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\input texinfo @c -*- Texinfo -*-
@c %**start of header
@setfilename make.info
@settitle GNU @code{make}
@setchapternewpage odd
@c %**end of header
@c FSF publishers: format makebook.texi instead of using this file directly.
@set RCSID $Id$
@set EDITION 0.54
@set VERSION 3.78.1
@set UPDATED 09 September 1999
@set UPDATE-MONTH September 1999
@comment The ISBN number might need to change on next publication.
@set ISBN 1-882114-80-9 @c CHANGE THIS BEFORE PRINTING AGAIN! --psmith 16jul98
@c finalout
@c ISPELL CHECK: done, 10 June 1993 --roland
@c Combine the variable and function indices:
@syncodeindex vr fn
@c Combine the program and concept indices:
@syncodeindex pg cp
@dircategory GNU Packages
@direntry
* Make: (make). Remake files automatically.
@end direntry
@ifinfo
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 @value{EDITION}, last updated @value{UPDATED},
of @cite{The GNU Make Manual}, for @code{make}, Version @value{VERSION}.
Copyright (C) 1988, '89, '90, '91, '92, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98, '99
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.
@ignore
Permission is granted to process this file through TeX and print the
results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
(this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
@end ignore
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.
@end ifinfo
@iftex
@shorttitlepage GNU Make
@end iftex
@titlepage
@title GNU Make
@subtitle A Program for Directing Recompilation
@subtitle GNU @code{make} Version @value{VERSION}
@subtitle @value{UPDATE-MONTH}
@author Richard M. Stallman and Roland McGrath
@page
@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
Copyright @copyright{} 1988, '89, '90, '91, '92, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98
Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@sp 2
Published by the Free Software Foundation @*
59 Temple Place -- Suite 330, @*
Boston, MA 02111-1307 USA @*
ISBN @value{ISBN} @*
Maintenance and updates since Version 3.76 by Paul D. Smith.
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.
@sp 2
Cover art by Etienne Suvasa.
@end titlepage
@page
@ifinfo
@node Top, Overview, , (dir)
@top Make
The GNU @code{make} utility automatically determines which pieces of a
large program need to be recompiled, and issues the commands to
recompile them.@refill
This edition of the @cite{GNU Make Manual},
last updated @value{UPDATED},
documents GNU @code{make} Version @value{VERSION}.@refill
This manual describes @code{make} and contains the following chapters:@refill
@end ifinfo
@menu
* Overview:: Overview of @code{make}.
* Introduction:: An introduction to @code{make}.
* Makefiles:: Makefiles tell @code{make} what to do.
* Rules:: Rules describe when a file must be remade.
* Commands:: Commands say how to remake a file.
* Using Variables:: You can use variables to avoid repetition.
* Conditionals:: Use or ignore parts of the makefile based
on the values of variables.
* Functions:: Many powerful ways to manipulate text.
* Invoking make: Running. How to invoke @code{make} on the command line.
* Implicit Rules:: Use implicit rules to treat many files alike,
based on their file names.
* Archives:: How @code{make} can update library archives.
* Features:: Features GNU @code{make} has over other @code{make}s.
* Missing:: What GNU @code{make} lacks from other @code{make}s.
* Makefile Conventions:: Conventions for makefiles in GNU programs.
* Quick Reference:: A quick reference for experienced users.
* Make Errors:: A list of common errors generated by @code{make}.
* Complex Makefile:: A real example of a straightforward,
but nontrivial, makefile.
* Concept Index:: Index of Concepts
* Name Index:: Index of Functions, Variables, & Directives
--- The Detailed Node Listing ---
Overview of @code{make}
* Preparing:: Preparing and Running Make
* Reading:: On Reading this Text
* Bugs:: Problems and Bugs
An Introduction to Makefiles
* Rule Introduction:: What a rule looks like.
* Simple Makefile:: A Simple Makefile
* How Make Works:: How @code{make} Processes This Makefile
* Variables Simplify:: Variables Make Makefiles Simpler
* make Deduces:: Letting @code{make} Deduce the Commands
* Combine By Prerequisite:: Another Style of Makefile
* Cleanup:: Rules for Cleaning the Directory
Writing Makefiles
* Makefile Contents:: What makefiles contain.
* Makefile Names:: How to name your makefile.
* Include:: How one makefile can use another makefile.
* MAKEFILES Variable:: The environment can specify extra makefiles.
* Remaking Makefiles:: How makefiles get remade.
* Overriding Makefiles:: How to override part of one makefile
with another makefile.
* Reading Makefiles:: How makefiles are parsed.
Writing Rules
* Rule Example:: An example explained.
* Rule Syntax:: General syntax explained.
* Wildcards:: Using wildcard characters such as `*'.
* Directory Search:: Searching other directories for source files.
* Phony Targets:: Using a target that is not a real file's name.
* Force Targets:: You can use a target without commands
or prerequisites to mark other
targets as phony.
* Empty Targets:: When only the date matters and the
files are empty.
* Special Targets:: Targets with special built-in meanings.
* Multiple Targets:: When to make use of several targets in a rule.
* Multiple Rules:: How to use several rules with the same target.
* Static Pattern:: Static pattern rules apply to multiple targets
and can vary the prerequisites according to
the target name.
* Double-Colon:: How to use a special kind of rule to allow
several independent rules for one target.
* Automatic Prerequisites:: How to automatically generate rules giving
prerequisites from source files themselves.
Using Wildcard Characters in File Names
* Wildcard Examples:: Several examples
* Wildcard Pitfall:: Problems to avoid.
* Wildcard Function:: How to cause wildcard expansion where
it does not normally take place.
Searching Directories for Prerequisites
* General Search:: Specifying a search path that applies
to every prerequisite.
* Selective Search:: Specifying a search path
for a specified class of names.
* Search Algorithm:: When and how search paths are applied.
* Commands/Search:: How to write shell commands that work together
with search paths.
* Implicit/Search:: How search paths affect implicit rules.
* Libraries/Search:: Directory search for link libraries.
Static Pattern Rules
* Static Usage:: The syntax of static pattern rules.
* Static versus Implicit:: When are they better than implicit rules?
Writing the Commands in Rules
* Echoing:: How to control when commands are echoed.
* Execution:: How commands are executed.
* Parallel:: How commands can be executed in parallel.
* Errors:: What happens after a command execution error.
* Interrupts:: What happens when a command is interrupted.
* Recursion:: Invoking @code{make} from makefiles.
* Sequences:: Defining canned sequences of commands.
* Empty Commands:: Defining useful, do-nothing commands.
Recursive Use of @code{make}
* MAKE Variable:: The special effects of using @samp{$(MAKE)}.
* Variables/Recursion:: How to communicate variables to a sub-@code{make}.
* Options/Recursion:: How to communicate options to a sub-@code{make}.
* -w Option:: How the @samp{-w} or @samp{--print-directory} option
helps debug use of recursive @code{make} commands.
How to Use Variables
* Reference:: How to use the value of a variable.
* Flavors:: Variables come in two flavors.
* Advanced:: Advanced features for referencing a variable.
* Values:: All the ways variables get their values.
* Setting:: How to set a variable in the makefile.
* Appending:: How to append more text to the old value
of a variable.
* Override Directive:: How to set a variable in the makefile even if
the user has set it with a command argument.
* Defining:: An alternate way to set a variable
to a verbatim string.
* Environment:: Variable values can come from the environment.
* Automatic:: Some special variables have predefined
meanings for use with implicit rules.
Advanced Features for Reference to Variables
* Substitution Refs:: Referencing a variable with
substitutions on the value.
* Computed Names:: Computing the name of the variable to refer to.
Conditional Parts of Makefiles
* Conditional Example:: Example of a conditional
* Conditional Syntax:: The syntax of conditionals.
* Testing Flags:: Conditionals that test flags.
Functions for Transforming Text
* Syntax of Functions:: How to write a function call.
* Text Functions:: General-purpose text manipulation functions.
* File Name Functions:: Functions for manipulating file names.
* Foreach Function:: Repeat some text with controlled variation.
* Call Function:: Expand a user-defined function.
* Origin Function:: Find where a variable got its value.
* Shell Function:: Substitute the output of a shell command.
How to Run @code{make}
* Makefile Arguments:: How to specify which makefile to use.
* Goals:: How to use goal arguments to specify which
parts of the makefile to use.
* Instead of Execution:: How to use mode flags to specify what
kind of thing to do with the commands
in the makefile other than simply
execute them.
* Avoiding Compilation:: How to avoid recompiling certain files.
* Overriding:: How to override a variable to specify
an alternate compiler and other things.
* Testing:: How to proceed past some errors, to
test compilation.
* Options Summary:: Summary of Options
Using Implicit Rules
* Using Implicit:: How to use an existing implicit rule
to get the commands for updating a file.
* Catalogue of Rules:: A list of built-in implicit rules.
* Implicit Variables:: How to change what predefined rules do.
* Chained Rules:: How to use a chain of implicit rules.
* Pattern Rules:: How to define new implicit rules.
* Last Resort:: How to defining commands for rules
which cannot find any.
* Suffix Rules:: The old-fashioned style of implicit rule.
* Implicit Rule Search:: The precise algorithm for applying
implicit rules.
Defining and Redefining Pattern Rules
* Pattern Intro:: An introduction to pattern rules.
* Pattern Examples:: Examples of pattern rules.
* Automatic:: How to use automatic variables in the
commands of implicit rules.
* Pattern Match:: How patterns match.
* Match-Anything Rules:: Precautions you should take prior to
defining rules that can match any
target file whatever.
* Canceling Rules:: How to override or cancel built-in rules.
Using @code{make} to Update Archive Files
* Archive Members:: Archive members as targets.
* Archive Update:: The implicit rule for archive member targets.
* Archive Pitfalls:: Dangers to watch out for when using archives.
* Archive Suffix Rules:: You can write a special kind of suffix rule
for updating archives.
Implicit Rule for Archive Member Targets
* Archive Symbols:: How to update archive symbol directories.
@end menu
@node Overview, Introduction, Top, Top
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
@chapter Overview of @code{make}
The @code{make} utility automatically determines which pieces of a large
program need to be recompiled, and issues commands to recompile them.
This manual describes GNU @code{make}, which was implemented by Richard
Stallman and Roland McGrath. Development since Version 3.76 has been
handled by Paul D. Smith.
GNU @code{make} conforms to section 6.2 of @cite{IEEE Standard
1003.2-1992} (POSIX.2).
@cindex POSIX
@cindex IEEE Standard 1003.2
@cindex standards conformance
Our examples show C programs, since they are most common, but you can use
@code{make} with any programming language whose compiler can be run with a
shell command. Indeed, @code{make} is not limited to programs. You can
use it to describe any task where some files must be updated automatically
from others whenever the others change.
@menu
* Preparing:: Preparing and Running Make
* Reading:: On Reading this Text
* Bugs:: Problems and Bugs
@end menu
@node Preparing, Reading, , Overview
@ifinfo
@heading Preparing and Running Make
@end ifinfo
To prepare to use @code{make}, you must write a file called
the @dfn{makefile} that describes the relationships among files
in your program and provides commands for updating each file.
In a program, typically, the executable file is updated from object
files, which are in turn made by compiling source files.@refill
Once a suitable makefile exists, each time you change some source files,
this simple shell command:
@example
make
@end example
@noindent
suffices to perform all necessary recompilations. The @code{make} program
uses the makefile data base and the last-modification times of the files to
decide which of the files need to be updated. For each of those files, it
issues the commands recorded in the data base.
You can provide command line arguments to @code{make} to control which
files should be recompiled, or how. @xref{Running, ,How to Run
@code{make}}.
@node Reading, Bugs, Preparing, Overview
@section How to Read This Manual
If you are new to @code{make}, or are looking for a general
introduction, read the first few sections of each chapter, skipping the
later sections. In each chapter, the first few sections contain
introductory or general information and the later sections contain
specialized or technical information.
@ifinfo
The exception is the second chapter, @ref{Introduction, ,An
Introduction to Makefiles}, all of which is introductory.
@end ifinfo
@iftex
The exception is @ref{Introduction, ,An Introduction to Makefiles},
all of which is introductory.
@end iftex
If you are familiar with other @code{make} programs, see @ref{Features,
,Features of GNU @code{make}}, which lists the enhancements GNU
@code{make} has, and @ref{Missing, ,Incompatibilities and Missing
Features}, which explains the few things GNU @code{make} lacks that
others have.
For a quick summary, see @ref{Options Summary}, @ref{Quick Reference},
and @ref{Special Targets}.
@node Bugs, , Reading, Overview
@section Problems and Bugs
@cindex reporting bugs
@cindex bugs, reporting
@cindex problems and bugs, reporting
If you have problems with GNU @code{make} or think you've found a bug,
please report it to the developers; we cannot promise to do anything but
we might well want to fix it.
Before reporting a bug, make sure you've actually found a real bug.
Carefully reread the documentation and see if it really says you can do
what you're trying to do. If it's not clear whether you should be able
to do something or not, report that too; it's a bug in the
documentation!
Before reporting a bug or trying to fix it yourself, try to isolate it
to the smallest possible makefile that reproduces the problem. Then
send us the makefile and the exact results @code{make} gave you. Also
say what you expected to occur; this will help us decide whether the
problem was really in the documentation.
Once you've got a precise problem, please send electronic mail to:
@example
bug-make@@gnu.org
@end example
@noindent
Please include the version number of @code{make} you are using. You can
get this information with the command @samp{make --version}.
Be sure also to include the type of machine and operating system you are
using. If possible, include the contents of the file @file{config.h}
that is generated by the configuration process.
@node Introduction, Makefiles, Overview, Top
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
@chapter An Introduction to Makefiles
You need a file called a @dfn{makefile} to tell @code{make} what to do.
Most often, the makefile tells @code{make} how to compile and link a
program.
@cindex makefile
In this chapter, we will discuss a simple makefile that describes how to
compile and link a text editor which consists of eight C source files
and three header files. The makefile can also tell @code{make} how to
run miscellaneous commands when explicitly asked (for example, to remove
certain files as a clean-up operation). To see a more complex example
of a makefile, see @ref{Complex Makefile}.
When @code{make} recompiles the editor, each changed C source file
must be recompiled. If a header file has changed, each C source file
that includes the header file must be recompiled to be safe. Each
compilation produces an object file corresponding to the source file.
Finally, if any source file has been recompiled, all the object files,
whether newly made or saved from previous compilations, must be linked
together to produce the new executable editor.
@cindex recompilation
@cindex editor
@menu
* Rule Introduction:: What a rule looks like.
* Simple Makefile:: A Simple Makefile
* How Make Works:: How @code{make} Processes This Makefile
* Variables Simplify:: Variables Make Makefiles Simpler
* make Deduces:: Letting @code{make} Deduce the Commands
* Combine By Prerequisite:: Another Style of Makefile
* Cleanup:: Rules for Cleaning the Directory
@end menu
@node Rule Introduction, Simple Makefile, , Introduction
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
@section What a Rule Looks Like
@cindex rule, introduction to
@cindex makefile rule parts
@cindex parts of makefile rule
A simple makefile consists of ``rules'' with the following shape:
@cindex targets, introduction to
@cindex prerequisites, introduction to
@cindex commands, introduction to
@example
@group
@var{target} @dots{} : @var{prerequisites} @dots{}
@var{command}
@dots{}
@dots{}
@end group
@end example
A @dfn{target} is usually the name of a file that is generated by a
program; examples of targets are executable or object files. A target
can also be the name of an action to carry out, such as @samp{clean}
(@pxref{Phony Targets}).
A @dfn{prerequisite} is a file that is used as input to create the
target. A target often depends on several files.
@cindex tabs in rules
A @dfn{command} is an action that @code{make} carries out.
A rule may have more than one command, each on its own line.
@strong{Please note:} you need to put a tab character at the beginning of
every command line! This is an obscurity that catches the unwary.
Usually a command is in a rule with prerequisites and serves to create a
target file if any of the prerequisites change. However, the rule that
specifies commands for the target need not have prerequisites. For
example, the rule containing the delete command associated with the
target @samp{clean} does not have prerequisites.
A @dfn{rule}, then, explains how and when to remake certain files
which are the targets of the particular rule. @code{make} carries out
the commands on the prerequisites to create or update the target. A
rule can also explain how and when to carry out an action.
@xref{Rules, , Writing Rules}.
A makefile may contain other text besides rules, but a simple makefile
need only contain rules. Rules may look somewhat more complicated
than shown in this template, but all fit the pattern more or less.
@node Simple Makefile, How Make Works, Rule Introduction, Introduction
@section A Simple Makefile
@cindex simple makefile
@cindex makefile, simple
Here is a straightforward makefile that describes the way an
executable file called @code{edit} depends on eight object files
which, in turn, depend on eight C source and three header files.
In this example, all the C files include @file{defs.h}, but only those
defining editing commands include @file{command.h}, and only low
level files that change the editor buffer include @file{buffer.h}.
@example
@group
edit : main.o kbd.o command.o display.o \
insert.o search.o files.o utils.o
cc -o edit main.o kbd.o command.o display.o \
insert.o search.o files.o utils.o
main.o : main.c defs.h
cc -c main.c
kbd.o : kbd.c defs.h command.h
cc -c kbd.c
command.o : command.c defs.h command.h
cc -c command.c
display.o : display.c defs.h buffer.h
cc -c display.c
insert.o : insert.c defs.h buffer.h
cc -c insert.c
search.o : search.c defs.h buffer.h
cc -c search.c
files.o : files.c defs.h buffer.h command.h
cc -c files.c
utils.o : utils.c defs.h
cc -c utils.c
clean :
rm edit main.o kbd.o command.o display.o \
insert.o search.o files.o utils.o
@end group
@end example
@noindent
We split each long line into two lines using backslash-newline; this is
like using one long line, but is easier to read.
@cindex continuation lines
@cindex @code{\} (backslash), for continuation lines
@cindex backslash (@code{\}), for continuation lines
@cindex quoting newline, in makefile
@cindex newline, quoting, in makefile
To use this makefile to create the executable file called @file{edit},
type:
@example
make
@end example
To use this makefile to delete the executable file and all the object
files from the directory, type:
@example
make clean
@end example
In the example makefile, the targets include the executable file
@samp{edit}, and the object files @samp{main.o} and @samp{kbd.o}. The
prerequisites are files such as @samp{main.c} and @samp{defs.h}.
In fact, each @samp{.o} file is both a target and a prerequisite.
Commands include @w{@samp{cc -c main.c}} and @w{@samp{cc -c kbd.c}}.
When a target is a file, it needs to be recompiled or relinked if any
of its prerequisites change. In addition, any prerequisites that are
themselves automatically generated should be updated first. In this
example, @file{edit} depends on each of the eight object files; the
object file @file{main.o} depends on the source file @file{main.c} and
on the header file @file{defs.h}.
A shell command follows each line that contains a target and
prerequisites. These shell commands say how to update the target file.
A tab character must come at the beginning of every command line to
distinguish commands lines from other lines in the makefile. (Bear in
mind that @code{make} does not know anything about how the commands
work. It is up to you to supply commands that will update the target
file properly. All @code{make} does is execute the commands in the rule
you have specified when the target file needs to be updated.)
@cindex shell command
The target @samp{clean} is not a file, but merely the name of an
action. Since you
normally
do not want to carry out the actions in this rule, @samp{clean} is not a prerequisite of any other rule.
Consequently, @code{make} never does anything with it unless you tell
it specifically. Note that this rule not only is not a prerequisite, it
also does not have any prerequisites, so the only purpose of the rule
is to run the specified commands. Targets that do not refer to files
but are just actions are called @dfn{phony targets}. @xref{Phony
Targets}, for information about this kind of target. @xref{Errors, ,
Errors in Commands}, to see how to cause @code{make} to ignore errors
from @code{rm} or any other command.
@cindex @code{clean} target
@cindex @code{rm} (shell command)
@node How Make Works, Variables Simplify, Simple Makefile, Introduction
@comment node-name, next, previous, up
@section How @code{make} Processes a Makefile
@cindex processing a makefile
@cindex makefile, how @code{make} processes
By default, @code{make} starts with the first target (not targets whose
names start with @samp{.}). This is called the @dfn{default goal}.
(@dfn{Goals} are the targets that @code{make} strives ultimately to
update. @xref{Goals, , Arguments to Specify the Goals}.)
@cindex default goal
@cindex goal, default
@cindex goal
In the simple example of the previous section, the default goal is to
update the executable program @file{edit}; therefore, we put that rule
first.
Thus, when you give the command:
@example
make
@end example
@noindent
@code{make} reads the makefile in the current directory and begins by
processing the first rule. In the example, this rule is for relinking
@file{edit}; but before @code{make} can fully process this rule, it
must process the rules for the files that @file{edit} depends on,
which in this case are the object files. Each of these files is
processed according to its own rule. These rules say to update each
@samp{.o} file by compiling its source file. The recompilation must
be done if the source file, or any of the header files named as
prerequisites, is more recent than the object file, or if the object
file does not exist.
The other rules are processed because their targets appear as
prerequisites of the goal. If some other rule is not depended on by the
goal (or anything it depends on, etc.), that rule is not processed,
unless you tell @code{make} to do so (with a command such as
@w{@code{make clean}}).
Before recompiling an object file, @code{make} considers updating its
prerequisites, the source file and header files. This makefile does not
specify anything to be done for them---the @samp{.c} and @samp{.h} files
are not the targets of any rules---so @code{make} does nothing for these
files. But @code{make} would update automatically generated C programs,
such as those made by Bison or Yacc, by their own rules at this time.
After recompiling whichever object files need it, @code{make} decides
whether to relink @file{edit}. This must be done if the file
@file{edit} does not exist, or if any of the object files are newer than
it. If an object file was just recompiled, it is now newer than
@file{edit}, so @file{edit} is relinked.
@cindex relinking
Thus, if we change the file @file{insert.c} and run @code{make},
@code{make} will compile that file to update @file{insert.o}, and then
link @file{edit}. If we change the file @file{command.h} and run
@code{make}, @code{make} will recompile the object files @file{kbd.o},
@file{command.o} and @file{files.o} and then link the file @file{edit}.
@node Variables Simplify, make Deduces, How Make Works, Introduction
@section Variables Make Makefiles Simpler
@cindex variables
@cindex simplifying with variables
In our example, we had to list all the object files twice in the rule for
@file{edit} (repeated here):
@example
@group
edit : main.o kbd.o command.o display.o \
insert.o search.o files.o utils.o
cc -o edit main.o kbd.o command.o display.o \
insert.o search.o files.o utils.o
@end group
@end example
@cindex @code{objects}
Such duplication is error-prone; if a new object file is added to the
system, we might add it to one list and forget the other. We can eliminate
the risk and simplify the makefile by using a variable. @dfn{Variables}
allow a text string to be defined once and substituted in multiple places
later (@pxref{Using Variables, ,How to Use Variables}).
@cindex @code{OBJECTS}
@cindex @code{objs}
@cindex @code{OBJS}
@cindex @code{obj}
@cindex @code{OBJ}
It is standard practice for every makefile to have a variable named
@code{objects}, @code{OBJECTS}, @code{objs}, @code{OBJS}, @code{obj},
or @code{OBJ} which is a list of all object file names. We would
define such a variable @code{objects} with a line like this in the
makefile:@refill
@example
@group
objects = main.o kbd.o command.o display.o \
insert.o search.o files.o utils.o
@end group
@end example
@noindent
Then, each place we want to put a list of the object file names, we can
substitute the variable's value by writing @samp{$(objects)}
(@pxref{Using Variables, ,How to Use Variables}).
Here is how the complete simple makefile looks when you use a variable
for the object files:
@example
@group
objects = main.o kbd.o command.o display.o \
insert.o search.o files.o utils.o
edit : $(objects)
cc -o edit $(objects)
main.o : main.c defs.h
cc -c main.c
kbd.o : kbd.c defs.h command.h
cc -c kbd.c
command.o : command.c defs.h command.h
cc -c command.c
display.o : display.c defs.h buffer.h
cc -c display.c
insert.o : insert.c defs.h buffer.h
cc -c insert.c
search.o : search.c defs.h buffer.h
cc -c search.c
files.o : files.c defs.h buffer.h command.h
cc -c files.c
utils.o : utils.c defs.h
cc -c utils.c
clean :
rm edit $(objects)
@end group
@end example
@node make Deduces, Combine By Prerequisite, Variables Simplify, Introduction
@section Letting @code{make} Deduce the Commands
@cindex deducing commands (implicit rules)
@cindex implicit rule, introduction to
@cindex rule, implicit, introduction to
It is not necessary to spell out the commands for compiling the individual
C source files, because @code{make} can figure them out: it has an
@dfn{implicit rule} for updating a @samp{.o} file from a correspondingly
named @samp{.c} file using a @samp{cc -c} command. For example, it will
use the command @samp{cc -c main.c -o main.o} to compile @file{main.c} into
@file{main.o}. We can therefore omit the commands from the rules for the
object files. @xref{Implicit Rules, ,Using Implicit Rules}.@refill
When a @samp{.c} file is used automatically in this way, it is also
automatically added to the list of prerequisites. We can therefore omit
the @samp{.c} files from the prerequisites, provided we omit the commands.
Here is the entire example, with both of these changes, and a variable
@code{objects} as suggested above:
@example
@group
objects = main.o kbd.o command.o display.o \
insert.o search.o files.o utils.o
edit : $(objects)
cc -o edit $(objects)
main.o : defs.h
kbd.o : defs.h command.h
command.o : defs.h command.h
display.o : defs.h buffer.h
insert.o : defs.h buffer.h
search.o : defs.h buffer.h
files.o : defs.h buffer.h command.h
utils.o : defs.h
.PHONY : clean
clean :
-rm edit $(objects)
@end group
@end example
@noindent
This is how we would write the makefile in actual practice. (The
complications associated with @samp{clean} are described elsewhere.
See @ref{Phony Targets}, and @ref{Errors, ,Errors in Commands}.)
Because implicit rules are so convenient, they are important. You
will see them used frequently.@refill
@node Combine By Prerequisite, Cleanup, make Deduces, Introduction
@section Another Style of Makefile
@cindex combining rules by prerequisite
When the objects of a makefile are created only by implicit rules, an
alternative style of makefile is possible. In this style of makefile,
you group entries by their prerequisites instead of by their targets.
Here is what one looks like:
@example
@group
objects = main.o kbd.o command.o display.o \
insert.o search.o files.o utils.o
edit : $(objects)
cc -o edit $(objects)
$(objects) : defs.h
kbd.o command.o files.o : command.h
display.o insert.o search.o files.o : buffer.h
@end group
@end example
@noindent
Here @file{defs.h} is given as a prerequisite of all the object files;
@file{command.h} and @file{buffer.h} are prerequisites of the specific
object files listed for them.
Whether this is better is a matter of taste: it is more compact, but some
people dislike it because they find it clearer to put all the information
about each target in one place.
@node Cleanup, , Combine By Prerequisite, Introduction
@section Rules for Cleaning the Directory
@cindex cleaning up
@cindex removing, to clean up
Compiling a program is not the only thing you might want to write rules
for. Makefiles commonly tell how to do a few other things besides
compiling a program: for example, how to delete all the object files
and executables so that the directory is @samp{clean}.
@cindex @code{clean} target
Here is how we
could write a @code{make} rule for cleaning our example editor:
@example
@group
clean:
rm edit $(objects)
@end group
@end example
In practice, we might want to write the rule in a somewhat more
complicated manner to handle unanticipated situations. We would do this:
@example
@group
.PHONY : clean
clean :
-rm edit $(objects)
@end group
@end example
@noindent
This prevents @code{make} from getting confused by an actual file
called @file{clean} and causes it to continue in spite of errors from
@code{rm}. (See @ref{Phony Targets}, and @ref{Errors, ,Errors in
Commands}.)
@noindent
A rule such as this should not be placed at the beginning of the
makefile, because we do not want it to run by default! Thus, in the
example makefile, we want the rule for @code{edit}, which recompiles
the editor, to remain the default goal.
Since @code{clean} is not a prerequisite of @code{edit}, this rule will not
run at all if we give the command @samp{make} with no arguments. In
order to make the rule run, we have to type @samp{make clean}.
@xref{Running, ,How to Run @code{make}}.
@node Makefiles, Rules, Introduction, Top
@chapter Writing Makefiles
@cindex makefile, how to write
The information that tells @code{make} how to recompile a system comes from
reading a data base called the @dfn{makefile}.
@menu
* Makefile Contents:: What makefiles contain.
* Makefile Names:: How to name your makefile.
* Include:: How one makefile can use another makefile.
* MAKEFILES Variable:: The environment can specify extra makefiles.
* Remaking Makefiles:: How makefiles get remade.
* Overriding Makefiles:: How to override part of one makefile
with another makefile.
* Reading Makefiles:: How makefiles are parsed.
@end menu
@node Makefile Contents, Makefile Names, , Makefiles
@section What Makefiles Contain
Makefiles contain five kinds of things: @dfn{explicit rules},
@dfn{implicit rules}, @dfn{variable definitions}, @dfn{directives},
and @dfn{comments}. Rules, variables, and directives are described at
length in later chapters.@refill
@itemize @bullet
@cindex rule, explicit, definition of
@cindex explicit rule, definition of
@item
An @dfn{explicit rule} says when and how to remake one or more files,
called the rule's targets. It lists the other files that the targets
depend on, call the @dfn{prerequisites} of the target, and may also give
commands to use to create or update the targets. @xref{Rules, ,Writing
Rules}.
@cindex rule, implicit, definition of
@cindex implicit rule, definition of
@item
An @dfn{implicit rule} says when and how to remake a class of files
based on their names. It describes how a target may depend on a file
with a name similar to the target and gives commands to create or
update such a target. @xref{Implicit Rules, ,Using Implicit Rules}.
@cindex variable definition
@item
A @dfn{variable definition} is a line that specifies a text string
value for a variable that can be substituted into the text later. The
simple makefile example shows a variable definition for @code{objects}
as a list of all object files (@pxref{Variables Simplify, , Variables
Make Makefiles Simpler}).
@cindex directive
@item
A @dfn{directive} is a command for @code{make} to do something special while
reading the makefile. These include:
@itemize @bullet
@item
Reading another makefile (@pxref{Include, ,Including Other Makefiles}).
@item
Deciding (based on the values of variables) whether to use or
ignore a part of the makefile (@pxref{Conditionals, ,Conditional Parts of Makefiles}).
@item
Defining a variable from a verbatim string containing multiple lines
(@pxref{Defining, ,Defining Variables Verbatim}).
@end itemize
@cindex comments, in makefile
@cindex @code{#} (comments), in makefile
@item
@samp{#} in a line of a makefile starts a @dfn{comment}. It and the rest of
the line are ignored, except that a trailing backslash not escaped by
another backslash will continue the comment across multiple lines.
Comments may appear on any of the lines in the makefile, except within a
@code{define} directive, and perhaps within commands (where the shell
decides what is a comment). A line containing just a comment (with
perhaps spaces before it) is effectively blank, and is ignored.@refill
@end itemize
@node Makefile Names, Include, Makefile Contents, Makefiles
@section What Name to Give Your Makefile
@cindex makefile name
@cindex name of makefile
@cindex default makefile name
@cindex file name of makefile
@c following paragraph rewritten to avoid overfull hbox
By default, when @code{make} looks for the makefile, it tries the
following names, in order: @file{GNUmakefile}, @file{makefile}
and @file{Makefile}.@refill
@findex Makefile
@findex GNUmakefile
@findex makefile
@cindex @code{README}
Normally you should call your makefile either @file{makefile} or
@file{Makefile}. (We recommend @file{Makefile} because it appears
prominently near the beginning of a directory listing, right near other
important files such as @file{README}.) The first name checked,
@file{GNUmakefile}, is not recommended for most makefiles. You should
use this name if you have a makefile that is specific to GNU
@code{make}, and will not be understood by other versions of
@code{make}. Other @code{make} programs look for @file{makefile} and
@file{Makefile}, but not @file{GNUmakefile}.
If @code{make} finds none of these names, it does not use any makefile.
Then you must specify a goal with a command argument, and @code{make}
will attempt to figure out how to remake it using only its built-in
implicit rules. @xref{Implicit Rules, ,Using Implicit Rules}.
@cindex @code{-f}
@cindex @code{--file}
@cindex @code{--makefile}
If you want to use a nonstandard name for your makefile, you can specify
the makefile name with the @samp{-f} or @samp{--file} option. The
arguments @w{@samp{-f @var{name}}} or @w{@samp{--file=@var{name}}} tell
@code{make} to read the file @var{name} as the makefile. If you use
more than one @samp{-f} or @samp{--file} option, you can specify several
makefiles. All the makefiles are effectively concatenated in the order
specified. The default makefile names @file{GNUmakefile},
@file{makefile} and @file{Makefile} are not checked automatically if you
specify @samp{-f} or @samp{--file}.@refill
@cindex specifying makefile name
@cindex makefile name, how to specify
@cindex name of makefile, how to specify
@cindex file name of makefile, how to specify
@node Include, MAKEFILES Variable, Makefile Names, Makefiles
@section Including Other Makefiles
@cindex including other makefiles
@cindex makefile, including
@findex include
The @code{include} directive tells @code{make} to suspend reading the
current makefile and read one or more other makefiles before continuing.
The directive is a line in the makefile that looks like this:
@example
include @var{filenames}@dots{}
@end example
@noindent
@var{filenames} can contain shell file name patterns.
@cindex shell file name pattern (in @code{include})
@cindex shell wildcards (in @code{include})
@cindex wildcard, in @code{include}
Extra spaces are allowed and ignored at the beginning of the line, but
a tab is not allowed. (If the line begins with a tab, it will be
considered a command line.) Whitespace is required between
@code{include} and the file names, and between file names; extra
whitespace is ignored there and at the end of the directive. A
comment starting with @samp{#} is allowed at the end of the line. If
the file names contain any variable or function references, they are
expanded. @xref{Using Variables, ,How to Use Variables}.
For example, if you have three @file{.mk} files, @file{a.mk},
@file{b.mk}, and @file{c.mk}, and @code{$(bar)} expands to
@code{bish bash}, then the following expression
@example
include foo *.mk $(bar)
@end example
is equivalent to
@example
include foo a.mk b.mk c.mk bish bash
@end example
When @code{make} processes an @code{include} directive, it suspends
reading of the containing makefile and reads from each listed file in
turn. When that is finished, @code{make} resumes reading the
makefile in which the directive appears.
One occasion for using @code{include} directives is when several programs,
handled by individual makefiles in various directories, need to use a
common set of variable definitions
(@pxref{Setting, ,Setting Variables}) or pattern rules
(@pxref{Pattern Rules, ,Defining and Redefining Pattern Rules}).
Another such occasion is when you want to generate prerequisites from
source files automatically; the prerequisites can be put in a file that
is included by the main makefile. This practice is generally cleaner
than that of somehow appending the prerequisites to the end of the main
makefile as has been traditionally done with other versions of
@code{make}. @xref{Automatic Prerequisites}.
@cindex prerequisites, automatic generation
@cindex automatic generation of prerequisites
@cindex generating prerequisites automatically
@cindex @code{-I}
@cindex @code{--include-dir}
@cindex included makefiles, default directries
@cindex default directries for included makefiles
@findex /usr/gnu/include
@findex /usr/local/include
@findex /usr/include
If the specified name does not start with a slash, and the file is not
found in the current directory, several other directories are searched.
First, any directories you have specified with the @samp{-I} or
@samp{--include-dir} option are searched
(@pxref{Options Summary, ,Summary of Options}).
Then the following directories (if they exist)
are searched, in this order:
@file{@var{prefix}/include} (normally @file{/usr/local/include}
@footnote{GNU Make compiled for MS-DOS and MS-Windows behaves as if
@var{prefix} has been defined to be the root of the DJGPP tree
hierarchy.})
@file{/usr/gnu/include},
@file{/usr/local/include}, @file{/usr/include}.
If an included makefile cannot be found in any of these directories, a
warning message is generated, but it is not an immediately fatal error;
processing of the makefile containing the @code{include} continues.
Once it has finished reading makefiles, @code{make} will try to remake
any that are out of date or don't exist.
@xref{Remaking Makefiles, ,How Makefiles Are Remade}.
Only after it has tried to find a way to remake a makefile and failed,
will @code{make} diagnose the missing makefile as a fatal error.
If you want @code{make} to simply ignore a makefile which does not exist
and cannot be remade, with no error message, use the @w{@code{-include}}
directive instead of @code{include}, like this:
@example
-include @var{filenames}@dots{}
@end example
This is acts like @code{include} in every way except that there is no
error (not even a warning) if any of the @var{filenames} do not exist.
For compatibility with some other @code{make} implementations,
@code{sinclude} is another name for @w{@code{-include}}.
@node MAKEFILES Variable, Remaking Makefiles, Include, Makefiles
@section The Variable @code{MAKEFILES}
@cindex makefile, and @code{MAKEFILES} variable
@cindex including (@code{MAKEFILES} variable)
@vindex MAKEFILES
If the environment variable @code{MAKEFILES} is defined, @code{make}
considers its value as a list of names (separated by whitespace) of
additional makefiles to be read before the others. This works much like
the @code{include} directive: various directories are searched for those
files (@pxref{Include, ,Including Other Makefiles}). In addition, the
default goal is never taken from one of these makefiles and it is not an
error if the files listed in @code{MAKEFILES} are not found.@refill
@cindex recursion, and @code{MAKEFILES} variable
The main use of @code{MAKEFILES} is in communication between recursive
invocations of @code{make} (@pxref{Recursion, ,Recursive Use of
@code{make}}). It usually is not desirable to set the environment
variable before a top-level invocation of @code{make}, because it is
usually better not to mess with a makefile from outside. However, if
you are running @code{make} without a specific makefile, a makefile in
@code{MAKEFILES} can do useful things to help the built-in implicit
rules work better, such as defining search paths (@pxref{Directory Search}).
Some users are tempted to set @code{MAKEFILES} in the environment
automatically on login, and program makefiles to expect this to be done.
This is a very bad idea, because such makefiles will fail to work if run by
anyone else. It is much better to write explicit @code{include} directives
in the makefiles. @xref{Include, , Including Other Makefiles}.
@node Remaking Makefiles, Overriding Makefiles, MAKEFILES Variable, Makefiles
@section How Makefiles Are Remade
@cindex updating makefiles
@cindex remaking makefiles
@cindex makefile, remaking of
Sometimes makefiles can be remade from other files, such as RCS or SCCS
files. If a makefile can be remade from other files, you probably want
@code{make} to get an up-to-date version of the makefile to read in.
To this end, after reading in all makefiles, @code{make} will consider
each as a goal target and attempt to update it. If a makefile has a
rule which says how to update it (found either in that very makefile or
in another one) or if an implicit rule applies to it (@pxref{Implicit
Rules, ,Using Implicit Rules}), it will be updated if necessary. After
all makefiles have been checked, if any have actually been changed,
@code{make} starts with a clean slate and reads all the makefiles over
again. (It will also attempt to update each of them over again, but
normally this will not change them again, since they are already up to
date.)@refill
If you know that one or more of your makefiles cannot be remade and you
want to keep @code{make} from performing an implicit rule search on
them, perhaps for efficiency reasons, you can use any normal method of
preventing implicit rule lookup to do so. For example, you can write an
explicit rule with the makefile as the target, and an empty command
string (@pxref{Empty Commands, ,Using Empty Commands}).
If the makefiles specify a double-colon rule to remake a file with
commands but no prerequisites, that file will always be remade
(@pxref{Double-Colon}). In the case of makefiles, a makefile that has a
double-colon rule with commands but no prerequisites will be remade every
time @code{make} is run, and then again after @code{make} starts over
and reads the makefiles in again. This would cause an infinite loop:
@code{make} would constantly remake the makefile, and never do anything
else. So, to avoid this, @code{make} will @strong{not} attempt to
remake makefiles which are specified as targets of a double-colon rule
with commands but no prerequisites.@refill
If you do not specify any makefiles to be read with @samp{-f} or
@samp{--file} options, @code{make} will try the default makefile names;
@pxref{Makefile Names, ,What Name to Give Your Makefile}. Unlike
makefiles explicitly requested with @samp{-f} or @samp{--file} options,
@code{make} is not certain that these makefiles should exist. However,
if a default makefile does not exist but can be created by running
@code{make} rules, you probably want the rules to be run so that the
makefile can be used.
Therefore, if none of the default makefiles exists, @code{make} will try
to make each of them in the same order in which they are searched for
(@pxref{Makefile Names, ,What Name to Give Your Makefile})
until it succeeds in making one, or it runs out of names to try. Note
that it is not an error if @code{make} cannot find or make any makefile;
a makefile is not always necessary.@refill
When you use the @samp{-t} or @samp{--touch} option
(@pxref{Instead of Execution, ,Instead of Executing the Commands}),
you would not want to use an out-of-date makefile to decide which
targets to touch. So the @samp{-t} option has no effect on updating
makefiles; they are really updated even if @samp{-t} is specified.
Likewise, @samp{-q} (or @samp{--question}) and @samp{-n} (or
@samp{--just-print}) do not prevent updating of makefiles, because an
out-of-date makefile would result in the wrong output for other targets.
Thus, @samp{make -f mfile -n foo} will update @file{mfile}, read it in,
and then print the commands to update @file{foo} and its prerequisites
without running them. The commands printed for @file{foo} will be those
specified in the updated contents of @file{mfile}.
However, on occasion you might actually wish to prevent updating of even
the makefiles. You can do this by specifying the makefiles as goals in
the command line as well as specifying them as makefiles. When the
makefile name is specified explicitly as a goal, the options @samp{-t}
and so on do apply to them.
Thus, @samp{make -f mfile -n mfile foo} would read the makefile
@file{mfile}, print the commands needed to update it without actually
running them, and then print the commands needed to update @file{foo}
without running them. The commands for @file{foo} will be those
specified by the existing contents of @file{mfile}.
@node Overriding Makefiles, Reading Makefiles, Remaking Makefiles, Makefiles
@section Overriding Part of Another Makefile
@cindex overriding makefiles
@cindex makefile, overriding
Sometimes it is useful to have a makefile that is mostly just like
another makefile. You can often use the @samp{include} directive to
include one in the other, and add more targets or variable definitions.
However, if the two makefiles give different commands for the same
target, @code{make} will not let you just do this. But there is another way.
@cindex match-anything rule, used to override
In the containing makefile (the one that wants to include the other),
you can use a match-anything pattern rule to say that to remake any
target that cannot be made from the information in the containing
makefile, @code{make} should look in another makefile.
@xref{Pattern Rules}, for more information on pattern rules.
For example, if you have a makefile called @file{Makefile} that says how
to make the target @samp{foo} (and other targets), you can write a
makefile called @file{GNUmakefile} that contains:
@example
foo:
frobnicate > foo
%: force
@@$(MAKE) -f Makefile $@@
force: ;
@end example
If you say @samp{make foo}, @code{make} will find @file{GNUmakefile},
read it, and see that to make @file{foo}, it needs to run the command
@samp{frobnicate > foo}. If you say @samp{make bar}, @code{make} will
find no way to make @file{bar} in @file{GNUmakefile}, so it will use the
commands from the pattern rule: @samp{make -f Makefile bar}. If
@file{Makefile} provides a rule for updating @file{bar}, @code{make}
will apply the rule. And likewise for any other target that
@file{GNUmakefile} does not say how to make.
The way this works is that the pattern rule has a pattern of just
@samp{%}, so it matches any target whatever. The rule specifies a
prerequisite @file{force}, to guarantee that the commands will be run even
if the target file already exists. We give @file{force} target empty
commands to prevent @code{make} from searching for an implicit rule to
build it---otherwise it would apply the same match-anything rule to
@file{force} itself and create a prerequisite loop!
@node Reading Makefiles, , Overriding Makefiles, Makefiles
@section How @code{make} Reads a Makefile
@cindex reading makefiles
@cindex makefile, parsing
GNU @code{make} does its work in two distinct phases. During the first
phase it reads all the makefiles, included makefiles, etc. and
internalizes all the variables and their values, implicit and explicit
rules, and constructs a dependency graph of all the targets and their
prerequisites. During the second phase, @code{make} uses these internal
structures to determine what targets will need to be rebuilt and to
invoke the rules necessary to do so.
It's important to understand this two-phase approach because it has a
direct impact on how variable and function expansion happens; this is
often a source of some confusion when writing makefiles. Here we will
present a summary of the phases in which expansion happens for different
constructs within the makefile. We say that expansion is
@dfn{immediate} if it happens during the first phase: in this case
@code{make} will expand any variables or functions in that section of a
construct as the makefile is parsed. We say that expansion is
@dfn{deferred} if expansion is not performed immediately. Expansion of
deferred construct is not performed until either the construct appears
later in an immediate context, or until the second phase.
You may not be familiar with some of these constructs yet. You can
reference this section as you become familiar with them, in later
chapters.
@subheading Variable Assignment
@cindex +=, expansion
@cindex =, expansion
@cindex ?=, expansion
@cindex +=, expansion
@cindex define, expansion
Variable definitions are parsed as follows:
@example
@var{immediate} = @var{deferred}
@var{immediate} ?= @var{deferred}
@var{immediate} := @var{immediate}
@var{immediate} += @var{deferred} or @var{immediate}
define @var{immediate}
@var{deferred}
endef
@end example
For the append operator, @samp{+=}, the right-hand side is considered
immediate if the variable was previously set as a simple variable
(@samp{:=}), and deferred otherwise.
@subheading Conditional Syntax
@cindex ifdef, expansion
@cindex ifeq, expansion
@cindex ifndef, expansion
@cindex ifneq, expansion
All instances of conditional syntax are parsed immediately, in their
entirety; this includes the @code{ifdef}, @code{ifeq}, @code{ifndef},
and @code{ifneq} forms.
@subheading Rule Definition
@cindex target, expansion
@cindex prerequisite, expansion
@cindex implicit rule, expansion
@cindex pattern rule, expansion
@cindex explicit rule, expansion
A rule is always expanded the same way, regardless of the form:
@example
@var{immediate} : @var{immediate} ; @var{deferred}
@var{deferred}
@end example
That is, the target and prerequisite sections are expanded immediately,
and the commands used to construct the target are always deferred. This
general rule is true for explicit rules, pattern rules, suffix rules,
static pattern rules, and simple prerequisite definitions.
@node Rules, Commands, Makefiles, Top
@chapter Writing Rules
@cindex writing rules
@cindex rule, how to write
@cindex target
@cindex prerequisite
A @dfn{rule} appears in the makefile and says when and how to remake
certain files, called the rule's @dfn{targets} (most often only one per rule).
It lists the other files that are the @dfn{prerequisites} of the target, and
@dfn{commands} to use to create or update the target.
@cindex default goal
@cindex goal, default
The order of rules is not significant, except for determining the
@dfn{default goal}: the target for @code{make} to consider, if you do
not otherwise specify one. The default goal is the target of the first
rule in the first makefile. If the first rule has multiple targets,
only the first target is taken as the default. There are two
exceptions: a target starting with a period is not a default unless it
contains one or more slashes, @samp{/}, as well; and, a target that
defines a pattern rule has no effect on the default goal.
(@xref{Pattern Rules, ,Defining and Redefining Pattern Rules}.)
Therefore, we usually write the makefile so that the first rule is the
one for compiling the entire program or all the programs described by
the makefile (often with a target called @samp{all}).
@xref{Goals, ,Arguments to Specify the Goals}.
@menu
* Rule Example:: An example explained.
* Rule Syntax:: General syntax explained.
* Wildcards:: Using wildcard characters such as `*'.
* Directory Search:: Searching other directories for source files.
* Phony Targets:: Using a target that is not a real file's name.
* Force Targets:: You can use a target without commands
or prerequisites to mark other
targets as phony.
* Empty Targets:: When only the date matters and the
files are empty.
* Special Targets:: Targets with special built-in meanings.
* Multiple Targets:: When to make use of several targets in a rule.
* Multiple Rules:: How to use several rules with the same target.
* Static Pattern:: Static pattern rules apply to multiple targets
and can vary the prerequisites according to
the target name.
* Double-Colon:: How to use a special kind of rule to allow
several independent rules for one target.
* Automatic Prerequisites:: How to automatically generate rules giving
prerequisites from source files themselves.
@end menu
@ifinfo
@node Rule Example, Rule Syntax, , Rules
@section Rule Example
Here is an example of a rule:
@example
foo.o : foo.c defs.h # module for twiddling the frobs
cc -c -g foo.c
@end example
Its target is @file{foo.o} and its prerequisites are @file{foo.c} and
@file{defs.h}. It has one command, which is @samp{cc -c -g foo.c}.
The command line starts with a tab to identify it as a command.
This rule says two things:
@itemize @bullet
@item
How to decide whether @file{foo.o} is out of date: it is out of date
if it does not exist, or if either @file{foo.c} or @file{defs.h} is
more recent than it.
@item
How to update the file @file{foo.o}: by running @code{cc} as stated.
The command does not explicitly mention @file{defs.h}, but we presume
that @file{foo.c} includes it, and that that is why @file{defs.h} was
added to the prerequisites.
@end itemize
@end ifinfo
@node Rule Syntax, Wildcards, Rule Example, Rules
@section Rule Syntax
@cindex rule syntax
@cindex syntax of rules
In general, a rule looks like this:
@example
@var{targets} : @var{prerequisites}
@var{command}
@dots{}
@end example
@noindent
or like this:
@example
@var{targets} : @var{prerequisites} ; @var{command}
@var{command}
@dots{}
@end example
@cindex targets
@cindex rule targets
The @var{targets} are file names, separated by spaces. Wildcard
characters may be used (@pxref{Wildcards, ,Using Wildcard Characters
in File Names}) and a name of the form @file{@var{a}(@var{m})}
represents member @var{m} in archive file @var{a}
(@pxref{Archive Members, ,Archive Members as Targets}).
Usually there is only one
target per rule, but occasionally there is a reason to have more
(@pxref{Multiple Targets, , Multiple Targets in a Rule}).@refill
@cindex commands
@cindex tab character (in commands)
The @var{command} lines start with a tab character. The first command may
appear on the line after the prerequisites, with a tab character, or may
appear on the same line, with a semicolon. Either way, the effect is the
same. @xref{Commands, ,Writing the Commands in Rules}.
@cindex dollar sign (@code{$}), in rules
@cindex @code{$}, in rules
@cindex rule, and @code{$}
Because dollar signs are used to start variable references, if you really
want a dollar sign in a rule you must write two of them, @samp{$$}
(@pxref{Using Variables, ,How to Use Variables}).
You may split a long line by inserting a backslash
followed by a newline, but this is not required, as @code{make} places no
limit on the length of a line in a makefile.
A rule tells @code{make} two things: when the targets are out of date,
and how to update them when necessary.
@cindex prerequisites
@cindex rule prerequisites
The criterion for being out of date is specified in terms of the
@var{prerequisites}, which consist of file names separated by spaces.
(Wildcards and archive members (@pxref{Archives}) are allowed here too.)
A target is out of date if it does not exist or if it is older than any
of the prerequisites (by comparison of last-modification times). The
idea is that the contents of the target file are computed based on
information in the prerequisites, so if any of the prerequisites changes,
the contents of the existing target file are no longer necessarily
valid.
How to update is specified by @var{commands}. These are lines to be
executed by the shell (normally @samp{sh}), but with some extra features
(@pxref{Commands, ,Writing the Commands in Rules}).
@node Wildcards, Directory Search, Rule Syntax, Rules
@section Using Wildcard Characters in File Names
@cindex wildcard
@cindex file name with wildcards
@cindex globbing (wildcards)
@cindex @code{*} (wildcard character)
@cindex @code{?} (wildcard character)
@cindex @code{[@dots{}]} (wildcard characters)
A single file name can specify many files using @dfn{wildcard characters}.
The wildcard characters in @code{make} are @samp{*}, @samp{?} and
@samp{[@dots{}]}, the same as in the Bourne shell. For example, @file{*.c}
specifies a list of all the files (in the working directory) whose names
end in @samp{.c}.@refill
@cindex @code{~} (tilde)
@cindex tilde (@code{~})
@cindex home directory
The character @samp{~} at the beginning of a file name also has special
significance. If alone, or followed by a slash, it represents your home
directory. For example @file{~/bin} expands to @file{/home/you/bin}.
If the @samp{~} is followed by a word, the string represents the home
directory of the user named by that word. For example @file{~john/bin}
expands to @file{/home/john/bin}. On systems which don't have a home
directory for each user (such as MS-DOS or MS-Windows), this
functionality can be simulated by setting the environment variable
@var{HOME}.@refill
Wildcard expansion happens automatically in targets, in prerequisites,
and in commands (where the shell does the expansion). In other
contexts, wildcard expansion happens only if you request it explicitly
with the @code{wildcard} function.
The special significance of a wildcard character can be turned off by
preceding it with a backslash. Thus, @file{foo\*bar} would refer to a
specific file whose name consists of @samp{foo}, an asterisk, and
@samp{bar}.@refill
@menu
* Wildcard Examples:: Several examples
* Wildcard Pitfall:: Problems to avoid.
* Wildcard Function:: How to cause wildcard expansion where
it does not normally take place.
@end menu
@node Wildcard Examples, Wildcard Pitfall, , Wildcards
@subsection Wildcard Examples
Wildcards can be used in the commands of a rule, where they are expanded
by the shell. For example, here is a rule to delete all the object files:
@example
@group
clean:
rm -f *.o
@end group
@end example
@cindex @code{rm} (shell command)
Wildcards are also useful in the prerequisites of a rule. With the
following rule in the makefile, @samp{make print} will print all the
@samp{.c} files that have changed since the last time you printed them:
@example
print: *.c
lpr -p $?
touch print
@end example
@cindex @code{print} target
@cindex @code{lpr} (shell command)
@cindex @code{touch} (shell command)
@noindent
This rule uses @file{print} as an empty target file; see @ref{Empty
Targets, ,Empty Target Files to Record Events}. (The automatic variable
@samp{$?} is used to print only those files that have changed; see
@ref{Automatic, ,Automatic Variables}.)@refill
Wildcard expansion does not happen when you define a variable. Thus, if
you write this:
@example
objects = *.o
@end example
@noindent
then the value of the variable @code{objects} is the actual string
@samp{*.o}. However, if you use the value of @code{objects} in a target,
prerequisite or command, wildcard expansion will take place at that time.
To set @code{objects} to the expansion, instead use:
@example
objects := $(wildcard *.o)
@end example
@noindent
@xref{Wildcard Function}.
@node Wildcard Pitfall, Wildcard Function, Wildcard Examples, Wildcards
@subsection Pitfalls of Using Wildcards
@cindex wildcard pitfalls
@cindex pitfalls of wildcards
@cindex mistakes with wildcards
@cindex errors with wildcards
@cindex problems with wildcards
Now here is an example of a naive way of using wildcard expansion, that
does not do what you would intend. Suppose you would like to say that the
executable file @file{foo} is made from all the object files in the
directory, and you write this:
@example
objects = *.o
foo : $(objects)
cc -o foo $(CFLAGS) $(objects)
@end example
@noindent
The value of @code{objects} is the actual string @samp{*.o}. Wildcard
expansion happens in the rule for @file{foo}, so that each @emph{existing}
@samp{.o} file becomes a prerequisite of @file{foo} and will be recompiled if
necessary.
But what if you delete all the @samp{.o} files? When a wildcard matches
no files, it is left as it is, so then @file{foo} will depend on the
oddly-named file @file{*.o}. Since no such file is likely to exist,
@code{make} will give you an error saying it cannot figure out how to
make @file{*.o}. This is not what you want!
Actually it is possible to obtain the desired result with wildcard
expansion, but you need more sophisticated techniques, including the
@code{wildcard} function and string substitution.
@ifinfo
@xref{Wildcard Function, ,The Function @code{wildcard}}.
@end ifinfo
@iftex
These are described in the following section.
@end iftex
@cindex wildcards and MS-DOS/MS-Windows backslashes
@cindex backslashes in pathnames and wildcard expansion
Microsoft operating systems (MS-DOS and MS-Windows) use backslashes to
separate directories in pathnames, like so:
@example
c:\foo\bar\baz.c
@end example
This is equivalent to the Unix-style @file{c:/foo/bar/baz.c} (the
@file{c:} part is the so-called drive letter). When @code{make} runs on
these systems, it supports backslashes as well as the Unix-style forward
slashes in pathnames. However, this support does @emph{not} include the
wildcard expansion, where backslash is a quote character. Therefore,
you @emph{must} use Unix-style slashes in these cases.
@node Wildcard Function, , Wildcard Pitfall, Wildcards
@subsection The Function @code{wildcard}
@findex wildcard
Wildcard expansion happens automatically in rules. But wildcard expansion
does not normally take place when a variable is set, or inside the
arguments of a function. If you want to do wildcard expansion in such
places, you need to use the @code{wildcard} function, like this:
@example
$(wildcard @var{pattern}@dots{})
@end example
@noindent
This string, used anywhere in a makefile, is replaced by a
space-separated list of names of existing files that match one of the
given file name patterns. If no existing file name matches a pattern,
then that pattern is omitted from the output of the @code{wildcard}
function. Note that this is different from how unmatched wildcards
behave in rules, where they are used verbatim rather than ignored
(@pxref{Wildcard Pitfall}).
One use of the @code{wildcard} function is to get a list of all the C source
files in a directory, like this:
@example
$(wildcard *.c)
@end example
We can change the list of C source files into a list of object files by
replacing the @samp{.c} suffix with @samp{.o} in the result, like this:
@example
$(patsubst %.c,%.o,$(wildcard *.c))
@end example
@noindent
(Here we have used another function, @code{patsubst}.
@xref{Text Functions, ,Functions for String Substitution and Analysis}.)@refill
Thus, a makefile to compile all C source files in the directory and then
link them together could be written as follows:
@example
objects := $(patsubst %.c,%.o,$(wildcard *.c))
foo : $(objects)
cc -o foo $(objects)
@end example
@noindent
(This takes advantage of the implicit rule for compiling C programs, so
there is no need to write explicit rules for compiling the files.
@xref{Flavors, ,The Two Flavors of Variables}, for an explanation of
@samp{:=}, which is a variant of @samp{=}.)
@node Directory Search, Phony Targets, Wildcards, Rules
@section Searching Directories for Prerequisites
@vindex VPATH
@findex vpath
@cindex vpath
@cindex search path for prerequisites (@code{VPATH})
@cindex directory search (@code{VPATH})
For large systems, it is often desirable to put sources in a separate
directory from the binaries. The @dfn{directory search} features of
@code{make} facilitate this by searching several directories
automatically to find a prerequisite. When you redistribute the files
among directories, you do not need to change the individual rules,
just the search paths.
@menu
* General Search:: Specifying a search path that applies
to every prerequisite.
* Selective Search:: Specifying a search path
for a specified class of names.
* Search Algorithm:: When and how search paths are applied.
* Commands/Search:: How to write shell commands that work together
with search paths.
* Implicit/Search:: How search paths affect implicit rules.
* Libraries/Search:: Directory search for link libraries.
@end menu
@node General Search, Selective Search, , Directory Search
@subsection @code{VPATH}: Search Path for All Prerequisites
@vindex VPATH
The value of the @code{make} variable @code{VPATH} specifies a list of
directories that @code{make} should search. Most often, the
directories are expected to contain prerequisite files that are not in the
current directory; however, @code{VPATH} specifies a search list that
@code{make} applies for all files, including files which are targets of
rules.
Thus, if a file that is listed as a target or prerequisite does not exist
in the current directory, @code{make} searches the directories listed in
@code{VPATH} for a file with that name. If a file is found in one of
them, that file may become the prerequisite (see below). Rules may then
specify the names of files in the prerequisite list as if they all
existed in the current directory. @xref{Commands/Search, ,Writing Shell
Commands with Directory Search}.
In the @code{VPATH} variable, directory names are separated by colons or
blanks. The order in which directories are listed is the order followed
by @code{make} in its search. (On MS-DOS and MS-Windows, semi-colons
are used as separators of directory names in @code{VPATH}, since the
colon can be used in the pathname itself, after the drive letter.)
For example,
@example
VPATH = src:../headers
@end example
@noindent
specifies a path containing two directories, @file{src} and
@file{../headers}, which @code{make} searches in that order.
With this value of @code{VPATH}, the following rule,
@example
foo.o : foo.c
@end example
@noindent
is interpreted as if it were written like this:
@example
foo.o : src/foo.c
@end example
@noindent
assuming the file @file{foo.c} does not exist in the current directory but
is found in the directory @file{src}.
@node Selective Search, Search Algorithm, General Search, Directory Search
@subsection The @code{vpath} Directive
@findex vpath
Similar to the @code{VPATH} variable, but more selective, is the
@code{vpath} directive (note lower case), which allows you to specify a
search path for a particular class of file names: those that match a
particular pattern. Thus you can supply certain search directories for
one class of file names and other directories (or none) for other file
names.
There are three forms of the @code{vpath} directive:
@table @code
@item vpath @var{pattern} @var{directories}
Specify the search path @var{directories} for file names that match
@var{pattern}.
The search path, @var{directories}, is a list of directories to be
searched, separated by colons (semi-colons on MS-DOS and MS-Windows) or
blanks, just like the search path used in the @code{VPATH} variable.
@item vpath @var{pattern}
Clear out the search path associated with @var{pattern}.
@c Extra blank line makes sure this gets two lines.
@item vpath
Clear all search paths previously specified with @code{vpath} directives.
@end table
A @code{vpath} pattern is a string containing a @samp{%} character. The
string must match the file name of a prerequisite that is being searched
for, the @samp{%} character matching any sequence of zero or more
characters (as in pattern rules; @pxref{Pattern Rules, ,Defining and
Redefining Pattern Rules}). For example, @code{%.h} matches files that
end in @code{.h}. (If there is no @samp{%}, the pattern must match the
prerequisite exactly, which is not useful very often.)
@cindex @code{%}, quoting in @code{vpath}
@cindex @code{%}, quoting with @code{\} (backslash)
@cindex @code{\} (backslash), to quote @code{%}
@cindex backslash (@code{\}), to quote @code{%}
@cindex quoting @code{%}, in @code{vpath}
@samp{%} characters in a @code{vpath} directive's pattern can be quoted
with preceding backslashes (@samp{\}). Backslashes that would otherwise
quote @samp{%} characters can be quoted with more backslashes.
Backslashes that quote @samp{%} characters or other backslashes are
removed from the pattern before it is compared to file names. Backslashes
that are not in danger of quoting @samp{%} characters go unmolested.@refill
When a prerequisite fails to exist in the current directory, if the
@var{pattern} in a @code{vpath} directive matches the name of the
prerequisite file, then the @var{directories} in that directive are searched
just like (and before) the directories in the @code{VPATH} variable.
For example,
@example
vpath %.h ../headers
@end example
@noindent
tells @code{make} to look for any prerequisite whose name ends in @file{.h}
in the directory @file{../headers} if the file is not found in the current
directory.
If several @code{vpath} patterns match the prerequisite file's name, then
@code{make} processes each matching @code{vpath} directive one by one,
searching all the directories mentioned in each directive. @code{make}
handles multiple @code{vpath} directives in the order in which they
appear in the makefile; multiple directives with the same pattern are
independent of each other.
@need 750
Thus,
@example
@group
vpath %.c foo
vpath % blish
vpath %.c bar
@end group
@end example
@noindent
will look for a file ending in @samp{.c} in @file{foo}, then
@file{blish}, then @file{bar}, while
@example
@group
vpath %.c foo:bar
vpath % blish
@end group
@end example
@noindent
will look for a file ending in @samp{.c} in @file{foo}, then
@file{bar}, then @file{blish}.
@node Search Algorithm, Commands/Search, Selective Search, Directory Search
@subsection How Directory Searches are Performed
@cindex algorithm for directory search
@cindex directory search algorithm
When a prerequisite is found through directory search, regardless of type
(general or selective), the pathname located may not be the one that
@code{make} actually provides you in the prerequisite list. Sometimes
the path discovered through directory search is thrown away.
The algorithm @code{make} uses to decide whether to keep or abandon a
path found via directory search is as follows:
@enumerate
@item
If a target file does not exist at the path specified in the makefile,
directory search is performed.
@item
If the directory search is successful, that path is kept and this file
is tentatively stored as the target.
@item
All prerequisites of this target are examined using this same method.
@item
After processing the prerequisites, the target may or may not need to be
rebuilt:
@enumerate a
@item
If the target does @emph{not} need to be rebuilt, the path to the file
found during directory search is used for any prerequisite lists which
contain this target. In short, if @code{make} doesn't need to rebuild
the target then you use the path found via directory search.
@item
If the target @emph{does} need to be rebuilt (is out-of-date), the
pathname found during directory search is @emph{thrown away}, and the
target is rebuilt using the file name specified in the makefile. In
short, if @code{make} must rebuild, then the target is rebuilt locally,
not in the directory found via directory search.
@end enumerate
@end enumerate
This algorithm may seem complex, but in practice it is quite often
exactly what you want.
@cindex traditional directory search
@cindex directory search, traditional
Other versions of @code{make} use a simpler algorithm: if the file does
not exist, and it is found via directory search, then that pathname is
always used whether or not the target needs to be built. Thus, if the
target is rebuilt it is created at the pathname discovered during
directory search.
@vindex GPATH
If, in fact, this is the behavior you want for some or all of your
directories, you can use the @code{GPATH} variable to indicate this to
@code{make}.
@code{GPATH} has the same syntax and format as @code{VPATH} (that is, a
space- or colon-delimited list of pathnames). If an out-of-date target
is found by directory search in a directory that also appears in
@code{GPATH}, then that pathname is not thrown away. The target is
rebuilt using the expanded path.
@node Commands/Search, Implicit/Search, Search Algorithm, Directory Search
@subsection Writing Shell Commands with Directory Search
@cindex shell command, and directory search
@cindex directory search (@code{VPATH}), and shell commands
When a prerequisite is found in another directory through directory search,
this cannot change the commands of the rule; they will execute as written.
Therefore, you must write the commands with care so that they will look for
the prerequisite in the directory where @code{make} finds it.
This is done with the @dfn{automatic variables} such as @samp{$^}
(@pxref{Automatic, ,Automatic Variables}).
For instance, the value of @samp{$^} is a
list of all the prerequisites of the rule, including the names of
the directories in which they were found, and the value of
@samp{$@@} is the target. Thus:@refill
@example
foo.o : foo.c
cc -c $(CFLAGS) $^ -o $@@
@end example
@noindent
(The variable @code{CFLAGS} exists so you can specify flags for C
compilation by implicit rules; we use it here for consistency so it will
affect all C compilations uniformly;
@pxref{Implicit Variables, ,Variables Used by Implicit Rules}.)
Often the prerequisites include header files as well, which you do not
want to mention in the commands. The automatic variable @samp{$<} is
just the first prerequisite:
@example
VPATH = src:../headers
foo.o : foo.c defs.h hack.h
cc -c $(CFLAGS) $< -o $@@
@end example
@node Implicit/Search, Libraries/Search, Commands/Search, Directory Search
@subsection Directory Search and Implicit Rules
@cindex @code{VPATH}, and implicit rules
@cindex directory search (@code{VPATH}), and implicit rules
@cindex search path for prerequisites (@code{VPATH}), and implicit rules
@cindex implicit rule, and directory search
@cindex implicit rule, and @code{VPATH}
@cindex rule, implicit, and directory search
@cindex rule, implicit, and @code{VPATH}
The search through the directories specified in @code{VPATH} or with
@code{vpath} also happens during consideration of implicit rules
(@pxref{Implicit Rules, ,Using Implicit Rules}).
For example, when a file @file{foo.o} has no explicit rule, @code{make}
considers implicit rules, such as the built-in rule to compile
@file{foo.c} if that file exists. If such a file is lacking in the
current directory, the appropriate directories are searched for it. If
@file{foo.c} exists (or is mentioned in the makefile) in any of the
directories, the implicit rule for C compilation is applied.
The commands of implicit rules normally use automatic variables as a
matter of necessity; consequently they will use the file names found by
directory search with no extra effort.
@node Libraries/Search, , Implicit/Search, Directory Search
@subsection Directory Search for Link Libraries
@cindex link libraries, and directory search
@cindex libraries for linking, directory search
@cindex directory search (@code{VPATH}), and link libraries
@cindex @code{VPATH}, and link libraries
@cindex search path for prerequisites (@code{VPATH}), and link libraries
@cindex @code{-l} (library search)
@cindex link libraries, patterns matching
@cindex @code{.LIBPATTERNS}, and link libraries
@vindex .LIBPATTERNS
Directory search applies in a special way to libraries used with the
linker. This special feature comes into play when you write a prerequisite
whose name is of the form @samp{-l@var{name}}. (You can tell something
strange is going on here because the prerequisite is normally the name of a
file, and the @emph{file name} of a library generally looks like
@file{lib@var{name}.a}, not like @samp{-l@var{name}}.)@refill
When a prerequisite's name has the form @samp{-l@var{name}}, @code{make}
handles it specially by searching for the file @file{lib@var{name}.so} in
the current directory, in directories specified by matching @code{vpath}
search paths and the @code{VPATH} search path, and then in the
directories @file{/lib}, @file{/usr/lib}, and @file{@var{prefix}/lib}
(normally @file{/usr/local/lib}, but MS-DOS/MS-Windows versions of
@code{make} behave as if @var{prefix} is defined to be the root of the
DJGPP installation tree).
If that file is not found, then the file @file{lib@var{name}.a} is
searched for, in the same directories as above.
For example, if there is a @file{/usr/lib/libcurses.a} library on your
system (and no @file{/usr/lib/libcurses.so} file), then
@example
@group
foo : foo.c -lcurses
cc $^ -o $@@
@end group
@end example
@noindent
would cause the command @samp{cc foo.c /usr/lib/libcurses.a -o foo} to
be executed when @file{foo} is older than @file{foo.c} or than
@file{/usr/lib/libcurses.a}.@refill
Although the default set of files to be searched for is
@file{lib@var{name}.so} and @file{lib@var{name}.a}, this is customizable
via the @code{.LIBPATTERNS} variable. Each word in the value of this
variable is a pattern string. When a prerequisite like
@samp{-l@var{name}} is seen, @code{make} will replace the percent in
each pattern in the list with @var{name} and perform the above directory
searches using that library filename. If no library is found, the next
word in the list will be used.
The default value for @code{.LIBPATTERNS} is ``@samp{lib%.so lib%.a}'',
which provides the default behavior described above.
You can turn off link library expansion completely by setting this
variable to an empty value.
@node Phony Targets, Force Targets, Directory Search, Rules
@section Phony Targets
@cindex phony targets
@cindex targets, phony
@cindex targets without a file
A phony target is one that is not really the name of a file. It is just a
name for some commands to be executed when you make an explicit request.
There are two reasons to use a phony target: to avoid a conflict with
a file of the same name, and to improve performance.
If you write a rule whose commands will not create the target file, the
commands will be executed every time the target comes up for remaking.
Here is an example:
@example
@group
clean:
rm *.o temp
@end group
@end example
@noindent
Because the @code{rm} command does not create a file named @file{clean},
probably no such file will ever exist. Therefore, the @code{rm} command
will be executed every time you say @samp{make clean}.
@cindex @code{rm} (shell command)
@findex .PHONY
The phony target will cease to work if anything ever does create a file
named @file{clean} in this directory. Since it has no prerequisites, the
file @file{clean} would inevitably be considered up to date, and its
commands would not be executed. To avoid this problem, you can explicitly
declare the target to be phony, using the special target @code{.PHONY}
(@pxref{Special Targets, ,Special Built-in Target Names}) as follows:
@example
.PHONY : clean
@end example
@noindent
Once this is done, @samp{make clean} will run the commands regardless of
whether there is a file named @file{clean}.
Since it knows that phony targets do not name actual files that could be
remade from other files, @code{make} skips the implicit rule search for
phony targets (@pxref{Implicit Rules}). This is why declaring a target
phony is good for performance, even if you are not worried about the
actual file existing.
Thus, you first write the line that states that @code{clean} is a
phony target, then you write the rule, like this:
@example
@group
.PHONY: clean
clean:
rm *.o temp
@end group
@end example
Another example of the usefulness of phony targets is in conjunction
with recursive invocations of @code{make}. In this case the makefile
will often contain a variable which lists a number of subdirectories to
be built. One way to handle this is with one rule whose command is a
shell loop over the subdirectories, like this:
@example
@group
SUBDIRS = foo bar baz
subdirs:
for dir in $(SUBDIRS); do \
$(MAKE) -C $$dir; \
done
@end group
@end example
There are a few of problems with this method, however. First, any error
detected in a submake is not noted by this rule, so it will continue to
build the rest of the directories even when one fails. This can be
overcome by adding shell commands to note the error and exit, but then
it will do so even if @code{make} is invoked with the @code{-k} option,
which is unfortunate. Second, and perhaps more importantly, you cannot
take advantage of the parallel build capabilities of make using this
method, since there is only one rule.
By declaring the subdirectories as phony targets (you must do this as
the subdirectory obviously always exists; otherwise it won't be built)
you can remove these problems:
@example
@group
SUBDIRS = foo bar baz
.PHONY: subdirs $(SUBDIRS)
subdirs: $(SUBDIRS)
$(SUBDIRS):
$(MAKE) -C $@
foo: baz
@end group
@end example
Here we've also declared that the @file{foo} subdirectory cannot be
built until after the @file{baz} subdirectory is complete; this kind of
relationship declaration is particularly important when attempting
parallel builds.
A phony target should not be a prerequisite of a real target file; if it
is, its commands are run every time @code{make} goes to update that
file. As long as a phony target is never a prerequisite of a real
target, the phony target commands will be executed only when the phony
target is a specified goal (@pxref{Goals, ,Arguments to Specify the
Goals}).
Phony targets can have prerequisites. When one directory contains multiple
programs, it is most convenient to describe all of the programs in one
makefile @file{./Makefile}. Since the target remade by default will be the
first one in the makefile, it is common to make this a phony target named
@samp{all} and give it, as prerequisites, all the individual programs. For
example:
@example
all : prog1 prog2 prog3
.PHONY : all
prog1 : prog1.o utils.o
cc -o prog1 prog1.o utils.o
prog2 : prog2.o
cc -o prog2 prog2.o
prog3 : prog3.o sort.o utils.o
cc -o prog3 prog3.o sort.o utils.o
@end example
@noindent
Now you can say just @samp{make} to remake all three programs, or specify
as arguments the ones to remake (as in @samp{make prog1 prog3}).
When one phony target is a prerequisite of another, it serves as a subroutine
of the other. For example, here @samp{make cleanall} will delete the
object files, the difference files, and the file @file{program}:
@example
.PHONY: cleanall cleanobj cleandiff
cleanall : cleanobj cleandiff
rm program
cleanobj :
rm *.o
cleandiff :
rm *.diff
@end example
@node Force Targets, Empty Targets, Phony Targets, Rules
@section Rules without Commands or Prerequisites
@cindex force targets
@cindex targets, force
@cindex @code{FORCE}
@cindex rule, no commands or prerequisites
If a rule has no prerequisites or commands, and the target of the rule
is a nonexistent file, then @code{make} imagines this target to have
been updated whenever its rule is run. This implies that all targets
depending on this one will always have their commands run.
An example will illustrate this:
@example
@group
clean: FORCE
rm $(objects)
FORCE:
@end group
@end example
Here the target @samp{FORCE} satisfies the special conditions, so the
target @file{clean} that depends on it is forced to run its commands.
There is nothing special about the name @samp{FORCE}, but that is one name
commonly used this way.
As you can see, using @samp{FORCE} this way has the same results as using
@samp{.PHONY: clean}.
Using @samp{.PHONY} is more explicit and more efficient. However,
other versions of @code{make} do not support @samp{.PHONY}; thus
@samp{FORCE} appears in many makefiles. @xref{Phony Targets}.
@node Empty Targets, Special Targets, Force Targets, Rules
@section Empty Target Files to Record Events
@cindex empty targets
@cindex targets, empty
@cindex recording events with empty targets
The @dfn{empty target} is a variant of the phony target; it is used to hold
commands for an action that you request explicitly from time to time.
Unlike a phony target, this target file can really exist; but the file's
contents do not matter, and usually are empty.
The purpose of the empty target file is to record, with its
last-modification time, when the rule's commands were last executed. It
does so because one of the commands is a @code{touch} command to update the
target file.
The empty target file should have some prerequisites (otherwise it
doesn't make sense). When you ask to remake the empty target, the
commands are executed if any prerequisite is more recent than the target;
in other words, if a prerequisite has changed since the last time you
remade the target. Here is an example:
@example
print: foo.c bar.c
lpr -p $?
touch print
@end example
@cindex @code{print} target
@cindex @code{lpr} (shell command)
@cindex @code{touch} (shell command)
@noindent
With this rule, @samp{make print} will execute the @code{lpr} command if
either source file has changed since the last @samp{make print}. The
automatic variable @samp{$?} is used to print only those files that have
changed (@pxref{Automatic, ,Automatic Variables}).
@node Special Targets, Multiple Targets, Empty Targets, Rules
@section Special Built-in Target Names
@cindex special targets
@cindex built-in special targets
@cindex targets, built-in special
Certain names have special meanings if they appear as targets.
@table @code
@findex .PHONY
@item .PHONY
The prerequisites of the special target @code{.PHONY} are considered to
be phony targets. When it is time to consider such a target,
@code{make} will run its commands unconditionally, regardless of
whether a file with that name exists or what its last-modification
time is. @xref{Phony Targets, ,Phony Targets}.
@findex .SUFFIXES
@item .SUFFIXES
The prerequisites of the special target @code{.SUFFIXES} are the list
of suffixes to be used in checking for suffix rules.
@xref{Suffix Rules, , Old-Fashioned Suffix Rules}.
@findex .DEFAULT
@item .DEFAULT
The commands specified for @code{.DEFAULT} are used for any target for
which no rules are found (either explicit rules or implicit rules).
@xref{Last Resort}. If @code{.DEFAULT} commands are specified, every
file mentioned as a prerequisite, but not as a target in a rule, will have
these commands executed on its behalf. @xref{Implicit Rule Search,
,Implicit Rule Search Algorithm}.
@findex .PRECIOUS
@item .PRECIOUS
@cindex precious targets
@cindex preserving with @code{.PRECIOUS}
The targets which @code{.PRECIOUS} depends on are given the following
special treatment: if @code{make} is killed or interrupted during the
execution of their commands, the target is not deleted.
@xref{Interrupts, ,Interrupting or Killing @code{make}}.
Also, if the target is an intermediate file, it will not be deleted
after it is no longer needed, as is normally done.
@xref{Chained Rules, ,Chains of Implicit Rules}.
You can also list the target pattern of an implicit rule (such as
@samp{%.o}) as a prerequisite file of the special target @code{.PRECIOUS}
to preserve intermediate files created by rules whose target patterns
match that file's name.
@findex .INTERMEDIATE
@item .INTERMEDIATE
@cindex intermediate targets, explicit
The targets which @code{.INTERMEDIATE} depends on are treated as
intermediate files. @xref{Chained Rules, ,Chains of Implicit Rules}.
@code{.INTERMEDIATE} with no prerequisites has no effect.
@findex .SECONDARY
@item .SECONDARY
@cindex secondary targets
@cindex preserving with @code{.SECONDARY}
The targets which @code{.SECONDARY} depends on are treated as
intermediate files, except that they are never automatically deleted.
@xref{Chained Rules, ,Chains of Implicit Rules}.
@code{.SECONDARY} with no prerequisites marks all file targets mentioned
in the makefile as secondary.
@findex .DELETE_ON_ERROR
@item .DELETE_ON_ERROR
@cindex removing targets on failure
If @code{.DELETE_ON_ERROR} is mentioned as a target anywhere in the
makefile, then @code{make} will delete the target of a rule if it has
changed and its commands exit with a nonzero exit status, just as it
does when it receives a signal. @xref{Errors, ,Errors in Commands}.
@findex .IGNORE
@item .IGNORE
If you specify prerequisites for @code{.IGNORE}, then @code{make} will
ignore errors in execution of the commands run for those particular
files. The commands for @code{.IGNORE} are not meaningful.
If mentioned as a target with no prerequisites, @code{.IGNORE} says to
ignore errors in execution of commands for all files. This usage of
@samp{.IGNORE} is supported only for historical compatibility. Since
this affects every command in the makefile, it is not very useful; we
recommend you use the more selective ways to ignore errors in specific
commands. @xref{Errors, ,Errors in Commands}.
@findex .SILENT
@item .SILENT
If you specify prerequisites for @code{.SILENT}, then @code{make} will
not print the commands to remake those particular files before executing
them. The commands for @code{.SILENT} are not meaningful.
If mentioned as a target with no prerequisites, @code{.SILENT} says not
to print any commands before executing them. This usage of
@samp{.SILENT} is supported only for historical compatibility. We
recommend you use the more selective ways to silence specific commands.
@xref{Echoing, ,Command Echoing}. If you want to silence all commands
for a particular run of @code{make}, use the @samp{-s} or
@w{@samp{--silent}} option (@pxref{Options Summary}).
@findex .EXPORT_ALL_VARIABLES
@item .EXPORT_ALL_VARIABLES
Simply by being mentioned as a target, this tells @code{make} to
export all variables to child processes by default.
@xref{Variables/Recursion, ,Communicating Variables to a
Sub-@code{make}}.
@findex .NOTPARALLEL
@item .NOTPARALLEL
@cindex parallel execution, overriding
If @code{.NOTPARALLEL} is mentioned as a target, then this invocation of
@code{make} will be run serially, even if the @samp{-j} option is
given. Any recursively invoked @code{make} command will still be run in
parallel if its makefile doesn't contain this target. Any prerequisites
on this target are ignored.
@end table
Any defined implicit rule suffix also counts as a special target if it
appears as a target, and so does the concatenation of two suffixes, such
as @samp{.c.o}. These targets are suffix rules, an obsolete way of
defining implicit rules (but a way still widely used). In principle, any
target name could be special in this way if you break it in two and add
both pieces to the suffix list. In practice, suffixes normally begin with
@samp{.}, so these special target names also begin with @samp{.}.
@xref{Suffix Rules, ,Old-Fashioned Suffix Rules}.
@node Multiple Targets, Multiple Rules, Special Targets, Rules
@section Multiple Targets in a Rule
@cindex multiple targets
@cindex several targets in a rule
@cindex targets, multiple
@cindex rule, with multiple targets
A rule with multiple targets is equivalent to writing many rules, each with
one target, and all identical aside from that. The same commands apply to
all the targets, but their effects may vary because you can substitute the
actual target name into the command using @samp{$@@}. The rule contributes
the same prerequisites to all the targets also.
This is useful in two cases.
@itemize @bullet
@item
You want just prerequisites, no commands. For example:
@example
kbd.o command.o files.o: command.h
@end example
@noindent
gives an additional prerequisite to each of the three object files
mentioned.
@item
Similar commands work for all the targets. The commands do not need
to be absolutely identical, since the automatic variable @samp{$@@}
can be used to substitute the particular target to be remade into the
commands (@pxref{Automatic, ,Automatic Variables}). For example:
@example
@group
bigoutput littleoutput : text.g
generate text.g -$(subst output,,$@@) > $@@
@end group
@end example
@findex subst
@noindent
is equivalent to
@example
bigoutput : text.g
generate text.g -big > bigoutput
littleoutput : text.g
generate text.g -little > littleoutput
@end example
@noindent
Here we assume the hypothetical program @code{generate} makes two
types of output, one if given @samp{-big} and one if given
@samp{-little}.
@xref{Text Functions, ,Functions for String Substitution and Analysis},
for an explanation of the @code{subst} function.
@end itemize
Suppose you would like to vary the prerequisites according to the target,
much as the variable @samp{$@@} allows you to vary the commands.
You cannot do this with multiple targets in an ordinary rule, but you can
do it with a @dfn{static pattern rule}.
@xref{Static Pattern, ,Static Pattern Rules}.
@node Multiple Rules, Static Pattern, Multiple Targets, Rules
@section Multiple Rules for One Target
@cindex multiple rules for one target
@cindex several rules for one target
@cindex rule, multiple for one target
@cindex target, multiple rules for one
One file can be the target of several rules. All the prerequisites
mentioned in all the rules are merged into one list of prerequisites for
the target. If the target is older than any prerequisite from any rule,
the commands are executed.
There can only be one set of commands to be executed for a file.
If more than one rule gives commands for the same file,
@code{make} uses the last set given and prints an error message.
(As a special case, if the file's name begins with a dot, no
error message is printed. This odd behavior is only for
compatibility with other implementations of @code{make}.)
There is no reason to
write your makefiles this way; that is why @code{make} gives you
an error message.@refill
An extra rule with just prerequisites can be used to give a few extra
prerequisites to many files at once. For example, one usually has a
variable named @code{objects} containing a list of all the compiler output
files in the system being made. An easy way to say that all of them must
be recompiled if @file{config.h} changes is to write the following:
@example
objects = foo.o bar.o
foo.o : defs.h
bar.o : defs.h test.h
$(objects) : config.h
@end example
This could be inserted or taken out without changing the rules that really
specify how to make the object files, making it a convenient form to use if
you wish to add the additional prerequisite intermittently.
Another wrinkle is that the additional prerequisites could be specified with
a variable that you set with a command argument to @code{make}
(@pxref{Overriding, ,Overriding Variables}). For example,
@example
@group
extradeps=
$(objects) : $(extradeps)
@end group
@end example
@noindent
means that the command @samp{make extradeps=foo.h} will consider
@file{foo.h} as a prerequisite of each object file, but plain @samp{make}
will not.
If none of the explicit rules for a target has commands, then @code{make}
searches for an applicable implicit rule to find some commands
@pxref{Implicit Rules, ,Using Implicit Rules}).
@node Static Pattern, Double-Colon, Multiple Rules, Rules
@section Static Pattern Rules
@cindex static pattern rule
@cindex rule, static pattern
@cindex pattern rules, static (not implicit)
@cindex varying prerequisites
@cindex prerequisites, varying (static pattern)
@dfn{Static pattern rules} are rules which specify multiple targets and
construct the prerequisite names for each target based on the target name.
They are more general than ordinary rules with multiple targets because the
targets do not have to have identical prerequisites. Their prerequisites must
be @emph{analogous}, but not necessarily @emph{identical}.
@menu
* Static Usage:: The syntax of static pattern rules.
* Static versus Implicit:: When are they better than implicit rules?
@end menu
@node Static Usage, Static versus Implicit, , Static Pattern
@subsection Syntax of Static Pattern Rules
@cindex static pattern rule, syntax of
@cindex pattern rules, static, syntax of
Here is the syntax of a static pattern rule:
@example
@var{targets} @dots{}: @var{target-pattern}: @var{dep-patterns} @dots{}
@var{commands}
@dots{}
@end example
@noindent
The @var{targets} list specifies the targets that the rule applies to.
The targets can contain wildcard characters, just like the targets of
ordinary rules (@pxref{Wildcards, ,Using Wildcard Characters in File
Names}).
@cindex target pattern, static (not implicit)
@cindex stem
The @var{target-pattern} and @var{dep-patterns} say how to compute the
prerequisites of each target. Each target is matched against the
@var{target-pattern} to extract a part of the target name, called the
@dfn{stem}. This stem is substituted into each of the @var{dep-patterns}
to make the prerequisite names (one from each @var{dep-pattern}).
Each pattern normally contains the character @samp{%} just once. When the
@var{target-pattern} matches a target, the @samp{%} can match any part of
the target name; this part is called the @dfn{stem}. The rest of the
pattern must match exactly. For example, the target @file{foo.o} matches
the pattern @samp{%.o}, with @samp{foo} as the stem. The targets
@file{foo.c} and @file{foo.out} do not match that pattern.@refill
@cindex prerequisite pattern, static (not implicit)
The prerequisite names for each target are made by substituting the stem
for the @samp{%} in each prerequisite pattern. For example, if one
prerequisite pattern is @file{%.c}, then substitution of the stem
@samp{foo} gives the prerequisite name @file{foo.c}. It is legitimate
to write a prerequisite pattern that does not contain @samp{%}; then this
prerequisite is the same for all targets.
@cindex @code{%}, quoting in static pattern
@cindex @code{%}, quoting with @code{\} (backslash)
@cindex @code{\} (backslash), to quote @code{%}
@cindex backslash (@code{\}), to quote @code{%}
@cindex quoting @code{%}, in static pattern
@samp{%} characters in pattern rules can be quoted with preceding
backslashes (@samp{\}). Backslashes that would otherwise quote @samp{%}
characters can be quoted with more backslashes. Backslashes that quote
@samp{%} characters or other backslashes are removed from the pattern
before it is compared to file names or has a stem substituted into it.
Backslashes that are not in danger of quoting @samp{%} characters go
unmolested. For example, the pattern @file{the\%weird\\%pattern\\} has
@samp{the%weird\} preceding the operative @samp{%} character, and
@samp{pattern\\} following it. The final two backslashes are left alone
because they cannot affect any @samp{%} character.@refill
Here is an example, which compiles each of @file{foo.o} and @file{bar.o}
from the corresponding @file{.c} file:
@example
@group
objects = foo.o bar.o
all: $(objects)
$(objects): %.o: %.c
$(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $< -o $@@
@end group
@end example
@noindent
Here @samp{$<} is the automatic variable that holds the name of the
prerequisite and @samp{$@@} is the automatic variable that holds the name
of the target; see @ref{Automatic, , Automatic Variables}.
Each target specified must match the target pattern; a warning is issued
for each target that does not. If you have a list of files, only some of
which will match the pattern, you can use the @code{filter} function to
remove nonmatching file names (@pxref{Text Functions, ,Functions for String Substitution and Analysis}):
@example
files = foo.elc bar.o lose.o
$(filter %.o,$(files)): %.o: %.c
$(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $< -o $@@
$(filter %.elc,$(files)): %.elc: %.el
emacs -f batch-byte-compile $<
@end example
@noindent
In this example the result of @samp{$(filter %.o,$(files))} is
@file{bar.o lose.o}, and the first static pattern rule causes each of
these object files to be updated by compiling the corresponding C source
file. The result of @w{@samp{$(filter %.elc,$(files))}} is
@file{foo.elc}, so that file is made from @file{foo.el}.@refill
Another example shows how to use @code{$*} in static pattern rules:
@vindex $*@r{, and static pattern}
@example
@group
bigoutput littleoutput : %output : text.g
generate text.g -$* > $@@
@end group
@end example
@noindent
When the @code{generate} command is run, @code{$*} will expand to the
stem, either @samp{big} or @samp{little}.
@node Static versus Implicit, , Static Usage, Static Pattern
@subsection Static Pattern Rules versus Implicit Rules
@cindex rule, static pattern versus implicit
@cindex static pattern rule, versus implicit
A static pattern rule has much in common with an implicit rule defined as a
pattern rule (@pxref{Pattern Rules, ,Defining and Redefining Pattern Rules}).
Both have a pattern for the target and patterns for constructing the
names of prerequisites. The difference is in how @code{make} decides
@emph{when} the rule applies.
An implicit rule @emph{can} apply to any target that matches its pattern,
but it @emph{does} apply only when the target has no commands otherwise
specified, and only when the prerequisites can be found. If more than one
implicit rule appears applicable, only one applies; the choice depends on
the order of rules.
By contrast, a static pattern rule applies to the precise list of targets
that you specify in the rule. It cannot apply to any other target and it
invariably does apply to each of the targets specified. If two conflicting
rules apply, and both have commands, that's an error.
The static pattern rule can be better than an implicit rule for these
reasons:
@itemize @bullet
@item
You may wish to override the usual implicit rule for a few
files whose names cannot be categorized syntactically but
can be given in an explicit list.
@item
If you cannot be sure of the precise contents of the directories
you are using, you may not be sure which other irrelevant files
might lead @code{make} to use the wrong implicit rule. The choice
might depend on the order in which the implicit rule search is done.
With static pattern rules, there is no uncertainty: each rule applies
to precisely the targets specified.
@end itemize
@node Double-Colon, Automatic Prerequisites, Static Pattern, Rules
@section Double-Colon Rules
@cindex double-colon rules
@cindex rule, double-colon (@code{::})
@cindex multiple rules for one target (@code{::})
@cindex @code{::} rules (double-colon)
@dfn{Double-colon} rules are rules written with @samp{::} instead of
@samp{:} after the target names. They are handled differently from
ordinary rules when the same target appears in more than one rule.
When a target appears in multiple rules, all the rules must be the same
type: all ordinary, or all double-colon. If they are double-colon, each of
them is independent of the others. Each double-colon rule's commands are
executed if the target is older than any prerequisites of that rule. This
can result in executing none, any, or all of the double-colon rules.
Double-colon rules with the same target are in fact completely separate
from one another. Each double-colon rule is processed individually, just
as rules with different targets are processed.
The double-colon rules for a target are executed in the order they appear
in the makefile. However, the cases where double-colon rules really make
sense are those where the order of executing the commands would not matter.
Double-colon rules are somewhat obscure and not often very useful; they
provide a mechanism for cases in which the method used to update a target
differs depending on which prerequisite files caused the update, and such
cases are rare.
Each double-colon rule should specify commands; if it does not, an
implicit rule will be used if one applies.
@xref{Implicit Rules, ,Using Implicit Rules}.
@node Automatic Prerequisites, , Double-Colon, Rules
@section Generating Prerequisites Automatically
@cindex prerequisites, automatic generation
@cindex automatic generation of prerequisites
@cindex generating prerequisites automatically
In the makefile for a program, many of the rules you need to write often
say only that some object file depends on some header
file. For example, if @file{main.c} uses @file{defs.h} via an
@code{#include}, you would write:
@example
main.o: defs.h
@end example
@noindent
You need this rule so that @code{make} knows that it must remake
@file{main.o} whenever @file{defs.h} changes. You can see that for a
large program you would have to write dozens of such rules in your
makefile. And, you must always be very careful to update the makefile
every time you add or remove an @code{#include}.
@cindex @code{#include}
@cindex @code{-M} (to compiler)
To avoid this hassle, most modern C compilers can write these rules for
you, by looking at the @code{#include} lines in the source files.
Usually this is done with the @samp{-M} option to the compiler.
For example, the command:
@example
cc -M main.c
@end example
@noindent
generates the output:
@example
main.o : main.c defs.h
@end example
@noindent
Thus you no longer have to write all those rules yourself.
The compiler will do it for you.
Note that such a prerequisite constitutes mentioning @file{main.o} in a
makefile, so it can never be considered an intermediate file by implicit
rule search. This means that @code{make} won't ever remove the file
after using it; @pxref{Chained Rules, ,Chains of Implicit Rules}.
@cindex @code{make depend}
With old @code{make} programs, it was traditional practice to use this
compiler feature to generate prerequisites on demand with a command like
@samp{make depend}. That command would create a file @file{depend}
containing all the automatically-generated prerequisites; then the
makefile could use @code{include} to read them in (@pxref{Include}).
In GNU @code{make}, the feature of remaking makefiles makes this
practice obsolete---you need never tell @code{make} explicitly to
regenerate the prerequisites, because it always regenerates any makefile
that is out of date. @xref{Remaking Makefiles}.
The practice we recommend for automatic prerequisite generation is to have
one makefile corresponding to each source file. For each source file
@file{@var{name}.c} there is a makefile @file{@var{name}.d} which lists
what files the object file @file{@var{name}.o} depends on. That way
only the source files that have changed need to be rescanned to produce
the new prerequisites.
Here is the pattern rule to generate a file of prerequisites (i.e., a makefile)
called @file{@var{name}.d} from a C source file called @file{@var{name}.c}:
@smallexample
@group
%.d: %.c
set -e; $(CC) -M $(CPPFLAGS) $< \
| sed 's/\($*\)\.o[ :]*/\1.o $@@ : /g' > $@@; \
[ -s $@@ ] || rm -f $@@
@end group
@end smallexample
@noindent
@xref{Pattern Rules}, for information on defining pattern rules. The
@samp{-e} flag to the shell makes it exit immediately if the
@code{$(CC)} command fails (exits with a nonzero status). Normally the
shell exits with the status of the last command in the pipeline
(@code{sed} in this case), so @code{make} would not notice a nonzero
status from the compiler.
@cindex @code{-e} (shell flag)
@cindex @code{-MM} (to GNU compiler)
With the GNU C compiler, you may wish to use the @samp{-MM} flag instead
of @samp{-M}. This omits prerequisites on system header files.
@xref{Preprocessor Options, , Options Controlling the Preprocessor,
gcc.info, Using GNU CC}, for details.
@cindex @code{sed} (shell command)
The purpose of the @code{sed} command is to translate (for example):
@example
main.o : main.c defs.h
@end example
@noindent
into:
@example
main.o main.d : main.c defs.h
@end example
@noindent
@cindex @code{.d}
This makes each @samp{.d} file depend on all the source and header files
that the corresponding @samp{.o} file depends on. @code{make} then
knows it must regenerate the prerequisites whenever any of the source or
header files changes.
Once you've defined the rule to remake the @samp{.d} files,
you then use the @code{include} directive to read them all in.
@xref{Include}. For example:
@example
@group
sources = foo.c bar.c
include $(sources:.c=.d)
@end group
@end example
@noindent
(This example uses a substitution variable reference to translate the
list of source files @samp{foo.c bar.c} into a list of prerequisite
makefiles, @samp{foo.d bar.d}. @xref{Substitution Refs}, for full
information on substitution references.) Since the @samp{.d} files are
makefiles like any others, @code{make} will remake them as necessary
with no further work from you. @xref{Remaking Makefiles}.
@node Commands, Using Variables, Rules, Top
@chapter Writing the Commands in Rules
@cindex commands, how to write
@cindex rule commands
@cindex writing rule commands
The commands of a rule consist of shell command lines to be executed one
by one. Each command line must start with a tab, except that the first
command line may be attached to the target-and-prerequisites line with a
semicolon in between. Blank lines and lines of just comments may appear
among the command lines; they are ignored. (But beware, an apparently
``blank'' line that begins with a tab is @emph{not} blank! It is an
empty command; @pxref{Empty Commands}.)
Users use many different shell programs, but commands in makefiles are
always interpreted by @file{/bin/sh} unless the makefile specifies
otherwise. @xref{Execution, ,Command Execution}.
@cindex comments, in commands
@cindex commands, comments in
@cindex @code{#} (comments), in commands
The shell that is in use determines whether comments can be written on
command lines, and what syntax they use. When the shell is
@file{/bin/sh}, a @samp{#} starts a comment that extends to the end of
the line. The @samp{#} does not have to be at the beginning of a line.
Text on a line before a @samp{#} is not part of the comment.
@menu
* Echoing:: How to control when commands are echoed.
* Execution:: How commands are executed.
* Parallel:: How commands can be executed in parallel.
* Errors:: What happens after a command execution error.
* Interrupts:: What happens when a command is interrupted.
* Recursion:: Invoking @code{make} from makefiles.
* Sequences:: Defining canned sequences of commands.
* Empty Commands:: Defining useful, do-nothing commands.
@end menu
@node Echoing, Execution, , Commands
@section Command Echoing
@cindex echoing of commands
@cindex silent operation
@cindex @code{@@} (in commands)
@cindex commands, echoing
@cindex printing of commands
Normally @code{make} prints each command line before it is executed.
We call this @dfn{echoing} because it gives the appearance that you
are typing the commands yourself.
When a line starts with @samp{@@}, the echoing of that line is suppressed.
The @samp{@@} is discarded before the command is passed to the shell.
Typically you would use this for a command whose only effect is to print
something, such as an @code{echo} command to indicate progress through
the makefile:
@example
@@echo About to make distribution files
@end example
@cindex @code{-n}
@cindex @code{--just-print}
@cindex @code{--dry-run}
@cindex @code{--recon}
When @code{make} is given the flag @samp{-n} or @samp{--just-print}
it only echoes commands, it won't execute them. @xref{Options Summary,
,Summary of Options}. In this case and only this case, even the
commands starting with @samp{@@} are printed. This flag is useful for
finding out which commands @code{make} thinks are necessary without
actually doing them.
@cindex @code{-s}
@cindex @code{--silent}
@cindex @code{--quiet}
@findex .SILENT
The @samp{-s} or @samp{--silent}
flag to @code{make} prevents all echoing, as if all commands
started with @samp{@@}. A rule in the makefile for the special target
@code{.SILENT} without prerequisites has the same effect
(@pxref{Special Targets, ,Special Built-in Target Names}).
@code{.SILENT} is essentially obsolete since @samp{@@} is more flexible.@refill
@node Execution, Parallel, Echoing, Commands
@section Command Execution
@cindex commands, execution
@cindex execution, of commands
@cindex shell command, execution
@vindex SHELL @r{(command execution)}
When it is time to execute commands to update a target, they are executed
by making a new subshell for each line. (In practice, @code{make} may
take shortcuts that do not affect the results.)
@cindex @code{cd} (shell command)
@strong{Please note:} this implies that shell commands such as @code{cd}
that set variables local to each process will not affect the following
command lines. @footnote{On MS-DOS, the value of current working
directory is @strong{global}, so changing it @emph{will} affect the
following command lines on those systems.} If you want to use @code{cd}
to affect the next command, put the two on a single line with a
semicolon between them. Then @code{make} will consider them a single
command and pass them, together, to a shell which will execute them in
sequence. For example:
@example
foo : bar/lose
cd bar; gobble lose > ../foo
@end example
@cindex commands, backslash (@code{\}) in
@cindex commands, quoting newlines in
@cindex backslash (@code{\}), in commands
@cindex @code{\} (backslash), in commands
@cindex quoting newline, in commands
@cindex newline, quoting, in commands
If you would like to split a single shell command into multiple lines of
text, you must use a backslash at the end of all but the last subline.
Such a sequence of lines is combined into a single line, by deleting the
backslash-newline sequences, before passing it to the shell. Thus, the
following is equivalent to the preceding example:
@example
@group
foo : bar/lose
cd bar; \
gobble lose > ../foo
@end group
@end example
@vindex SHELL
The program used as the shell is taken from the variable @code{SHELL}.
By default, the program @file{/bin/sh} is used.
@vindex COMSPEC
On MS-DOS, if @code{SHELL} is not set, the value of the variable
@code{COMSPEC} (which is always set) is used instead.
@cindex @code{SHELL}, MS-DOS specifics
The processing of lines that set the variable @code{SHELL} in Makefiles
is different on MS-DOS. The stock shell, @file{command.com}, is
ridiculously limited in its functionality and many users of @code{make}
tend to install a replacement shell. Therefore, on MS-DOS, @code{make}
examines the value of @code{SHELL}, and changes its behavior based on
whether it points to a Unix-style or DOS-style shell. This allows
reasonable functionality even if @code{SHELL} points to
@file{command.com}.
If @code{SHELL} points to a Unix-style shell, @code{make} on MS-DOS
additionally checks whether that shell can indeed be found; if not, it
ignores the line that sets @code{SHELL}. In MS-DOS, GNU @code{make}
searches for the shell in the following places:
@enumerate
@item
In the precise place pointed to by the value of @code{SHELL}. For
example, if the makefile specifies @samp{SHELL = /bin/sh}, @code{make}
will look in the directory @file{/bin} on the current drive.
@item
In the current directory.
@item
In each of the directories in the @code{PATH} variable, in order.
@end enumerate
In every directory it examines, @code{make} will first look for the
specific file (@file{sh} in the example above). If this is not found,
it will also look in that directory for that file with one of the known
extensions which identify executable files. For example @file{.exe},
@file{.com}, @file{.bat}, @file{.btm}, @file{.sh}, and some others.
If any of these attempts is successful, the value of @code{SHELL} will
be set to the full pathname of the shell as found. However, if none of
these is found, the value of @code{SHELL} will not be changed, and thus
the line that sets it will be effectively ignored. This is so
@code{make} will only support features specific to a Unix-style shell if
such a shell is actually installed on the system where @code{make} runs.
Note that this extended search for the shell is limited to the cases
where @code{SHELL} is set from the Makefile; if it is set in the
environment or command line, you are expected to set it to the full
pathname of the shell, exactly as things are on Unix.
The effect of the above DOS-specific processing is that a Makefile that
says @samp{SHELL = /bin/sh} (as many Unix makefiles do), will work
on MS-DOS unaltered if you have e.g. @file{sh.exe} installed in some
directory along your @code{PATH}.
@cindex environment, @code{SHELL} in
Unlike most variables, the variable @code{SHELL} is never set from the
environment. This is because the @code{SHELL} environment variable is
used to specify your personal choice of shell program for interactive
use. It would be very bad for personal choices like this to affect the
functioning of makefiles. @xref{Environment, ,Variables from the
Environment}. However, on MS-DOS and MS-Windows the value of
@code{SHELL} in the environment @strong{is} used, since on those systems
most users do not set this variable, and therefore it is most likely set
specifically to be used by @code{make}. On MS-DOS, if the setting of
@code{SHELL} is not suitable for @code{make}, you can set the variable
@code{MAKESHELL} to the shell that @code{make} should use; this will
override the value of @code{SHELL}.
@node Parallel, Errors, Execution, Commands
@section Parallel Execution
@cindex commands, execution in parallel
@cindex parallel execution
@cindex execution, in parallel
@cindex job slots
@cindex @code{-j}
@cindex @code{--jobs}
GNU @code{make} knows how to execute several commands at once.
Normally, @code{make} will execute only one command at a time, waiting
for it to finish before executing the next. However, the @samp{-j} or
@samp{--jobs} option tells @code{make} to execute many commands
simultaneously.@refill
On MS-DOS, the @samp{-j} option has no effect, since that system doesn't
support multi-processing.
If the @samp{-j} option is followed by an integer, this is the number of
commands to execute at once; this is called the number of @dfn{job slots}.
If there is nothing looking like an integer after the @samp{-j} option,
there is no limit on the number of job slots. The default number of job
slots is one, which means serial execution (one thing at a time).
One unpleasant consequence of running several commands simultaneously is
that output generated by the commands appears whenever each command
sends it, so messages from different commands may be interspersed.
Another problem is that two processes cannot both take input from the
same device; so to make sure that only one command tries to take input
from the terminal at once, @code{make} will invalidate the standard
input streams of all but one running command. This means that
attempting to read from standard input will usually be a fatal error (a
@samp{Broken pipe} signal) for most child processes if there are
several.
@cindex broken pipe
@cindex standard input
It is unpredictable which command will have a valid standard input stream
(which will come from the terminal, or wherever you redirect the standard
input of @code{make}). The first command run will always get it first, and
the first command started after that one finishes will get it next, and so
on.
We will change how this aspect of @code{make} works if we find a better
alternative. In the mean time, you should not rely on any command using
standard input at all if you are using the parallel execution feature; but
if you are not using this feature, then standard input works normally in
all commands.
Finally, handling recursive @code{make} invocations raises issues. For
more information on this, see
@ref{Options/Recursion, ,Communicating Options to a Sub-@code{make}}.
If a command fails (is killed by a signal or exits with a nonzero
status), and errors are not ignored for that command
(@pxref{Errors, ,Errors in Commands}),
the remaining command lines to remake the same target will not be run.
If a command fails and the @samp{-k} or @samp{--keep-going}
option was not given
(@pxref{Options Summary, ,Summary of Options}),
@code{make} aborts execution. If make
terminates for any reason (including a signal) with child processes
running, it waits for them to finish before actually exiting.@refill
@cindex load average
@cindex limiting jobs based on load
@cindex jobs, limiting based on load
@cindex @code{-l} (load average)
@cindex @code{--max-load}
@cindex @code{--load-average}
When the system is heavily loaded, you will probably want to run fewer jobs
than when it is lightly loaded. You can use the @samp{-l} option to tell
@code{make} to limit the number of jobs to run at once, based on the load
average. The @samp{-l} or @samp{--max-load}
option is followed by a floating-point number. For
example,
@example
-l 2.5
@end example
@noindent
will not let @code{make} start more than one job if the load average is
above 2.5. The @samp{-l} option with no following number removes the
load limit, if one was given with a previous @samp{-l} option.@refill
More precisely, when @code{make} goes to start up a job, and it already has
at least one job running, it checks the current load average; if it is not
lower than the limit given with @samp{-l}, @code{make} waits until the load
average goes below that limit, or until all the other jobs finish.
By default, there is no load limit.
@node Errors, Interrupts, Parallel, Commands
@section Errors in Commands
@cindex errors (in commands)
@cindex commands, errors in
@cindex exit status (errors)
After each shell command returns, @code{make} looks at its exit status.
If the command completed successfully, the next command line is executed
in a new shell; after the last command line is finished, the rule is
finished.
If there is an error (the exit status is nonzero), @code{make} gives up on
the current rule, and perhaps on all rules.
Sometimes the failure of a certain command does not indicate a problem.
For example, you may use the @code{mkdir} command to ensure that a
directory exists. If the directory already exists, @code{mkdir} will
report an error, but you probably want @code{make} to continue regardless.
@cindex @code{-} (in commands)
To ignore errors in a command line, write a @samp{-} at the beginning of
the line's text (after the initial tab). The @samp{-} is discarded before
the command is passed to the shell for execution.
For example,
@example
@group
clean:
-rm -f *.o
@end group
@end example
@cindex @code{rm} (shell command)
@noindent
This causes @code{rm} to continue even if it is unable to remove a file.
@cindex @code{-i}
@cindex @code{--ignore-errors}
@findex .IGNORE
When you run @code{make} with the @samp{-i} or @samp{--ignore-errors}
flag, errors are ignored in all commands of all rules. A rule in the
makefile for the special target @code{.IGNORE} has the same effect, if
there are no prerequisites. These ways of ignoring errors are obsolete
because @samp{-} is more flexible.
When errors are to be ignored, because of either a @samp{-} or the
@samp{-i} flag, @code{make} treats an error return just like success,
except that it prints out a message that tells you the status code
the command exited with, and says that the error has been ignored.
When an error happens that @code{make} has not been told to ignore,
it implies that the current target cannot be correctly remade, and neither
can any other that depends on it either directly or indirectly. No further
commands will be executed for these targets, since their preconditions
have not been achieved.
@cindex @code{-k}
@cindex @code{--keep-going}
Normally @code{make} gives up immediately in this circumstance, returning a
nonzero status. However, if the @samp{-k} or @samp{--keep-going}
flag is specified, @code{make}
continues to consider the other prerequisites of the pending targets,
remaking them if necessary, before it gives up and returns nonzero status.
For example, after an error in compiling one object file, @samp{make -k}
will continue compiling other object files even though it already knows
that linking them will be impossible. @xref{Options Summary, ,Summary of Options}.
The usual behavior assumes that your purpose is to get the specified
targets up to date; once @code{make} learns that this is impossible, it
might as well report the failure immediately. The @samp{-k} option says
that the real purpose is to test as many of the changes made in the
program as possible, perhaps to find several independent problems so
that you can correct them all before the next attempt to compile. This
is why Emacs' @code{compile} command passes the @samp{-k} flag by
default.
@cindex Emacs (@code{M-x compile})
@findex .DELETE_ON_ERROR
@cindex deletion of target files
@cindex removal of target files
@cindex target, deleting on error
Usually when a command fails, if it has changed the target file at all,
the file is corrupted and cannot be used---or at least it is not
completely updated. Yet the file's timestamp says that it is now up to
date, so the next time @code{make} runs, it will not try to update that
file. The situation is just the same as when the command is killed by a
signal; @pxref{Interrupts}. So generally the right thing to do is to
delete the target file if the command fails after beginning to change
the file. @code{make} will do this if @code{.DELETE_ON_ERROR} appears
as a target. This is almost always what you want @code{make} to do, but
it is not historical practice; so for compatibility, you must explicitly
request it.
@node Interrupts, Recursion, Errors, Commands
@section Interrupting or Killing @code{make}
@cindex interrupt
@cindex signal
@cindex deletion of target files
@cindex removal of target files
@cindex target, deleting on interrupt
@cindex killing (interruption)
If @code{make} gets a fatal signal while a command is executing, it may
delete the target file that the command was supposed to update. This is
done if the target file's last-modification time has changed since
@code{make} first checked it.
The purpose of deleting the target is to make sure that it is remade from
scratch when @code{make} is next run. Why is this? Suppose you type
@kbd{Ctrl-c} while a compiler is running, and it has begun to write an
object file @file{foo.o}. The @kbd{Ctrl-c} kills the compiler, resulting
in an incomplete file whose last-modification time is newer than the source
file @file{foo.c}. But @code{make} also receives the @kbd{Ctrl-c} signal
and deletes this incomplete file. If @code{make} did not do this, the next
invocation of @code{make} would think that @file{foo.o} did not require
updating---resulting in a strange error message from the linker when it
tries to link an object file half of which is missing.
@findex .PRECIOUS
You can prevent the deletion of a target file in this way by making the
special target @code{.PRECIOUS} depend on it. Before remaking a target,
@code{make} checks to see whether it appears on the prerequisites of
@code{.PRECIOUS}, and thereby decides whether the target should be deleted
if a signal happens. Some reasons why you might do this are that the
target is updated in some atomic fashion, or exists only to record a
modification-time (its contents do not matter), or must exist at all
times to prevent other sorts of trouble.
@node Recursion, Sequences, Interrupts, Commands
@section Recursive Use of @code{make}
@cindex recursion
@cindex subdirectories, recursion for
Recursive use of @code{make} means using @code{make} as a command in a
makefile. This technique is useful when you want separate makefiles for
various subsystems that compose a larger system. For example, suppose you
have a subdirectory @file{subdir} which has its own makefile, and you would
like the containing directory's makefile to run @code{make} on the
subdirectory. You can do it by writing this:
@example
subsystem:
cd subdir && $(MAKE)
@end example
@noindent
or, equivalently, this (@pxref{Options Summary, ,Summary of Options}):
@example
subsystem:
$(MAKE) -C subdir
@end example
@cindex @code{-C}
@cindex @code{--directory}
You can write recursive @code{make} commands just by copying this example,
but there are many things to know about how they work and why, and about
how the sub-@code{make} relates to the top-level @code{make}.
For your convenience, GNU @code{make} sets the variable @code{CURDIR} to
the pathname of the current working directory for you. If @code{-C} is
in effect, it will contain the path of the new directory, not the
original. The value has the same precedence it would have if it were
set in the makefile (by default, an environment variable @code{CURDIR}
will not override this value). Note that setting this variable has no
effect on the operation of @code{make}
@menu
* MAKE Variable:: The special effects of using @samp{$(MAKE)}.
* Variables/Recursion:: How to communicate variables to a sub-@code{make}.
* Options/Recursion:: How to communicate options to a sub-@code{make}.
* -w Option:: How the @samp{-w} or @samp{--print-directory} option
helps debug use of recursive @code{make} commands.
@end menu
@node MAKE Variable, Variables/Recursion, , Recursion
@subsection How the @code{MAKE} Variable Works
@vindex MAKE
@cindex recursion, and @code{MAKE} variable
Recursive @code{make} commands should always use the variable @code{MAKE},
not the explicit command name @samp{make}, as shown here:
@example
@group
subsystem:
cd subdir && $(MAKE)
@end group
@end example
The value of this variable is the file name with which @code{make} was
invoked. If this file name was @file{/bin/make}, then the command executed
is @samp{cd subdir && /bin/make}. If you use a special version of
@code{make} to run the top-level makefile, the same special version will be
executed for recursive invocations.
@cindex @code{cd} (shell command)
As a special feature, using the variable @code{MAKE} in the commands of
a rule alters the effects of the @samp{-t} (@samp{--touch}), @samp{-n}
(@samp{--just-print}), or @samp{-q} (@w{@samp{--question}}) option.
Using the @code{MAKE} variable has the same effect as using a @samp{+}
character at the beginning of the command line. @xref{Instead of
Execution, ,Instead of Executing the Commands}.@refill
Consider the command @samp{make -t} in the above example. (The
@samp{-t} option marks targets as up to date without actually running
any commands; see @ref{Instead of Execution}.) Following the usual
definition of @samp{-t}, a @samp{make -t} command in the example would
create a file named @file{subsystem} and do nothing else. What you
really want it to do is run @samp{@w{cd subdir &&} @w{make -t}}; but that would
require executing the command, and @samp{-t} says not to execute
commands.@refill
@cindex @code{-t}, and recursion
@cindex recursion, and @code{-t}
@cindex @code{--touch}, and recursion
The special feature makes this do what you want: whenever a command
line of a rule contains the variable @code{MAKE}, the flags @samp{-t},
@samp{-n} and @samp{-q} do not apply to that line. Command lines
containing @code{MAKE} are executed normally despite the presence of a
flag that causes most commands not to be run. The usual
@code{MAKEFLAGS} mechanism passes the flags to the sub-@code{make}
(@pxref{Options/Recursion, ,Communicating Options to a
Sub-@code{make}}), so your request to touch the files, or print the
commands, is propagated to the subsystem.@refill
@node Variables/Recursion, Options/Recursion, MAKE Variable, Recursion
@subsection Communicating Variables to a Sub-@code{make}
@cindex sub-@code{make}
@cindex environment, and recursion
@cindex exporting variables
@cindex variables, environment
@cindex variables, exporting
@cindex recursion, and environment
@cindex recursion, and variables
Variable values of the top-level @code{make} can be passed to the
sub-@code{make} through the environment by explicit request. These
variables are defined in the sub-@code{make} as defaults, but do not
override what is specified in the makefile used by the sub-@code{make}
makefile unless you use the @samp{-e} switch (@pxref{Options Summary,
,Summary of Options}).@refill
To pass down, or @dfn{export}, a variable, @code{make} adds the variable
and its value to the environment for running each command. The
sub-@code{make}, in turn, uses the environment to initialize its table
of variable values. @xref{Environment, ,Variables from the
Environment}.
Except by explicit request, @code{make} exports a variable only if it
is either defined in the environment initially or set on the command
line, and if its name consists only of letters, numbers, and underscores.
Some shells cannot cope with environment variable names consisting of
characters other than letters, numbers, and underscores.
The special variables @code{SHELL} and @code{MAKEFLAGS} are always
exported (unless you unexport them).
@code{MAKEFILES} is exported if you set it to anything.
@code{make} automatically passes down variable values that were defined
on the command line, by putting them in the @code{MAKEFLAGS} variable.
@iftex
See the next section.
@end iftex
@ifinfo
@xref{Options/Recursion}.
@end ifinfo
Variables are @emph{not} normally passed down if they were created by
default by @code{make} (@pxref{Implicit Variables, ,Variables Used by
Implicit Rules}). The sub-@code{make} will define these for
itself.@refill
@findex export
If you want to export specific variables to a sub-@code{make}, use the
@code{export} directive, like this:
@example
export @var{variable} @dots{}
@end example
@noindent
@findex unexport
If you want to @emph{prevent} a variable from being exported, use the
@code{unexport} directive, like this:
@example
unexport @var{variable} @dots{}
@end example
@noindent
As a convenience, you can define a variable and export it at the same
time by doing:
@example
export @var{variable} = value
@end example
@noindent
has the same result as:
@example
@var{variable} = value
export @var{variable}
@end example
@noindent
and
@example
export @var{variable} := value
@end example
@noindent
has the same result as:
@example
@var{variable} := value
export @var{variable}
@end example
Likewise,
@example
export @var{variable} += value
@end example
@noindent
is just like:
@example
@var{variable} += value
export @var{variable}
@end example
@noindent
@xref{Appending, ,Appending More Text to Variables}.
You may notice that the @code{export} and @code{unexport} directives
work in @code{make} in the same way they work in the shell, @code{sh}.
If you want all variables to be exported by default, you can use
@code{export} by itself:
@example
export
@end example
@noindent
This tells @code{make} that variables which are not explicitly mentioned
in an @code{export} or @code{unexport} directive should be exported.
Any variable given in an @code{unexport} directive will still @emph{not}
be exported. If you use @code{export} by itself to export variables by
default, variables whose names contain characters other than
alphanumerics and underscores will not be exported unless specifically
mentioned in an @code{export} directive.@refill
@findex .EXPORT_ALL_VARIABLES
The behavior elicited by an @code{export} directive by itself was the
default in older versions of GNU @code{make}. If your makefiles depend
on this behavior and you want to be compatible with old versions of
@code{make}, you can write a rule for the special target
@code{.EXPORT_ALL_VARIABLES} instead of using the @code{export} directive.
This will be ignored by old @code{make}s, while the @code{export}
directive will cause a syntax error.@refill
@cindex compatibility in exporting
Likewise, you can use @code{unexport} by itself to tell @code{make}
@emph{not} to export variables by default. Since this is the default
behavior, you would only need to do this if @code{export} had been used
by itself earlier (in an included makefile, perhaps). You
@strong{cannot} use @code{export} and @code{unexport} by themselves to
have variables exported for some commands and not for others. The last
@code{export} or @code{unexport} directive that appears by itself
determines the behavior for the entire run of @code{make}.@refill
@vindex MAKELEVEL
@cindex recursion, level of
As a special feature, the variable @code{MAKELEVEL} is changed when it
is passed down from level to level. This variable's value is a string
which is the depth of the level as a decimal number. The value is
@samp{0} for the top-level @code{make}; @samp{1} for a sub-@code{make},
@samp{2} for a sub-sub-@code{make}, and so on. The incrementation
happens when @code{make} sets up the environment for a command.@refill
The main use of @code{MAKELEVEL} is to test it in a conditional
directive (@pxref{Conditionals, ,Conditional Parts of Makefiles}); this
way you can write a makefile that behaves one way if run recursively and
another way if run directly by you.@refill
@vindex MAKEFILES
You can use the variable @code{MAKEFILES} to cause all sub-@code{make}
commands to use additional makefiles. The value of @code{MAKEFILES} is
a whitespace-separated list of file names. This variable, if defined in
the outer-level makefile, is passed down through the environment; then
it serves as a list of extra makefiles for the sub-@code{make} to read
before the usual or specified ones. @xref{MAKEFILES Variable, ,The
Variable @code{MAKEFILES}}.@refill
@node Options/Recursion, -w Option, Variables/Recursion, Recursion
@subsection Communicating Options to a Sub-@code{make}
@cindex options, and recursion
@cindex recursion, and options
@vindex MAKEFLAGS
Flags such as @samp{-s} and @samp{-k} are passed automatically to the
sub-@code{make} through the variable @code{MAKEFLAGS}. This variable is
set up automatically by @code{make} to contain the flag letters that
@code{make} received. Thus, if you do @w{@samp{make -ks}} then
@code{MAKEFLAGS} gets the value @samp{ks}.@refill
As a consequence, every sub-@code{make} gets a value for @code{MAKEFLAGS}
in its environment. In response, it takes the flags from that value and
processes them as if they had been given as arguments.
@xref{Options Summary, ,Summary of Options}.
@cindex command line variable definitions, and recursion
@cindex variables, command line, and recursion
@cindex recursion, and command line variable definitions
Likewise variables defined on the command line are passed to the
sub-@code{make} through @code{MAKEFLAGS}. Words in the value of
@code{MAKEFLAGS} that contain @samp{=}, @code{make} treats as variable
definitions just as if they appeared on the command line.
@xref{Overriding, ,Overriding Variables}.
@cindex @code{-C}, and recursion
@cindex @code{-f}, and recursion
@cindex @code{-o}, and recursion
@cindex @code{-W}, and recursion
@cindex @code{--directory}, and recursion
@cindex @code{--file}, and recursion
@cindex @code{--old-file}, and recursion
@cindex @code{--assume-old}, and recursion
@cindex @code{--assume-new}, and recursion
@cindex @code{--new-file}, and recursion
@cindex recursion, and @code{-C}
@cindex recursion, and @code{-f}
@cindex recursion, and @code{-o}
@cindex recursion, and @code{-W}
The options @samp{-C}, @samp{-f}, @samp{-o}, and @samp{-W} are not put
into @code{MAKEFLAGS}; these options are not passed down.@refill
@cindex @code{-j}, and recursion
@cindex @code{--jobs}, and recursion
@cindex recursion, and @code{-j}
@cindex job slots, and recursion
The @samp{-j} option is a special case (@pxref{Parallel, ,Parallel Execution}).
If you set it to some numeric value @samp{N} and your operating system
supports it (most any UNIX system will; others typically won't), the
parent @code{make} and all the sub-@code{make}s will communicate to
ensure that there are only @samp{N} jobs running at the same time
between them all. Note that any job that is marked recursive
(@pxref{Instead of Execution, ,Instead of Executing the Commands})
doesn't count against the total jobs (otherwise we could get @samp{N}
sub-@code{make}s running and have no slots left over for any real work!)
If your operating system doesn't support the above communication, then
@samp{-j 1} is always put into @code{MAKEFLAGS} instead of the value you
specified. This is because if the @w{@samp{-j}} option were passed down
to sub-@code{make}s, you would get many more jobs running in parallel
than you asked for. If you give @samp{-j} with no numeric argument,
meaning to run as many jobs as possible in parallel, this is passed
down, since multiple infinities are no more than one.@refill
If you do not want to pass the other flags down, you must change the
value of @code{MAKEFLAGS}, like this:
@example
subsystem:
cd subdir && $(MAKE) MAKEFLAGS=
@end example
@vindex MAKEOVERRIDES
The command line variable definitions really appear in the variable
@code{MAKEOVERRIDES}, and @code{MAKEFLAGS} contains a reference to this
variable. If you do want to pass flags down normally, but don't want to
pass down the command line variable definitions, you can reset
@code{MAKEOVERRIDES} to empty, like this:
@example
MAKEOVERRIDES =
@end example
@noindent
@cindex Arg list too long
@cindex E2BIG
This is not usually useful to do. However, some systems have a small
fixed limit on the size of the environment, and putting so much
information into the value of @code{MAKEFLAGS} can exceed it. If you
see the error message @samp{Arg list too long}, this may be the problem.
@findex .POSIX
@cindex POSIX.2
(For strict compliance with POSIX.2, changing @code{MAKEOVERRIDES} does
not affect @code{MAKEFLAGS} if the special target @samp{.POSIX} appears
in the makefile. You probably do not care about this.)
@vindex MFLAGS
A similar variable @code{MFLAGS} exists also, for historical
compatibility. It has the same value as @code{MAKEFLAGS} except that it
does not contain the command line variable definitions, and it always
begins with a hyphen unless it is empty (@code{MAKEFLAGS} begins with a
hyphen only when it begins with an option that has no single-letter
version, such as @samp{--warn-undefined-variables}). @code{MFLAGS} was
traditionally used explicitly in the recursive @code{make} command, like
this:
@example
subsystem:
cd subdir && $(MAKE) $(MFLAGS)
@end example
@noindent
but now @code{MAKEFLAGS} makes this usage redundant. If you want your
makefiles to be compatible with old @code{make} programs, use this
technique; it will work fine with more modern @code{make} versions too.
@cindex setting options from environment
@cindex options, setting from environment
@cindex setting options in makefiles
@cindex options, setting in makefiles
The @code{MAKEFLAGS} variable can also be useful if you want to have
certain options, such as @samp{-k} (@pxref{Options Summary, ,Summary of
Options}), set each time you run @code{make}. You simply put a value for
@code{MAKEFLAGS} in your environment. You can also set @code{MAKEFLAGS} in
a makefile, to specify additional flags that should also be in effect for
that makefile. (Note that you cannot use @code{MFLAGS} this way. That
variable is set only for compatibility; @code{make} does not interpret a
value you set for it in any way.)
When @code{make} interprets the value of @code{MAKEFLAGS} (either from the
environment or from a makefile), it first prepends a hyphen if the value
does not already begin with one. Then it chops the value into words
separated by blanks, and parses these words as if they were options given
on the command line (except that @samp{-C}, @samp{-f}, @samp{-h},
@samp{-o}, @samp{-W}, and their long-named versions are ignored; and there
is no error for an invalid option).
If you do put @code{MAKEFLAGS} in your environment, you should be sure not
to include any options that will drastically affect the actions of
@code{make} and undermine the purpose of makefiles and of @code{make}
itself. For instance, the @samp{-t}, @samp{-n}, and @samp{-q} options, if
put in one of these variables, could have disastrous consequences and would
certainly have at least surprising and probably annoying effects.@refill
@node -w Option, , Options/Recursion, Recursion
@subsection The @samp{--print-directory} Option
@cindex directories, printing them
@cindex printing directories
@cindex recursion, and printing directories
If you use several levels of recursive @code{make} invocations, the
@samp{-w} or @w{@samp{--print-directory}} option can make the output a
lot easier to understand by showing each directory as @code{make}
starts processing it and as @code{make} finishes processing it. For
example, if @samp{make -w} is run in the directory @file{/u/gnu/make},
@code{make} will print a line of the form:@refill
@example
make: Entering directory `/u/gnu/make'.
@end example
@noindent
before doing anything else, and a line of the form:
@example
make: Leaving directory `/u/gnu/make'.
@end example
@noindent
when processing is completed.
@cindex @code{-C}, and @code{-w}
@cindex @code{--directory}, and @code{--print-directory}
@cindex recursion, and @code{-w}
@cindex @code{-w}, and @code{-C}
@cindex @code{-w}, and recursion
@cindex @code{--print-directory}, and @code{--directory}
@cindex @code{--print-directory}, and recursion
@cindex @code{--no-print-directory}
@cindex @code{--print-directory}, disabling
@cindex @code{-w}, disabling
Normally, you do not need to specify this option because @samp{make}
does it for you: @samp{-w} is turned on automatically when you use the
@samp{-C} option, and in sub-@code{make}s. @code{make} will not
automatically turn on @samp{-w} if you also use @samp{-s}, which says to
be silent, or if you use @samp{--no-print-directory} to explicitly
disable it.
@node Sequences, Empty Commands, Recursion, Commands
@section Defining Canned Command Sequences
@cindex sequences of commands
@cindex commands, sequences of
When the same sequence of commands is useful in making various targets, you
can define it as a canned sequence with the @code{define} directive, and
refer to the canned sequence from the rules for those targets. The canned
sequence is actually a variable, so the name must not conflict with other
variable names.
Here is an example of defining a canned sequence of commands:
@example
define run-yacc
yacc $(firstword $^)
mv y.tab.c $@@
endef
@end example
@cindex @code{yacc}
@noindent
Here @code{run-yacc} is the name of the variable being defined;
@code{endef} marks the end of the definition; the lines in between are the
commands. The @code{define} directive does not expand variable references
and function calls in the canned sequence; the @samp{$} characters,
parentheses, variable names, and so on, all become part of the value of the
variable you are defining.
@xref{Defining, ,Defining Variables Verbatim},
for a complete explanation of @code{define}.
The first command in this example runs Yacc on the first prerequisite of
whichever rule uses the canned sequence. The output file from Yacc is
always named @file{y.tab.c}. The second command moves the output to the
rule's target file name.
To use the canned sequence, substitute the variable into the commands of a
rule. You can substitute it like any other variable
(@pxref{Reference, ,Basics of Variable References}).
Because variables defined by @code{define} are recursively expanded
variables, all the variable references you wrote inside the @code{define}
are expanded now. For example:
@example
foo.c : foo.y
$(run-yacc)
@end example
@noindent
@samp{foo.y} will be substituted for the variable @samp{$^} when it occurs in
@code{run-yacc}'s value, and @samp{foo.c} for @samp{$@@}.@refill
This is a realistic example, but this particular one is not needed in
practice because @code{make} has an implicit rule to figure out these
commands based on the file names involved
(@pxref{Implicit Rules, ,Using Implicit Rules}).
@cindex @@, and @code{define}
@cindex -, and @code{define}
@cindex +, and @code{define}
In command execution, each line of a canned sequence is treated just as
if the line appeared on its own in the rule, preceded by a tab. In
particular, @code{make} invokes a separate subshell for each line. You
can use the special prefix characters that affect command lines
(@samp{@@}, @samp{-}, and @samp{+}) on each line of a canned sequence.
@xref{Commands, ,Writing the Commands in Rules}.
For example, using this canned sequence:
@example
define frobnicate
@@echo "frobnicating target $@@"
frob-step-1 $< -o $@@-step-1
frob-step-2 $@@-step-1 -o $@@
endef
@end example
@noindent
@code{make} will not echo the first line, the @code{echo} command.
But it @emph{will} echo the following two command lines.
On the other hand, prefix characters on the command line that refers to
a canned sequence apply to every line in the sequence. So the rule:
@example
frob.out: frob.in
@@$(frobnicate)
@end example
@noindent
does not echo @emph{any} commands.
(@xref{Echoing, ,Command Echoing}, for a full explanation of @samp{@@}.)
@node Empty Commands, , Sequences, Commands
@section Using Empty Commands
@cindex empty commands
@cindex commands, empty
It is sometimes useful to define commands which do nothing. This is done
simply by giving a command that consists of nothing but whitespace. For
example:
@example
target: ;
@end example
@noindent
defines an empty command string for @file{target}. You could also use a
line beginning with a tab character to define an empty command string,
but this would be confusing because such a line looks empty.
@findex .DEFAULT@r{, and empty commands}
You may be wondering why you would want to define a command string that
does nothing. The only reason this is useful is to prevent a target
from getting implicit commands (from implicit rules or the
@code{.DEFAULT} special target; @pxref{Implicit Rules} and
@pxref{Last Resort, ,Defining Last-Resort Default Rules}).@refill
@c !!! another reason is for canonical stamp files:
@ignore
foo: stamp-foo ;
stamp-foo: foo.in
create foo frm foo.in
touch $@
@end ignore
You may be inclined to define empty command strings for targets that are
not actual files, but only exist so that their prerequisites can be
remade. However, this is not the best way to do that, because the
prerequisites may not be remade properly if the target file actually does exist.
@xref{Phony Targets, ,Phony Targets}, for a better way to do this.
@node Using Variables, Conditionals, Commands, Top
@chapter How to Use Variables
@cindex variable
@cindex value
@cindex recursive variable expansion
@cindex simple variable expansion
A @dfn{variable} is a name defined in a makefile to represent a string
of text, called the variable's @dfn{value}. These values are
substituted by explicit request into targets, prerequisites, commands,
and other parts of the makefile. (In some other versions of @code{make},
variables are called @dfn{macros}.)
@cindex macro
Variables and functions in all parts of a makefile are expanded when
read, except for the shell commands in rules, the right-hand sides of
variable definitions using @samp{=}, and the bodies of variable
definitions using the @code{define} directive.@refill
Variables can represent lists of file names, options to pass to compilers,
programs to run, directories to look in for source files, directories to
write output in, or anything else you can imagine.
A variable name may be any sequence of characters not containing @samp{:},
@samp{#}, @samp{=}, or leading or trailing whitespace. However,
variable names containing characters other than letters, numbers, and
underscores should be avoided, as they may be given special meanings in the
future, and with some shells they cannot be passed through the environment to a
sub-@code{make}
(@pxref{Variables/Recursion, ,Communicating Variables to a Sub-@code{make}}).
Variable names are case-sensitive. The names @samp{foo}, @samp{FOO},
and @samp{Foo} all refer to different variables.
It is traditional to use upper case letters in variable names, but we
recommend using lower case letters for variable names that serve internal
purposes in the makefile, and reserving upper case for parameters that
control implicit rules or for parameters that the user should override with
command options (@pxref{Overriding, ,Overriding Variables}).
A few variables have names that are a single punctuation character or
just a few characters. These are the @dfn{automatic variables}, and
they have particular specialized uses. @xref{Automatic, ,Automatic Variables}.
@menu
* Reference:: How to use the value of a variable.
* Flavors:: Variables come in two flavors.
* Advanced:: Advanced features for referencing a variable.
* Values:: All the ways variables get their values.
* Setting:: How to set a variable in the makefile.
* Appending:: How to append more text to the old value
of a variable.
* Override Directive:: How to set a variable in the makefile even if
the user has set it with a command argument.
* Defining:: An alternate way to set a variable
to a verbatim string.
* Environment:: Variable values can come from the environment.
* Target-specific:: Variable values can be defined on a per-target
basis.
* Pattern-specific:: Target-specific variable values can be applied
to a group of targets that match a pattern.
* Automatic:: Some special variables have predefined
meanings for use with implicit rules.
@end menu
@node Reference, Flavors, , Using Variables
@section Basics of Variable References
@cindex variables, how to reference
@cindex reference to variables
@cindex @code{$}, in variable reference
@cindex dollar sign (@code{$}), in variable reference
To substitute a variable's value, write a dollar sign followed by the name
of the variable in parentheses or braces: either @samp{$(foo)} or
@samp{$@{foo@}} is a valid reference to the variable @code{foo}. This
special significance of @samp{$} is why you must write @samp{$$} to have
the effect of a single dollar sign in a file name or command.
Variable references can be used in any context: targets, prerequisites,
commands, most directives, and new variable values. Here is an
example of a common case, where a variable holds the names of all the
object files in a program:
@example
@group
objects = program.o foo.o utils.o
program : $(objects)
cc -o program $(objects)
$(objects) : defs.h
@end group
@end example
Variable references work by strict textual substitution. Thus, the rule
@example
@group
foo = c
prog.o : prog.$(foo)
$(foo)$(foo) -$(foo) prog.$(foo)
@end group
@end example
@noindent
could be used to compile a C program @file{prog.c}. Since spaces before
the variable value are ignored in variable assignments, the value of
@code{foo} is precisely @samp{c}. (Don't actually write your makefiles
this way!)
A dollar sign followed by a character other than a dollar sign,
open-parenthesis or open-brace treats that single character as the
variable name. Thus, you could reference the variable @code{x} with
@samp{$x}. However, this practice is strongly discouraged, except in
the case of the automatic variables (@pxref{Automatic, ,Automatic Variables}).
@node Flavors, Advanced, Reference, Using Variables
@section The Two Flavors of Variables
@cindex flavors of variables
@cindex recursive variable expansion
@cindex variables, flavors
@cindex recursively expanded variables
@cindex variables, recursively expanded
There are two ways that a variable in GNU @code{make} can have a value;
we call them the two @dfn{flavors} of variables. The two flavors are
distinguished in how they are defined and in what they do when expanded.
@cindex =
The first flavor of variable is a @dfn{recursively expanded} variable.
Variables of this sort are defined by lines using @samp{=}
(@pxref{Setting, ,Setting Variables}) or by the @code{define} directive
(@pxref{Defining, ,Defining Variables Verbatim}). The value you specify
is installed verbatim; if it contains references to other variables,
these references are expanded whenever this variable is substituted (in
the course of expanding some other string). When this happens, it is
called @dfn{recursive expansion}.@refill
For example,
@example
foo = $(bar)
bar = $(ugh)
ugh = Huh?
all:;echo $(foo)
@end example
@noindent
will echo @samp{Huh?}: @samp{$(foo)} expands to @samp{$(bar)} which
expands to @samp{$(ugh)} which finally expands to @samp{Huh?}.@refill
This flavor of variable is the only sort supported by other versions of
@code{make}. It has its advantages and its disadvantages. An advantage
(most would say) is that:
@example
CFLAGS = $(include_dirs) -O
include_dirs = -Ifoo -Ibar
@end example
@noindent
will do what was intended: when @samp{CFLAGS} is expanded in a command,
it will expand to @samp{-Ifoo -Ibar -O}. A major disadvantage is that you
cannot append something on the end of a variable, as in
@example
CFLAGS = $(CFLAGS) -O
@end example
@noindent
because it will cause an infinite loop in the variable expansion.
(Actually @code{make} detects the infinite loop and reports an error.)
@cindex loops in variable expansion
@cindex variables, loops in expansion
Another disadvantage is that any functions
(@pxref{Functions, ,Functions for Transforming Text})
referenced in the definition will be executed every time the variable is
expanded. This makes @code{make} run slower; worse, it causes the
@code{wildcard} and @code{shell} functions to give unpredictable results
because you cannot easily control when they are called, or even how many
times.
To avoid all the problems and inconveniences of recursively expanded
variables, there is another flavor: simply expanded variables.
@cindex simply expanded variables
@cindex variables, simply expanded
@cindex :=
@dfn{Simply expanded variables} are defined by lines using @samp{:=}
(@pxref{Setting, ,Setting Variables}).
The value of a simply expanded variable is scanned
once and for all, expanding any references to other variables and
functions, when the variable is defined. The actual value of the simply
expanded variable is the result of expanding the text that you write.
It does not contain any references to other variables; it contains their
values @emph{as of the time this variable was defined}. Therefore,
@example
x := foo
y := $(x) bar
x := later
@end example
@noindent
is equivalent to
@example
y := foo bar
x := later
@end example
When a simply expanded variable is referenced, its value is substituted
verbatim.
Here is a somewhat more complicated example, illustrating the use of
@samp{:=} in conjunction with the @code{shell} function.
(@xref{Shell Function, , The @code{shell} Function}.) This example
also shows use of the variable @code{MAKELEVEL}, which is changed
when it is passed down from level to level.
(@xref{Variables/Recursion, , Communicating Variables to a
Sub-@code{make}}, for information about @code{MAKELEVEL}.)
@vindex MAKELEVEL
@vindex MAKE
@example
@group
ifeq (0,$@{MAKELEVEL@})
cur-dir := $(shell pwd)
whoami := $(shell whoami)
host-type := $(shell arch)
MAKE := $@{MAKE@} host-type=$@{host-type@} whoami=$@{whoami@}
endif
@end group
@end example
@noindent
An advantage of this use of @samp{:=} is that a typical
`descend into a directory' command then looks like this: