This is make.info, produced by makeinfo version 4.0 from make.texinfo. INFO-DIR-SECTION GNU Packages START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY * Make: (make). Remake files automatically. END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY This file documents the GNU Make utility, which determines automatically which pieces of a large program need to be recompiled, and issues the commands to recompile them. This is Edition 0.55, last updated 04 April 2000, of `The GNU Make Manual', for `make', Version 3.79. Copyright (C) 1988, '89, '90, '91, '92, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98, '99, 2000 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 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 this permission notice may be stated in a translation approved by the Free Software Foundation.  File: make.info, Node: Standard Targets, Next: Install Command Categories, Prev: Directory Variables, Up: Makefile Conventions Standard Targets for Users ========================== All GNU programs should have the following targets in their Makefiles: `all' Compile the entire program. This should be the default target. This target need not rebuild any documentation files; Info files should normally be included in the distribution, and DVI files should be made only when explicitly asked for. By default, the Make rules should compile and link with `-g', so that executable programs have debugging symbols. Users who don't mind being helpless can strip the executables later if they wish. `install' Compile the program and copy the executables, libraries, and so on to the file names where they should reside for actual use. If there is a simple test to verify that a program is properly installed, this target should run that test. Do not strip executables when installing them. Devil-may-care users can use the `install-strip' target to do that. If possible, write the `install' target rule so that it does not modify anything in the directory where the program was built, provided `make all' has just been done. This is convenient for building the program under one user name and installing it under another. The commands should create all the directories in which files are to be installed, if they don't already exist. This includes the directories specified as the values of the variables `prefix' and `exec_prefix', as well as all subdirectories that are needed. One way to do this is by means of an `installdirs' target as described below. Use `-' before any command for installing a man page, so that `make' will ignore any errors. This is in case there are systems that don't have the Unix man page documentation system installed. The way to install Info files is to copy them into `$(infodir)' with `$(INSTALL_DATA)' (*note Command Variables::), and then run the `install-info' program if it is present. `install-info' is a program that edits the Info `dir' file to add or update the menu entry for the given Info file; it is part of the Texinfo package. Here is a sample rule to install an Info file: $(DESTDIR)$(infodir)/foo.info: foo.info $(POST_INSTALL) # There may be a newer info file in . than in srcdir. -if test -f foo.info; then d=.; \ else d=$(srcdir); fi; \ $(INSTALL_DATA) $$d/foo.info $(DESTDIR)$@; \ # Run install-info only if it exists. # Use `if' instead of just prepending `-' to the # line so we notice real errors from install-info. # We use `$(SHELL) -c' because some shells do not # fail gracefully when there is an unknown command. if $(SHELL) -c 'install-info --version' \ >/dev/null 2>&1; then \ install-info --dir-file=$(DESTDIR)$(infodir)/dir \ $(DESTDIR)$(infodir)/foo.info; \ else true; fi When writing the `install' target, you must classify all the commands into three categories: normal ones, "pre-installation" commands and "post-installation" commands. *Note Install Command Categories::. `uninstall' Delete all the installed files--the copies that the `install' target creates. This rule should not modify the directories where compilation is done, only the directories where files are installed. The uninstallation commands are divided into three categories, just like the installation commands. *Note Install Command Categories::. `install-strip' Like `install', but strip the executable files while installing them. In many cases, the definition of this target can be very simple: install-strip: $(MAKE) INSTALL_PROGRAM='$(INSTALL_PROGRAM) -s' \ install Normally we do not recommend stripping an executable unless you are sure the program has no bugs. However, it can be reasonable to install a stripped executable for actual execution while saving the unstripped executable elsewhere in case there is a bug. `clean' Delete all files from the current directory that are normally created by building the program. Don't delete the files that record the configuration. Also preserve files that could be made by building, but normally aren't because the distribution comes with them. Delete `.dvi' files here if they are not part of the distribution. `distclean' Delete all files from the current directory that are created by configuring or building the program. If you have unpacked the source and built the program without creating any other files, `make distclean' should leave only the files that were in the distribution. `mostlyclean' Like `clean', but may refrain from deleting a few files that people normally don't want to recompile. For example, the `mostlyclean' target for GCC does not delete `libgcc.a', because recompiling it is rarely necessary and takes a lot of time. `maintainer-clean' Delete almost everything from the current directory that can be reconstructed with this Makefile. This typically includes everything deleted by `distclean', plus more: C source files produced by Bison, tags tables, Info files, and so on. The reason we say "almost everything" is that running the command `make maintainer-clean' should not delete `configure' even if `configure' can be remade using a rule in the Makefile. More generally, `make maintainer-clean' should not delete anything that needs to exist in order to run `configure' and then begin to build the program. This is the only exception; `maintainer-clean' should delete everything else that can be rebuilt. The `maintainer-clean' target is intended to be used by a maintainer of the package, not by ordinary users. You may need special tools to reconstruct some of the files that `make maintainer-clean' deletes. Since these files are normally included in the distribution, we don't take care to make them easy to reconstruct. If you find you need to unpack the full distribution again, don't blame us. To help make users aware of this, the commands for the special `maintainer-clean' target should start with these two: @echo 'This command is intended for maintainers to use; it' @echo 'deletes files that may need special tools to rebuild.' `TAGS' Update a tags table for this program. `info' Generate any Info files needed. The best way to write the rules is as follows: info: foo.info foo.info: foo.texi chap1.texi chap2.texi $(MAKEINFO) $(srcdir)/foo.texi You must define the variable `MAKEINFO' in the Makefile. It should run the `makeinfo' program, which is part of the Texinfo distribution. Normally a GNU distribution comes with Info files, and that means the Info files are present in the source directory. Therefore, the Make rule for an info file should update it in the source directory. When users build the package, ordinarily Make will not update the Info files because they will already be up to date. `dvi' Generate DVI files for all Texinfo documentation. For example: dvi: foo.dvi foo.dvi: foo.texi chap1.texi chap2.texi $(TEXI2DVI) $(srcdir)/foo.texi You must define the variable `TEXI2DVI' in the Makefile. It should run the program `texi2dvi', which is part of the Texinfo distribution.(1) Alternatively, write just the dependencies, and allow GNU `make' to provide the command. `dist' Create a distribution tar file for this program. The tar file should be set up so that the file names in the tar file start with a subdirectory name which is the name of the package it is a distribution for. This name can include the version number. For example, the distribution tar file of GCC version 1.40 unpacks into a subdirectory named `gcc-1.40'. The easiest way to do this is to create a subdirectory appropriately named, use `ln' or `cp' to install the proper files in it, and then `tar' that subdirectory. Compress the tar file file with `gzip'. For example, the actual distribution file for GCC version 1.40 is called `gcc-1.40.tar.gz'. The `dist' target should explicitly depend on all non-source files that are in the distribution, to make sure they are up to date in the distribution. *Note Making Releases: (standards)Releases. `check' Perform self-tests (if any). The user must build the program before running the tests, but need not install the program; you should write the self-tests so that they work when the program is built but not installed. The following targets are suggested as conventional names, for programs in which they are useful. `installcheck' Perform installation tests (if any). The user must build and install the program before running the tests. You should not assume that `$(bindir)' is in the search path. `installdirs' It's useful to add a target named `installdirs' to create the directories where files are installed, and their parent directories. There is a script called `mkinstalldirs' which is convenient for this; you can find it in the Texinfo package. You can use a rule like this: # Make sure all installation directories (e.g. $(bindir)) # actually exist by making them if necessary. installdirs: mkinstalldirs $(srcdir)/mkinstalldirs $(bindir) $(datadir) \ $(libdir) $(infodir) \ $(mandir) This rule should not modify the directories where compilation is done. It should do nothing but create installation directories. ---------- Footnotes ---------- (1) `texi2dvi' uses TeX to do the real work of formatting. TeX is not distributed with Texinfo.  File: make.info, Node: Install Command Categories, Prev: Standard Targets, Up: Makefile Conventions Install Command Categories ========================== When writing the `install' target, you must classify all the commands into three categories: normal ones, "pre-installation" commands and "post-installation" commands. Normal commands move files into their proper places, and set their modes. They may not alter any files except the ones that come entirely from the package they belong to. Pre-installation and post-installation commands may alter other files; in particular, they can edit global configuration files or data bases. Pre-installation commands are typically executed before the normal commands, and post-installation commands are typically run after the normal commands. The most common use for a post-installation command is to run `install-info'. This cannot be done with a normal command, since it alters a file (the Info directory) which does not come entirely and solely from the package being installed. It is a post-installation command because it needs to be done after the normal command which installs the package's Info files. Most programs don't need any pre-installation commands, but we have the feature just in case it is needed. To classify the commands in the `install' rule into these three categories, insert "category lines" among them. A category line specifies the category for the commands that follow. A category line consists of a tab and a reference to a special Make variable, plus an optional comment at the end. There are three variables you can use, one for each category; the variable name specifies the category. Category lines are no-ops in ordinary execution because these three Make variables are normally undefined (and you _should not_ define them in the makefile). Here are the three possible category lines, each with a comment that explains what it means: $(PRE_INSTALL) # Pre-install commands follow. $(POST_INSTALL) # Post-install commands follow. $(NORMAL_INSTALL) # Normal commands follow. If you don't use a category line at the beginning of the `install' rule, all the commands are classified as normal until the first category line. If you don't use any category lines, all the commands are classified as normal. These are the category lines for `uninstall': $(PRE_UNINSTALL) # Pre-uninstall commands follow. $(POST_UNINSTALL) # Post-uninstall commands follow. $(NORMAL_UNINSTALL) # Normal commands follow. Typically, a pre-uninstall command would be used for deleting entries from the Info directory. If the `install' or `uninstall' target has any dependencies which act as subroutines of installation, then you should start _each_ dependency's commands with a category line, and start the main target's commands with a category line also. This way, you can ensure that each command is placed in the right category regardless of which of the dependencies actually run. Pre-installation and post-installation commands should not run any programs except for these: [ basename bash cat chgrp chmod chown cmp cp dd diff echo egrep expand expr false fgrep find getopt grep gunzip gzip hostname install install-info kill ldconfig ln ls md5sum mkdir mkfifo mknod mv printenv pwd rm rmdir sed sort tee test touch true uname xargs yes The reason for distinguishing the commands in this way is for the sake of making binary packages. Typically a binary package contains all the executables and other files that need to be installed, and has its own method of installing them--so it does not need to run the normal installation commands. But installing the binary package does need to execute the pre-installation and post-installation commands. Programs to build binary packages work by extracting the pre-installation and post-installation commands. Here is one way of extracting the pre-installation commands: make -n install -o all \ PRE_INSTALL=pre-install \ POST_INSTALL=post-install \ NORMAL_INSTALL=normal-install \ | gawk -f pre-install.awk where the file `pre-install.awk' could contain this: $0 ~ /^\t[ \t]*(normal_install|post_install)[ \t]*$/ {on = 0} on {print $0} $0 ~ /^\t[ \t]*pre_install[ \t]*$/ {on = 1} The resulting file of pre-installation commands is executed as a shell script as part of installing the binary package.  File: make.info, Node: Quick Reference, Next: Error Messages, Prev: Makefile Conventions, Up: Top Quick Reference *************** This appendix summarizes the directives, text manipulation functions, and special variables which GNU `make' understands. *Note Special Targets::, *Note Catalogue of Implicit Rules: Catalogue of Rules, and *Note Summary of Options: Options Summary, for other summaries. Here is a summary of the directives GNU `make' recognizes: `define VARIABLE' `endef' Define a multi-line, recursively-expanded variable. *Note Sequences::. `ifdef VARIABLE' `ifndef VARIABLE' `ifeq (A,B)' `ifeq "A" "B"' `ifeq 'A' 'B'' `ifneq (A,B)' `ifneq "A" "B"' `ifneq 'A' 'B'' `else' `endif' Conditionally evaluate part of the makefile. *Note Conditionals::. `include FILE' `-include FILE' `sinclude FILE' Include another makefile. *Note Including Other Makefiles: Include. `override VARIABLE = VALUE' `override VARIABLE := VALUE' `override VARIABLE += VALUE' `override VARIABLE ?= VALUE' `override define VARIABLE' `endef' Define a variable, overriding any previous definition, even one from the command line. *Note The `override' Directive: Override Directive. `export' Tell `make' to export all variables to child processes by default. *Note Communicating Variables to a Sub-`make': Variables/Recursion. `export VARIABLE' `export VARIABLE = VALUE' `export VARIABLE := VALUE' `export VARIABLE += VALUE' `export VARIABLE ?= VALUE' `unexport VARIABLE' Tell `make' whether or not to export a particular variable to child processes. *Note Communicating Variables to a Sub-`make': Variables/Recursion. `vpath PATTERN PATH' Specify a search path for files matching a `%' pattern. *Note The `vpath' Directive: Selective Search. `vpath PATTERN' Remove all search paths previously specified for PATTERN. `vpath' Remove all search paths previously specified in any `vpath' directive. Here is a summary of the text manipulation functions (*note Functions::): `$(subst FROM,TO,TEXT)' Replace FROM with TO in TEXT. *Note Functions for String Substitution and Analysis: Text Functions. `$(patsubst PATTERN,REPLACEMENT,TEXT)' Replace words matching PATTERN with REPLACEMENT in TEXT. *Note Functions for String Substitution and Analysis: Text Functions. `$(strip STRING)' Remove excess whitespace characters from STRING. *Note Functions for String Substitution and Analysis: Text Functions. `$(findstring FIND,TEXT)' Locate FIND in TEXT. *Note Functions for String Substitution and Analysis: Text Functions. `$(filter PATTERN...,TEXT)' Select words in TEXT that match one of the PATTERN words. *Note Functions for String Substitution and Analysis: Text Functions. `$(filter-out PATTERN...,TEXT)' Select words in TEXT that _do not_ match any of the PATTERN words. *Note Functions for String Substitution and Analysis: Text Functions. `$(sort LIST)' Sort the words in LIST lexicographically, removing duplicates. *Note Functions for String Substitution and Analysis: Text Functions. `$(dir NAMES...)' Extract the directory part of each file name. *Note Functions for File Names: File Name Functions. `$(notdir NAMES...)' Extract the non-directory part of each file name. *Note Functions for File Names: File Name Functions. `$(suffix NAMES...)' Extract the suffix (the last `.' and following characters) of each file name. *Note Functions for File Names: File Name Functions. `$(basename NAMES...)' Extract the base name (name without suffix) of each file name. *Note Functions for File Names: File Name Functions. `$(addsuffix SUFFIX,NAMES...)' Append SUFFIX to each word in NAMES. *Note Functions for File Names: File Name Functions. `$(addprefix PREFIX,NAMES...)' Prepend PREFIX to each word in NAMES. *Note Functions for File Names: File Name Functions. `$(join LIST1,LIST2)' Join two parallel lists of words. *Note Functions for File Names: File Name Functions. `$(word N,TEXT)' Extract the Nth word (one-origin) of TEXT. *Note Functions for File Names: File Name Functions. `$(words TEXT)' Count the number of words in TEXT. *Note Functions for File Names: File Name Functions. `$(wordlist S,E,TEXT)' Returns the list of words in TEXT from S to E. *Note Functions for File Names: File Name Functions. `$(firstword NAMES...)' Extract the first word of NAMES. *Note Functions for File Names: File Name Functions. `$(wildcard PATTERN...)' Find file names matching a shell file name pattern (_not_ a `%' pattern). *Note The Function `wildcard': Wildcard Function. `$(error TEXT...)' When this function is evaluated, `make' generates a fatal error with the message TEXT. *Note Functions That Control Make: Make Control Functions. `$(warning TEXT...)' When this function is evaluated, `make' generates a warning with the message TEXT. *Note Functions That Control Make: Make Control Functions. `$(shell COMMAND)' Execute a shell command and return its output. *Note The `shell' Function: Shell Function. `$(origin VARIABLE)' Return a string describing how the `make' variable VARIABLE was defined. *Note The `origin' Function: Origin Function. `$(foreach VAR,WORDS,TEXT)' Evaluate TEXT with VAR bound to each word in WORDS, and concatenate the results. *Note The `foreach' Function: Foreach Function. `$(call VAR,PARAM,...)' Evaluate the variable VAR replacing any references to `$(1)', `$(2)' with the first, second, etc. PARAM values. *Note The `call' Function: Call Function. Here is a summary of the automatic variables. *Note Automatic Variables: Automatic, for full information. `$@' The file name of the target. `$%' The target member name, when the target is an archive member. `$<' The name of the first prerequisite. `$?' The names of all the prerequisites that are newer than the target, with spaces between them. For prerequisites which are archive members, only the member named is used (*note Archives::). `$^' `$+' The names of all the prerequisites, with spaces between them. For prerequisites which are archive members, only the member named is used (*note Archives::). The value of `$^' omits duplicate prerequisites, while `$+' retains them and preserves their order. `$*' The stem with which an implicit rule matches (*note How Patterns Match: Pattern Match.). `$(@D)' `$(@F)' The directory part and the file-within-directory part of `$@'. `$(*D)' `$(*F)' The directory part and the file-within-directory part of `$*'. `$(%D)' `$(%F)' The directory part and the file-within-directory part of `$%'. `$( tar-`sed -e '/version_string/!d' \ -e 's/[^0-9.]*\([0-9.]*\).*/\1/' \ -e q version.c`.shar.Z dist: $(SRCS) $(AUX) echo tar-`sed \ -e '/version_string/!d' \ -e 's/[^0-9.]*\([0-9.]*\).*/\1/' \ -e q version.c` > .fname -rm -rf `cat .fname` mkdir `cat .fname` ln $(SRCS) $(AUX) `cat .fname` tar chZf `cat .fname`.tar.Z `cat .fname` -rm -rf `cat .fname` .fname tar.zoo: $(SRCS) $(AUX) -rm -rf tmp.dir -mkdir tmp.dir -rm tar.zoo for X in $(SRCS) $(AUX) ; do \ echo $$X ; \ sed 's/$$/^M/' $$X \ > tmp.dir/$$X ; done cd tmp.dir ; zoo aM ../tar.zoo * -rm -rf tmp.dir