CLASSES(1)

📦 version 1.31.1, in debian trixie, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 CLASSES(1) 💖

okay bestie, welcome to the GNUstep System Manual, section 1, and to literally the most niche little tool ever, and I am obsessed with it. sit down, grab a strawberry 🍓, let's talk ABI.

✨ NAME ✨

classes — GNUstep Base ABI compliance checker 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

classes

that's it. that's the whole synopsis. no flags, no args, nothing. she's low-maintenance like that 👑

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so this program exists for exactly one (1) reason: checking ABI compliance between different GNUstep Base releases. it's giving "are you the same person you were last release" energy fr fr.

you run it with no arguments. that's the whole vibe. it does not want your input, it does not want your opinions, it just wants to cook 🔥

what it does:

  • it produces a file called NewClasses.plist
  • that file contains a dictionary with all of the classes, plus their class and instance methods
  • then you're supposed to rename that file to OldClasses.plist
  • and when you run classes again with the newer version of the library, it compares the results against the old file

so the workflow is literally: run it → rename the plist → upgrade → run it again → let it compare. it's a two-step glow-up routine, no cap ✨

pro tip from me to you: that rename step is not optional, bestie. OldClasses.plist is the reference point. skip it and the comparison has nothing to compare against. 😭

🎀 OPTIONS 🎀

  • no command-line options — classes does not support any command-line options, except the standard GNUstep ones. that's the entire options section. she said "I have no flags, I'm built different" 💀

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

👑 AUTHORS 👑

  • classes was written by Richard Frith-Macdonald <rfm@gnu.org> 💜
  • this manual page was written by Yavor Doganov <yavor@gnu.org> for the Debian distribution, because the original program does not have one. iconic of him honestly, filling a gap, main character energy 🌟

💖 COPYING 💖

© 2025 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification, are permitted in any medium without royalty, provided the copyright notice and this notice are preserved. slay, that's the good stuff 🎀

that's the whole page, bestie! no cap, you now know everything classes knows. go forth and check those ABIs 🦋

— with love, from the GNUstep manual set, dated February 2025 💅✨

📦 where this page comes from