program
+
+At this point, the select files will be read, processed (stripped) and
+finally the bundle files get written to disk, and F<staticperl mkbundle>
+is normally finished. Optionally, it can go a step further and either link
+a new F<perl> binary with all selected modules and files inside, or build
+a standalone application.
+
+Both the contents of the bundle files and any extra linking is controlled
+by these options:
+
+=over 4
+
+=item C<--strip> C<none>|C<pod>|C<ppi>
+
+Specify the stripping method applied to reduce the file of the perl
+sources included.
+
+The default is C<pod>, which uses the L<Pod::Strip> module to remove all
+pod documentation, which is very fast and reduces file size a lot.
+
+The C<ppi> method uses L<PPI> to parse and condense the perl sources. This
+saves a lot more than just L<Pod::Strip>, and is generally safer,
+but is also a lot slower (some files take almost a minute to strip -
+F<staticperl> maintains a cache of stripped files to speed up subsequent
+runs for this reason). Note that this method doesn't optimise for raw file
+size, but for best compression (that means that the uncompressed file size
+is a bit larger, but the files compress better, e.g. with F<upx>).
+
+Last not least, if you need accurate line numbers in error messages,
+or in the unlikely case where C<pod> is too slow, or some module gets
+mistreated, you can specify C<none> to not mangle included perl sources in
+any way.
+
+=item C<--perl>
+
+After writing out the bundle files, try to link a new perl interpreter. It
+will be called F<perl> and will be left in the current working
+directory. The bundle files will be removed.
+
+This switch is automatically used when F<staticperl> is invoked with the
+C<mkperl> command instead of C<mkbundle>.
+
+Example: build a new F<./perl> binary with only L<common::sense> inside -
+it will be even smaller than the standard perl interpreter as none of the
+modules of the base distribution (such as L<Fcntl>) will be included.
+
+   staticperl mkperl -Mcommon::sense
+
+=item C<--app> F<name>
+
+After writing out the bundle files, try to link a new standalone
+program. It will be called C<name>, and the bundle files get removed after
+linking it.
+
+This switch is automatically used when F<staticperl> is invoked with the
+C<mkapp> command instead of C<mkbundle>.
+
+The difference to the (mutually exclusive) C<--perl> option is that the
+binary created by this option will not try to act as a perl interpreter -
+instead it will simply initialise the perl interpreter, clean it up and
+exit.
+
+This means that, by default, it will do nothing but burn a few CPU cycles
+- for it to do something useful you I<must> add some boot code, e.g. with
+the C<--boot> option.
+
+Example: create a standalone perl binary called F<./myexe> that will
+execute F<appfile> when it is started.
+
+   staticperl mkbundle --app myexe --boot appfile
+
+=item C<--static>
+
+Add C<-static> to F<bundle.ldopts>, which means a fully static (if
+supported by the OS) executable will be created. This is not immensely
+useful when just creating the bundle files, but is most useful when
+linking a binary with the C<--perl> or C<--app> options.
+
+The default is to link the new binary dynamically (that means all perl
+modules are linked statically, but all external libraries are still
 referenced dynamically).
 
 Keep in mind that Solaris doesn't support static linking at all, and
-systems based on GNU libc don't really support it in a usable fashion
-either. Try uClibc if you want to create fully statically linked
-executables, or try the C<--staticlibs> option to link only some libraries
+systems based on GNU libc don't really support it in a very usable
+fashion either. Try uClibc if you want to create fully statically linked
+executables, or try the C<--staticlib> option to link only some libraries
 statically.
 
-=item --staticlib libname
+=item C<--staticlib> libname
 
 When not linking fully statically, this option allows you to link specific
-libraries statically. What it does is simply replace all occurances of
+libraries statically. What it does is simply replace all occurrences of
 C<-llibname> with the GCC-specific C<-Wl,-Bstatic -llibname -Wl,-Bdynamic>
 option.
 
@@ -500,17 +711,14 @@
 specifically, C<--staticlib> will not link against the named library
 unless it would be linked against anyway.
 
-Example: link libcrypt statically into the binary.
+Example: link libcrypt statically into the final binary.
 
    staticperl mkperl -MIO::AIO --staticlib crypt
 
-   # ldopts might nwo contain:
+   # ldopts might now contain:
    # -lm -Wl,-Bstatic -lcrypt -Wl,-Bdynamic -lpthread
 
-=item any other argument
-
-Any other argument is interpreted as a bundle specification file, which
-supports most long options (without extra quoting), one option per line.
+=back
 
 =back
 
@@ -534,7 +742,7 @@
 That is, F<idna.pl> will match any file called F<idna.pl> anywhere in the
 hierarchy, but not any directories of the same name.
 
-=item A F<*> matches any single component.
+=item A F<*> matches anything within a single path component.
 
 That is, F</unicore/*.pl> would match all F<.pl> files directly inside
 C</unicore>, not any deeper level F<.pl> files. Or in other words, F<*>
@@ -554,16 +762,22 @@
 
 =head2 F<STATICPERL> CONFIGURATION AND HOOKS
 
-During (each) startup, F<staticperl> tries to source the following shell
-files in order:
+During (each) startup, F<staticperl> tries to source some shell files to
+allow you to fine-tune/override configuration settings.
+
+In them you can override shell variables, or define shell functions
+("hooks") to be called at specific phases during installation. For
+example, you could define a C<postinstall> hook to install additional
+modules from CPAN each time you start from scratch.
+
+If the env variable C<$STATICPERLRC> is set, then F<staticperl> will try
+to source the file named with it only. Otherwise, it tries the following
+shell files in order:
 
    /etc/staticperlrc
    ~/.staticperlrc
    $STATICPERL/rc
 
-They can be used to override shell variables, or define functions to be
-called at specific phases.
-
 Note that the last file is erased during F<staticperl distclean>, so
 generally should not be used.
 
@@ -613,9 +827,9 @@
 
 =item C<PERL_VERSION>
 
-The perl version to install - default is currently C<5.12.2>, but C<5.8.9>
-is also a good choice (5.8.9 is much smaller than 5.12.2, while 5.10.1 is
-about as big as 5.12.2).
+The perl version to install - default is currently C<5.12.3>, but C<5.8.9>
+is also a good choice (5.8.9 is much smaller than 5.12.3, while 5.10.1 is
+about as big as 5.12.3).
 
 =item C<PERL_PREFIX>
 
@@ -634,13 +848,17 @@
 (C<-Duse64bitint>), or disable large files support (-Uuselargefiles), to
 reduce filesize further.
 
-=item C<PERL_CPPFLAGS>, C<PERL_OPTIMIZE>, C<PERL_LDFLAGS>, C<PERL_LIBS>
+=item C<PERL_CC>, C<PERL_CCFLAGS>, C<PERL_OPTIMIZE>, C<PERL_LDFLAGS>, C<PERL_LIBS>
 
 These flags are passed to perl's F<Configure> script, and are generally
 optimised for small size (at the cost of performance). Since they also
 contain subtle workarounds around various build issues, changing these
-usually requires understanding their default values - best look at the top
-of the F<staticperl> script for more info on these.
+usually requires understanding their default values - best look at
+the top of the F<staticperl> script for more info on these, and use a
+F<~/.staticperlrc> to override them.
+
+Most of the variables override (or modify) the corresponding F<Configure>
+variable, except C<PERL_CCFLAGS>, which gets appended.
 
 =back
 
@@ -648,6 +866,10 @@
 
 =over 4
 
+=item C<MAKE>
+
+The make command to use - default is C<make>.
+
 =item C<MKBUNDLE>
 
 Where F<staticperl> writes the C<mkbundle> command to
@@ -741,7 +963,7 @@
 
 =over 4
 
-=item staticperl_init ()
+=item staticperl_init (xs_init = 0)
 
 Initialises the perl interpreter. You can use the normal perl functions
 after calling this function, for example, to define extra functions or
@@ -758,25 +980,43 @@
    static void
    run_myapp(void)
    {
-      staticperl_init ();
+      staticperl_init (0);
       newXSproto ("myapp::xsfunction", xsfunction, __FILE__, "$$;$");
       eval_pv ("require myapp::main", 1); // executes "myapp/main.pm"
    }
 
-=item staticperl_xs_init (pTHX)
+When your bootcode already wants to access some XS functions at
+compiletime, then you need to supply an C<xs_init> function pointer that
+is called as soon as perl is initialised enough to define XS functions,
+but before the preamble code is executed:
 
-Sometimes you need direct control over C<perl_parse> and C<perl_run>, in
-which case you do not want to use C<staticperl_init> but call them on your
-own.
+   static void
+   xs_init (pTHX)
+   {
+     newXSproto ("myapp::xsfunction", xsfunction, __FILE__, "$$;$");
+   }
 
-Then you need this function - either pass it directly as the C<xs_init>
-function to C<perl_parse>, or call it from your own C<xs_init> function.
+   static void
+   run_myapp(void)
+   {
+      staticperl_init (xs_init);
+   }
 
 =item staticperl_cleanup ()
 
 In the unlikely case that you want to destroy the perl interpreter, here
 is the corresponding function.
 
+=item staticperl_xs_init (pTHX)
+
+Sometimes you need direct control over C<perl_parse> and C<perl_run>, in
+which case you do not want to use C<staticperl_init> but call them on your
+own.
+
+Then you need this function - either pass it directly as the C<xs_init>
+function to C<perl_parse>, or call it as one of the first things from your
+own C<xs_init> function.
+
 =item PerlInterpreter *staticperl
 
 The perl interpreter pointer used by staticperl. Not normally so useful,
@@ -821,7 +1061,7 @@
 
 =back
 
-=head1 FULLY STATIC BINARIES - BUILDROOT
+=head1 FULLY STATIC BINARIES - UCLIBC AND BUILDROOT
 
 To make truly static (Linux-) libraries, you might want to have a look at
 buildroot (L<http://buildroot.uclibc.org/>).
@@ -903,7 +1143,7 @@
 
 To simply include the whole unicode database, use:
 
-   --incglob '/unicore/*.pl'
+   --incglob '/unicore/**.pl'
 
 =item AnyEvent
 
@@ -918,6 +1158,9 @@
 functions), you also need to include C<"AnyEvent/Util/idna.pl"> and
 C<"AnyEvent/Util/uts46data.pl">.
 
+Or you can use C<--usepacklists> and specify C<-MAnyEvent> to include
+everything.
+
 =item Carp
 
 Carp had (in older versions of perl) a dependency on L<Carp::Heavy>. As of
@@ -931,13 +1174,14 @@
 
 =item Term::ReadLine::Perl
 
-Also needs L<Term::ReadLine::readline>.
+Also needs L<Term::ReadLine::readline>, or C<--usepacklists>.
 
 =item URI
 
 URI implements schemes as separate modules - the generic URL scheme is
 implemented in L<URI::_generic>, HTTP is implemented in L<URI::http>. If
-you need to use any of these schemes, you should include these manually.
+you need to use any of these schemes, you should include these manually,
+or use C<--usepacklists>.
 
 =back
 
@@ -945,14 +1189,22 @@
 
 =over 4
 
-=item Linking everything in
+=item Just link everything in
 
 To link just about everything installed in the perl library into a new
-perl, try this:
+perl, try this (the first time this runs it will take a long time, as a
+lot of files need to be parsed):
+
+   staticperl mkperl -v --strip ppi --incglob '*'
+
+If you don't mind the extra megabytes, this can be a very effective way of
+creating bundles without having to worry about forgetting any modules.
 
-   staticperl mkperl --strip ppi --incglob '*'
+You get even more useful variants of this method by first selecting
+everything, and then excluding stuff you are reasonable sure not to need -
+L<bigperl|http://staticperl.schmorp.de/bigperl.html> uses this approach.
 
-=item Getting rid of netdb function
+=item Getting rid of netdb functions
 
 The perl core has lots of netdb functions (C<getnetbyname>, C<getgrent>
 and so on) that few applications use. You can avoid compiling them in by
@@ -979,8 +1231,8 @@
       done
    }
 
-This mostly gains space when linking staticaly, as the functions will
-liekly not be linked in. The gain for dynamically-linked binaries is
+This mostly gains space when linking statically, as the functions will
+likely not be linked in. The gain for dynamically-linked binaries is
 smaller.
 
 Also, this leaves C<gethostbyname> in - not only is it actually used