AUX file format 1.0

  ilm 970716 (revised 990914)

  Contact:  imarkov@math.ucla.edu

----------------------

  AUX files are to be used to support multifile formats (e.g. LEFDEF)
  by storing references to several files together with format names.
  AUX is an extension, actual file names look like "file.aux".

  1. Support for comments.
     Lines starting with hash symbol (#) are ignored (considered comments).
        It is recommended that every AUX file is annotated at least  with
        creation date, author's email and, if produced by a program,
        command line (in this case  author's email can be substituted
        by the userId under which the program ran). Other information
        (e.g. benchmark sizes) can be put into comments in aux files.

  2. Each non-commented line of AUX file should start either with a 
     one-word format name or a one-word command (currently, the only
     command is CD).
     The second word must be colon (:). 

  3. Known format names, such as LEFDEF, may vary from parser to parser.
     Users can freely introduce new format names provided they
     do not clash with existing format names and commands.

  4. File names follow the colon [generally] in an arbitrary order.
     Files are processed in the order defined by the parser.
     All filenames must be processed (i.e., extra filenames on the
     same line must cause a parser error).

  5. Relative file names are considered from the directory of the
     .aux file, unless one or more CD commands (see below) were 
     encountered earlier in the file.

  6. The CD command takes one argument which goes after the colon
     and has the same semantics as on DOS-, Windows- and Unix-type
     systems. It changes the "current" directory, while all further 
     filenames will be interpretted as being within the "current" 
     directory. The CD command must understand both relative and 
     absolute directory names with extensions for platform-independence.

  7. In order to ensure system-independence between Unix-type systems and
     DOS-type systems (including Windows), path delimiters "/" and "\" should
     not be used in other roles (e.g., do not use "\" in filenames on Unix).
     The AUX file parser must treat both characters as file separators on
     either system by converting them into the file separator on the host
     system.

     Additionally, aux files designed to be system-independent, must not
     use absolute path names (i.e., cannot start with a path delimiter 
     or rely on "drive names", like "C:").