This is Info file make.info, produced by Makeinfo version 1.67 from the
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INFO-DIR-SECTION The GNU make utility
START-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
* Make: (make.info).               The GNU make utility.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY

   This file documents the GNU Make utility, which determines
automatically which pieces of a large program need to be recompiled,
and issues the commands to recompile them.

   This is Edition 0.52, last updated 20 May 1998, of `The GNU Make
Manual', for `make', Version 3.77.

   Copyright (C) 1988, '89, '90, '91, '92, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98
Free Software Foundation, Inc.

   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of this
manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice are
preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
this manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that
the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
permission notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this
manual into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a
translation approved by the Free Software Foundation.


File: make.info,  Node: Chained Rules,  Next: Pattern Rules,  Prev: Implicit Variables,  Up: Implicit Rules

Chains of Implicit Rules
========================

   Sometimes a file can be made by a sequence of implicit rules.  For
example, a file `N.o' could be made from `N.y' by running first Yacc
and then `cc'.  Such a sequence is called a "chain".

   If the file `N.c' exists, or is mentioned in the makefile, no
special searching is required: `make' finds that the object file can be
made by C compilation from `N.c'; later on, when considering how to
make `N.c', the rule for running Yacc is used.  Ultimately both `N.c'
and `N.o' are updated.

   However, even if `N.c' does not exist and is not mentioned, `make'
knows how to envision it as the missing link between `N.o' and `N.y'!
In this case, `N.c' is called an "intermediate file".  Once `make' has
decided to use the intermediate file, it is entered in the data base as
if it had been mentioned in the makefile, along with the implicit rule
that says how to create it.

   Intermediate files are remade using their rules just like all other
files.  But intermediate files are treated differently in two ways.

   The first difference is what happens if the intermediate file does
not exist.  If an ordinary file B does not exist, and `make' considers
a target that depends on B, it invariably creates B and then updates
the target from B.  But if B is an intermediate file, then `make' can
leave well enough alone.  It won't bother updating B, or the ultimate
target, unless some dependency of B is newer than that target or there
is some other reason to update that target.

   The second difference is that if `make' *does* create B in order to
update something else, it deletes B later on after it is no longer
needed.  Therefore, an intermediate file which did not exist before
`make' also does not exist after `make'.  `make' reports the deletion
to you by printing a `rm -f' command showing which file it is deleting.

   Ordinarily, a file cannot be intermediate if it is mentioned in the
makefile as a target or dependency.  However, you can explicitly mark a
file as intermediate by listing it as a dependency of the special target
`.INTERMEDIATE'.  This takes effect even if the file is mentioned
explicitly in some other way.

   You can prevent automatic deletion of an intermediate file by
marking it as a "secondary" file.  To do this, list it as a dependency
of the special target `.SECONDARY'.  When a file is secondary, `make'
will not create the file merely because it does not already exist, but
`make' does not automatically delete the file.  Marking a file as
secondary also marks it as intermediate.

   You can list the target pattern of an implicit rule (such as `%.o')
as a dependency of the special target `.PRECIOUS' to preserve
intermediate files made by implicit rules whose target patterns match
that file's name; see *Note Interrupts::.

   A chain can involve more than two implicit rules.  For example, it is
possible to make a file `foo' from `RCS/foo.y,v' by running RCS, Yacc
and `cc'.  Then both `foo.y' and `foo.c' are intermediate files that
are deleted at the end.

   No single implicit rule can appear more than once in a chain.  This
means that `make' will not even consider such a ridiculous thing as
making `foo' from `foo.o.o' by running the linker twice.  This
constraint has the added benefit of preventing any infinite loop in the
search for an implicit rule chain.

   There are some special implicit rules to optimize certain cases that
would otherwise be handled by rule chains.  For example, making `foo'
from `foo.c' could be handled by compiling and linking with separate
chained rules, using `foo.o' as an intermediate file.  But what
actually happens is that a special rule for this case does the
compilation and linking with a single `cc' command.  The optimized rule
is used in preference to the step-by-step chain because it comes
earlier in the ordering of rules.


File: make.info,  Node: Pattern Rules,  Next: Last Resort,  Prev: Chained Rules,  Up: Implicit Rules

Defining and Redefining Pattern Rules
=====================================

   You define an implicit rule by writing a "pattern rule".  A pattern
rule looks like an ordinary rule, except that its target contains the
character `%' (exactly one of them).  The target is considered a
pattern for matching file names; the `%' can match any nonempty
substring, while other characters match only themselves.  The
dependencies likewise use `%' to show how their names relate to the
target name.

   Thus, a pattern rule `%.o : %.c' says how to make any file `STEM.o'
from another file `STEM.c'.

   Note that expansion using `%' in pattern rules occurs *after* any
variable or function expansions, which take place when the makefile is
read.  *Note How to Use Variables: Using Variables, and *Note Functions
for Transforming Text: Functions.

* Menu:

* 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.


File: make.info,  Node: Pattern Intro,  Next: Pattern Examples,  Up: Pattern Rules

Introduction to Pattern Rules
-----------------------------

   A pattern rule contains the character `%' (exactly one of them) in
the target; otherwise, it looks exactly like an ordinary rule.  The
target is a pattern for matching file names; the `%' matches any
nonempty substring, while other characters match only themselves.

   For example, `%.c' as a pattern matches any file name that ends in
`.c'.  `s.%.c' as a pattern matches any file name that starts with
`s.', ends in `.c' and is at least five characters long.  (There must
be at least one character to match the `%'.)  The substring that the
`%' matches is called the "stem".

   `%' in a dependency of a pattern rule stands for the same stem that
was matched by the `%' in the target.  In order for the pattern rule to
apply, its target pattern must match the file name under consideration,
and its dependency patterns must name files that exist or can be made.
These files become dependencies of the target.

   Thus, a rule of the form

     %.o : %.c ; COMMAND...

specifies how to make a file `N.o', with another file `N.c' as its
dependency, provided that `N.c' exists or can be made.

   There may also be dependencies that do not use `%'; such a dependency
attaches to every file made by this pattern rule.  These unvarying
dependencies are useful occasionally.

   A pattern rule need not have any dependencies that contain `%', or
in fact any dependencies at all.  Such a rule is effectively a general
wildcard.  It provides a way to make any file that matches the target
pattern.  *Note Last Resort::.

   Pattern rules may have more than one target.  Unlike normal rules,
this does not act as many different rules with the same dependencies and
commands.  If a pattern rule has multiple targets, `make' knows that
the rule's commands are responsible for making all of the targets.  The
commands are executed only once to make all the targets.  When searching
for a pattern rule to match a target, the target patterns of a rule
other than the one that matches the target in need of a rule are
incidental: `make' worries only about giving commands and dependencies
to the file presently in question.  However, when this file's commands
are run, the other targets are marked as having been updated themselves.

   The order in which pattern rules appear in the makefile is important
since this is the order in which they are considered.  Of equally
applicable rules, only the first one found is used.  The rules you
write take precedence over those that are built in.  Note however, that
a rule whose dependencies actually exist or are mentioned always takes
priority over a rule with dependencies that must be made by chaining
other implicit rules.


File: make.info,  Node: Pattern Examples,  Next: Automatic,  Prev: Pattern Intro,  Up: Pattern Rules

Pattern Rule Examples
---------------------

   Here are some examples of pattern rules actually predefined in
`make'.  First, the rule that compiles `.c' files into `.o' files:

     %.o : %.c
             $(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $(CPPFLAGS) $< -o $@

defines a rule that can make any file `X.o' from `X.c'.  The command
uses the automatic variables `$@' and `$<' to substitute the names of
the target file and the source file in each case where the rule applies
(*note Automatic Variables: Automatic.).

   Here is a second built-in rule:

     % :: RCS/%,v
             $(CO) $(COFLAGS) $<

defines a rule that can make any file `X' whatsoever from a
corresponding file `X,v' in the subdirectory `RCS'.  Since the target
is `%', this rule will apply to any file whatever, provided the
appropriate dependency file exists.  The double colon makes the rule
"terminal", which means that its dependency may not be an intermediate
file (*note Match-Anything Pattern Rules: Match-Anything Rules.).

   This pattern rule has two targets:

     %.tab.c %.tab.h: %.y
             bison -d $<

This tells `make' that the command `bison -d X.y' will make both
`X.tab.c' and `X.tab.h'.  If the file `foo' depends on the files
`parse.tab.o' and `scan.o' and the file `scan.o' depends on the file
`parse.tab.h', when `parse.y' is changed, the command `bison -d parse.y'
will be executed only once, and the dependencies of both `parse.tab.o'
and `scan.o' will be satisfied.  (Presumably the file `parse.tab.o'
will be recompiled from `parse.tab.c' and the file `scan.o' from
`scan.c', while `foo' is linked from `parse.tab.o', `scan.o', and its
other dependencies, and it will execute happily ever after.)


File: make.info,  Node: Automatic,  Next: Pattern Match,  Prev: Pattern Examples,  Up: Pattern Rules

Automatic Variables
-------------------

   Suppose you are writing a pattern rule to compile a `.c' file into a
`.o' file: how do you write the `cc' command so that it operates on the
right source file name?  You cannot write the name in the command,
because the name is different each time the implicit rule is applied.

   What you do is use a special feature of `make', the "automatic
variables".  These variables have values computed afresh for each rule
that is executed, based on the target and dependencies of the rule.  In
this example, you would use `$@' for the object file name and `$<' for
the source file name.

   Here is a table of automatic variables:

`$@'
     The file name of the target of the rule.  If the target is an
     archive member, then `$@' is the name of the archive file.  In a
     pattern rule that has multiple targets (*note Introduction to
     Pattern Rules: Pattern Intro.), `$@' is the name of whichever
     target caused the rule's commands to be run.

`$%'
     The target member name, when the target is an archive member.
     *Note Archives::.  For example, if the target is `foo.a(bar.o)'
     then `$%' is `bar.o' and `$@' is `foo.a'.  `$%' is empty when the
     target is not an archive member.

`$<'
     The name of the first dependency.  If the target got its commands
     from an implicit rule, this will be the first dependency added by
     the implicit rule (*note Implicit Rules::.).

`$?'
     The names of all the dependencies that are newer than the target,
     with spaces between them.  For dependencies which are archive
     members, only the member named is used (*note Archives::.).

`$^'
     The names of all the dependencies, with spaces between them.  For
     dependencies which are archive members, only the member named is
     used (*note Archives::.).  A target has only one dependency on
     each other file it depends on, no matter how many times each file
     is listed as a dependency.  So if you list a dependency more than
     once for a target, the value of `$^' contains just one copy of the
     name.

`$+'
     This is like `$^', but dependencies listed more than once are
     duplicated in the order they were listed in the makefile.  This is
     primarily useful for use in linking commands where it is
     meaningful to repeat library file names in a particular order.

`$*'
     The stem with which an implicit rule matches (*note How Patterns
     Match: Pattern Match.).  If the target is `dir/a.foo.b' and the
     target pattern is `a.%.b' then the stem is `dir/foo'.  The stem is
     useful for constructing names of related files.

     In a static pattern rule, the stem is part of the file name that
     matched the `%' in the target pattern.

     In an explicit rule, there is no stem; so `$*' cannot be determined
     in that way.  Instead, if the target name ends with a recognized
     suffix (*note Old-Fashioned Suffix Rules: Suffix Rules.), `$*' is
     set to the target name minus the suffix.  For example, if the
     target name is `foo.c', then `$*' is set to `foo', since `.c' is a
     suffix.  GNU `make' does this bizarre thing only for compatibility
     with other implementations of `make'.  You should generally avoid
     using `$*' except in implicit rules or static pattern rules.

     If the target name in an explicit rule does not end with a
     recognized suffix, `$*' is set to the empty string for that rule.

   `$?' is useful even in explicit rules when you wish to operate on
only the dependencies that have changed.  For example, suppose that an
archive named `lib' is supposed to contain copies of several object
files.  This rule copies just the changed object files into the archive:

     lib: foo.o bar.o lose.o win.o
             ar r lib $?

   Of the variables listed above, four have values that are single file
names, and two have values that are lists of file names.  These six have
variants that get just the file's directory name or just the file name
within the directory.  The variant variables' names are formed by
appending `D' or `F', respectively.  These variants are semi-obsolete
in GNU `make' since the functions `dir' and `notdir' can be used to get
a similar effect (*note Functions for File Names: File Name
Functions.).  Note, however, that the `F' variants all omit the
trailing slash which always appears in the output of the `dir'
function.  Here is a table of the variants:

`$(@D)'
     The directory part of the file name of the target, with the
     trailing slash removed.  If the value of `$@' is `dir/foo.o' then
     `$(@D)' is `dir'.  This value is `.' if `$@' does not contain a
     slash.

`$(@F)'
     The file-within-directory part of the file name of the target.  If
     the value of `$@' is `dir/foo.o' then `$(@F)' is `foo.o'.  `$(@F)'
     is equivalent to `$(notdir $@)'.

`$(*D)'
`$(*F)'
     The directory part and the file-within-directory part of the stem;
     `dir' and `foo' in this example.

`$(%D)'
`$(%F)'
     The directory part and the file-within-directory part of the target
     archive member name.  This makes sense only for archive member
     targets of the form `ARCHIVE(MEMBER)' and is useful only when
     MEMBER may contain a directory name.  (*Note Archive Members as
     Targets: Archive Members.)

`$(<D)'
`$(<F)'
     The directory part and the file-within-directory part of the first
     dependency.

`$(^D)'
`$(^F)'
     Lists of the directory parts and the file-within-directory parts
     of all dependencies.

`$(?D)'
`$(?F)'
     Lists of the directory parts and the file-within-directory parts of
     all dependencies that are newer than the target.

   Note that we use a special stylistic convention when we talk about
these automatic variables; we write "the value of `$<'", rather than
"the variable `<'" as we would write for ordinary variables such as
`objects' and `CFLAGS'.  We think this convention looks more natural in
this special case.  Please do not assume it has a deep significance;
`$<' refers to the variable named `<' just as `$(CFLAGS)' refers to the
variable named `CFLAGS'.  You could just as well use `$(<)' in place of
`$<'.


File: make.info,  Node: Pattern Match,  Next: Match-Anything Rules,  Prev: Automatic,  Up: Pattern Rules

How Patterns Match
------------------

   A target pattern is composed of a `%' between a prefix and a suffix,
either or both of which may be empty.  The pattern matches a file name
only if the file name starts with the prefix and ends with the suffix,
without overlap.  The text between the prefix and the suffix is called
the "stem".  Thus, when the pattern `%.o' matches the file name
`test.o', the stem is `test'.  The pattern rule dependencies are turned
into actual file names by substituting the stem for the character `%'.
Thus, if in the same example one of the dependencies is written as
`%.c', it expands to `test.c'.

   When the target pattern does not contain a slash (and it usually does
not), directory names in the file names are removed from the file name
before it is compared with the target prefix and suffix.  After the
comparison of the file name to the target pattern, the directory names,
along with the slash that ends them, are added on to the dependency
file names generated from the pattern rule's dependency patterns and
the file name. The directories are ignored only for the purpose of
finding an implicit rule to use, not in the application of that rule.
Thus, `e%t' matches the file name `src/eat', with `src/a' as the stem.
When dependencies are turned into file names, the directories from the
stem are added at the front, while the rest of the stem is substituted
for the `%'.  The stem `src/a' with a dependency pattern `c%r' gives
the file name `src/car'.


File: make.info,  Node: Match-Anything Rules,  Next: Canceling Rules,  Prev: Pattern Match,  Up: Pattern Rules

Match-Anything Pattern Rules
----------------------------

   When a pattern rule's target is just `%', it matches any file name
whatever.  We call these rules "match-anything" rules.  They are very
useful, but it can take a lot of time for `make' to think about them,
because it must consider every such rule for each file name listed
either as a target or as a dependency.

   Suppose the makefile mentions `foo.c'.  For this target, `make'
would have to consider making it by linking an object file `foo.c.o',
or by C compilation-and-linking in one step from `foo.c.c', or by
Pascal compilation-and-linking from `foo.c.p', and many other
possibilities.

   We know these possibilities are ridiculous since `foo.c' is a C
source file, not an executable.  If `make' did consider these
possibilities, it would ultimately reject them, because files such as
`foo.c.o' and `foo.c.p' would not exist.  But these possibilities are so
numerous that `make' would run very slowly if it had to consider them.

   To gain speed, we have put various constraints on the way `make'
considers match-anything rules.  There are two different constraints
that can be applied, and each time you define a match-anything rule you
must choose one or the other for that rule.

   One choice is to mark the match-anything rule as "terminal" by
defining it with a double colon.  When a rule is terminal, it does not
apply unless its dependencies actually exist.  Dependencies that could
be made with other implicit rules are not good enough.  In other words,
no further chaining is allowed beyond a terminal rule.

   For example, the built-in implicit rules for extracting sources from
RCS and SCCS files are terminal; as a result, if the file `foo.c,v' does
not exist, `make' will not even consider trying to make it as an
intermediate file from `foo.c,v.o' or from `RCS/SCCS/s.foo.c,v'.  RCS
and SCCS files are generally ultimate source files, which should not be
remade from any other files; therefore, `make' can save time by not
looking for ways to remake them.

   If you do not mark the match-anything rule as terminal, then it is
nonterminal.  A nonterminal match-anything rule cannot apply to a file
name that indicates a specific type of data.  A file name indicates a
specific type of data if some non-match-anything implicit rule target
matches it.

   For example, the file name `foo.c' matches the target for the pattern
rule `%.c : %.y' (the rule to run Yacc).  Regardless of whether this
rule is actually applicable (which happens only if there is a file
`foo.y'), the fact that its target matches is enough to prevent
consideration of any nonterminal match-anything rules for the file
`foo.c'.  Thus, `make' will not even consider trying to make `foo.c' as
an executable file from `foo.c.o', `foo.c.c', `foo.c.p', etc.

   The motivation for this constraint is that nonterminal match-anything
rules are used for making files containing specific types of data (such
as executable files) and a file name with a recognized suffix indicates
some other specific type of data (such as a C source file).

   Special built-in dummy pattern rules are provided solely to recognize
certain file names so that nonterminal match-anything rules will not be
considered.  These dummy rules have no dependencies and no commands, and
they are ignored for all other purposes.  For example, the built-in
implicit rule

     %.p :

exists to make sure that Pascal source files such as `foo.p' match a
specific target pattern and thereby prevent time from being wasted
looking for `foo.p.o' or `foo.p.c'.

   Dummy pattern rules such as the one for `%.p' are made for every
suffix listed as valid for use in suffix rules (*note Old-Fashioned
Suffix Rules: Suffix Rules.).


File: make.info,  Node: Canceling Rules,  Prev: Match-Anything Rules,  Up: Pattern Rules

Canceling Implicit Rules
------------------------

   You can override a built-in implicit rule (or one you have defined
yourself) by defining a new pattern rule with the same target and
dependencies, but different commands.  When the new rule is defined, the
built-in one is replaced.  The new rule's position in the sequence of
implicit rules is determined by where you write the new rule.

   You can cancel a built-in implicit rule by defining a pattern rule
with the same target and dependencies, but no commands.  For example,
the following would cancel the rule that runs the assembler:

     %.o : %.s


File: make.info,  Node: Last Resort,  Next: Suffix Rules,  Prev: Pattern Rules,  Up: Implicit Rules

Defining Last-Resort Default Rules
==================================

   You can define a last-resort implicit rule by writing a terminal
match-anything pattern rule with no dependencies (*note Match-Anything
Rules::.).  This is just like any other pattern rule; the only thing
special about it is that it will match any target.  So such a rule's
commands are used for all targets and dependencies that have no commands
of their own and for which no other implicit rule applies.

   For example, when testing a makefile, you might not care if the
source files contain real data, only that they exist.  Then you might
do this:

     %::
             touch $@

to cause all the source files needed (as dependencies) to be created
automatically.

   You can instead define commands to be used for targets for which
there are no rules at all, even ones which don't specify commands.  You
do this by writing a rule for the target `.DEFAULT'.  Such a rule's
commands are used for all dependencies which do not appear as targets in
any explicit rule, and for which no implicit rule applies.  Naturally,
there is no `.DEFAULT' rule unless you write one.

   If you use `.DEFAULT' with no commands or dependencies:

     .DEFAULT:

the commands previously stored for `.DEFAULT' are cleared.  Then `make'
acts as if you had never defined `.DEFAULT' at all.

   If you do not want a target to get the commands from a match-anything
pattern rule or `.DEFAULT', but you also do not want any commands to be
run for the target, you can give it empty commands (*note Defining
Empty Commands: Empty Commands.).

   You can use a last-resort rule to override part of another makefile.
*Note Overriding Part of Another Makefile: Overriding Makefiles.


File: make.info,  Node: Suffix Rules,  Next: Implicit Rule Search,  Prev: Last Resort,  Up: Implicit Rules

Old-Fashioned Suffix Rules
==========================

   "Suffix rules" are the old-fashioned way of defining implicit rules
for `make'.  Suffix rules are obsolete because pattern rules are more
general and clearer.  They are supported in GNU `make' for
compatibility with old makefiles.  They come in two kinds:
"double-suffix" and "single-suffix".

   A double-suffix rule is defined by a pair of suffixes: the target
suffix and the source suffix.  It matches any file whose name ends with
the target suffix.  The corresponding implicit dependency is made by
replacing the target suffix with the source suffix in the file name.  A
two-suffix rule whose target and source suffixes are `.o' and `.c' is
equivalent to the pattern rule `%.o : %.c'.

   A single-suffix rule is defined by a single suffix, which is the
source suffix.  It matches any file name, and the corresponding implicit
dependency name is made by appending the source suffix.  A single-suffix
rule whose source suffix is `.c' is equivalent to the pattern rule `% :
%.c'.

   Suffix rule definitions are recognized by comparing each rule's
target against a defined list of known suffixes.  When `make' sees a
rule whose target is a known suffix, this rule is considered a
single-suffix rule.  When `make' sees a rule whose target is two known
suffixes concatenated, this rule is taken as a double-suffix rule.

   For example, `.c' and `.o' are both on the default list of known
suffixes.  Therefore, if you define a rule whose target is `.c.o',
`make' takes it to be a double-suffix rule with source suffix `.c' and
target suffix `.o'.  Here is the old-fashioned way to define the rule
for compiling a C source file:

     .c.o:
             $(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $(CPPFLAGS) -o $@ $<

   Suffix rules cannot have any dependencies of their own.  If they
have any, they are treated as normal files with funny names, not as
suffix rules.  Thus, the rule:

     .c.o: foo.h
             $(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $(CPPFLAGS) -o $@ $<

tells how to make the file `.c.o' from the dependency file `foo.h', and
is not at all like the pattern rule:

     %.o: %.c foo.h
             $(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $(CPPFLAGS) -o $@ $<

which tells how to make `.o' files from `.c' files, and makes all `.o'
files using this pattern rule also depend on `foo.h'.

   Suffix rules with no commands are also meaningless.  They do not
remove previous rules as do pattern rules with no commands (*note
Canceling Implicit Rules: Canceling Rules.).  They simply enter the
suffix or pair of suffixes concatenated as a target in the data base.

   The known suffixes are simply the names of the dependencies of the
special target `.SUFFIXES'.  You can add your own suffixes by writing a
rule for `.SUFFIXES' that adds more dependencies, as in:

     .SUFFIXES: .hack .win

which adds `.hack' and `.win' to the end of the list of suffixes.

   If you wish to eliminate the default known suffixes instead of just
adding to them, write a rule for `.SUFFIXES' with no dependencies.  By
special dispensation, this eliminates all existing dependencies of
`.SUFFIXES'.  You can then write another rule to add the suffixes you
want.  For example,

     .SUFFIXES:            # Delete the default suffixes
     .SUFFIXES: .c .o .h   # Define our suffix list

   The `-r' or `--no-builtin-rules' flag causes the default list of
suffixes to be empty.

   The variable `SUFFIXES' is defined to the default list of suffixes
before `make' reads any makefiles.  You can change the list of suffixes
with a rule for the special target `.SUFFIXES', but that does not alter
this variable.


File: make.info,  Node: Implicit Rule Search,  Prev: Suffix Rules,  Up: Implicit Rules

Implicit Rule Search Algorithm
==============================

   Here is the procedure `make' uses for searching for an implicit rule
for a target T.  This procedure is followed for each double-colon rule
with no commands, for each target of ordinary rules none of which have
commands, and for each dependency that is not the target of any rule.
It is also followed recursively for dependencies that come from implicit
rules, in the search for a chain of rules.

   Suffix rules are not mentioned in this algorithm because suffix
rules are converted to equivalent pattern rules once the makefiles have
been read in.

   For an archive member target of the form `ARCHIVE(MEMBER)', the
following algorithm is run twice, first using the entire target name T,
and second using `(MEMBER)' as the target T if the first run found no
rule.

  1. Split T into a directory part, called D, and the rest, called N.
     For example, if T is `src/foo.o', then D is `src/' and N is
     `foo.o'.

  2. Make a list of all the pattern rules one of whose targets matches
     T or N.  If the target pattern contains a slash, it is matched
     against T; otherwise, against N.

  3. If any rule in that list is *not* a match-anything rule, then
     remove all nonterminal match-anything rules from the list.

  4. Remove from the list all rules with no commands.

  5. For each pattern rule in the list:

       a. Find the stem S, which is the nonempty part of T or N matched
          by the `%' in the target pattern.

       b. Compute the dependency names by substituting S for `%'; if
          the target pattern does not contain a slash, append D to the
          front of each dependency name.

       c. Test whether all the dependencies exist or ought to exist.
          (If a file name is mentioned in the makefile as a target or
          as an explicit dependency, then we say it ought to exist.)

          If all dependencies exist or ought to exist, or there are no
          dependencies, then this rule applies.

  6. If no pattern rule has been found so far, try harder.  For each
     pattern rule in the list:

       a. If the rule is terminal, ignore it and go on to the next rule.

       b. Compute the dependency names as before.

       c. Test whether all the dependencies exist or ought to exist.

       d. For each dependency that does not exist, follow this algorithm
          recursively to see if the dependency can be made by an
          implicit rule.

       e. If all dependencies exist, ought to exist, or can be made by
          implicit rules, then this rule applies.

  7. If no implicit rule applies, the rule for `.DEFAULT', if any,
     applies.  In that case, give T the same commands that `.DEFAULT'
     has.  Otherwise, there are no commands for T.

   Once a rule that applies has been found, for each target pattern of
the rule other than the one that matched T or N, the `%' in the pattern
is replaced with S and the resultant file name is stored until the
commands to remake the target file T are executed.  After these
commands are executed, each of these stored file names are entered into
the data base and marked as having been updated and having the same
update status as the file T.

   When the commands of a pattern rule are executed for T, the automatic
variables are set corresponding to the target and dependencies.  *Note
Automatic Variables: Automatic.


File: make.info,  Node: Archives,  Next: Features,  Prev: Implicit Rules,  Up: Top

Using `make' to Update Archive Files
************************************

   "Archive files" are files containing named subfiles called
"members"; they are maintained with the program `ar' and their main use
is as subroutine libraries for linking.

* Menu:

* 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.


File: make.info,  Node: Archive Members,  Next: Archive Update,  Up: Archives

Archive Members as Targets
==========================

   An individual member of an archive file can be used as a target or
dependency in `make'.  You specify the member named MEMBER in archive
file ARCHIVE as follows:

     ARCHIVE(MEMBER)

This construct is available only in targets and dependencies, not in
commands!  Most programs that you might use in commands do not support
this syntax and cannot act directly on archive members.  Only `ar' and
other programs specifically designed to operate on archives can do so.
Therefore, valid commands to update an archive member target probably
must use `ar'.  For example, this rule says to create a member `hack.o'
in archive `foolib' by copying the file `hack.o':

     foolib(hack.o) : hack.o
             ar cr foolib hack.o

   In fact, nearly all archive member targets are updated in just this
way and there is an implicit rule to do it for you.  *Note:* The `c'
flag to `ar' is required if the archive file does not already exist.

   To specify several members in the same archive, you can write all the
member names together between the parentheses.  For example:

     foolib(hack.o kludge.o)

is equivalent to:

     foolib(hack.o) foolib(kludge.o)

   You can also use shell-style wildcards in an archive member
reference.  *Note Using Wildcard Characters in File Names: Wildcards.
For example, `foolib(*.o)' expands to all existing members of the
`foolib' archive whose names end in `.o'; perhaps `foolib(hack.o)
foolib(kludge.o)'.


File: make.info,  Node: Archive Update,  Next: Archive Pitfalls,  Prev: Archive Members,  Up: Archives

Implicit Rule for Archive Member Targets
========================================

   Recall that a target that looks like `A(M)' stands for the member
named M in the archive file A.

   When `make' looks for an implicit rule for such a target, as a
special feature it considers implicit rules that match `(M)', as well as
those that match the actual target `A(M)'.

   This causes one special rule whose target is `(%)' to match.  This
rule updates the target `A(M)' by copying the file M into the archive.
For example, it will update the archive member target `foo.a(bar.o)' by
copying the *file* `bar.o' into the archive `foo.a' as a *member* named
`bar.o'.

   When this rule is chained with others, the result is very powerful.
Thus, `make "foo.a(bar.o)"' (the quotes are needed to protect the `('
and `)' from being interpreted specially by the shell) in the presence
of a file `bar.c' is enough to cause the following commands to be run,
even without a makefile:

     cc -c bar.c -o bar.o
     ar r foo.a bar.o
     rm -f bar.o

Here `make' has envisioned the file `bar.o' as an intermediate file.
*Note Chains of Implicit Rules: Chained Rules.

   Implicit rules such as this one are written using the automatic
variable `$%'.  *Note Automatic Variables: Automatic.

   An archive member name in an archive cannot contain a directory
name, but it may be useful in a makefile to pretend that it does.  If
you write an archive member target `foo.a(dir/file.o)', `make' will
perform automatic updating with this command:

     ar r foo.a dir/file.o

which has the effect of copying the file `dir/file.o' into a member
named `file.o'.  In connection with such usage, the automatic variables
`%D' and `%F' may be useful.

* Menu:

* Archive Symbols::             How to update archive symbol directories.


File: make.info,  Node: Archive Symbols,  Up: Archive Update

Updating Archive Symbol Directories
-----------------------------------

   An archive file that is used as a library usually contains a special
member named `__.SYMDEF' that contains a directory of the external
symbol names defined by all the other members.  After you update any
other members, you need to update `__.SYMDEF' so that it will summarize
the other members properly.  This is done by running the `ranlib'
program:

     ranlib ARCHIVEFILE

   Normally you would put this command in the rule for the archive file,
and make all the members of the archive file dependencies of that rule.
For example,

     libfoo.a: libfoo.a(x.o) libfoo.a(y.o) ...
             ranlib libfoo.a

The effect of this is to update archive members `x.o', `y.o', etc., and
then update the symbol directory member `__.SYMDEF' by running
`ranlib'.  The rules for updating the members are not shown here; most
likely you can omit them and use the implicit rule which copies files
into the archive, as described in the preceding section.

   This is not necessary when using the GNU `ar' program, which updates
the `__.SYMDEF' member automatically.


File: make.info,  Node: Archive Pitfalls,  Next: Archive Suffix Rules,  Prev: Archive Update,  Up: Archives

Dangers When Using Archives
===========================

   It is important to be careful when using parallel execution (the
`-j' switch; *note Parallel Execution: Parallel.) and archives.  If
multiple `ar' commands run at the same time on the same archive file,
they will not know about each other and can corrupt the file.

   Possibly a future version of `make' will provide a mechanism to
circumvent this problem by serializing all commands that operate on the
same archive file.  But for the time being, you must either write your
makefiles to avoid this problem in some other way, or not use `-j'.


File: make.info,  Node: Archive Suffix Rules,  Prev: Archive Pitfalls,  Up: Archives

Suffix Rules for Archive Files
==============================

   You can write a special kind of suffix rule for dealing with archive
files.  *Note Suffix Rules::, for a full explanation of suffix rules.
Archive suffix rules are obsolete in GNU `make', because pattern rules
for archives are a more general mechanism (*note Archive Update::.).
But they are retained for compatibility with other `make's.

   To write a suffix rule for archives, you simply write a suffix rule
using the target suffix `.a' (the usual suffix for archive files).  For
example, here is the old-fashioned suffix rule to update a library
archive from C source files:

     .c.a:
             $(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(CPPFLAGS) -c $< -o $*.o
             $(AR) r $@ $*.o
             $(RM) $*.o

This works just as if you had written the pattern rule:

     (%.o): %.c
             $(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(CPPFLAGS) -c $< -o $*.o
             $(AR) r $@ $*.o
             $(RM) $*.o

   In fact, this is just what `make' does when it sees a suffix rule
with `.a' as the target suffix.  Any double-suffix rule `.X.a' is
converted to a pattern rule with the target pattern `(%.o)' and a
dependency pattern of `%.X'.

   Since you might want to use `.a' as the suffix for some other kind
of file, `make' also converts archive suffix rules to pattern rules in
the normal way (*note Suffix Rules::.).  Thus a double-suffix rule
`.X.a' produces two pattern rules: `(%.o): %.X' and `%.a: %.X'.


File: make.info,  Node: Features,  Next: Missing,  Prev: Archives,  Up: Top

Features of GNU `make'
**********************

   Here is a summary of the features of GNU `make', for comparison with
and credit to other versions of `make'.  We consider the features of
`make' in 4.2 BSD systems as a baseline.  If you are concerned with
writing portable makefiles, you should use only the features of `make'
*not* listed here or in *Note Missing::.

   Many features come from the version of `make' in System V.

   * The `VPATH' variable and its special meaning.  *Note Searching
     Directories for Dependencies: Directory Search.  This feature
     exists in System V `make', but is undocumented.  It is documented
     in 4.3 BSD `make' (which says it mimics System V's `VPATH'
     feature).

   * Included makefiles.  *Note Including Other Makefiles: Include.
     Allowing multiple files to be included with a single directive is
     a GNU extension.

   * Variables are read from and communicated via the environment.
     *Note Variables from the Environment: Environment.

   * Options passed through the variable `MAKEFLAGS' to recursive
     invocations of `make'.  *Note Communicating Options to a
     Sub-`make': Options/Recursion.

   * The automatic variable `$%' is set to the member name in an
     archive reference.  *Note Automatic Variables: Automatic.

   * The automatic variables `$@', `$*', `$<', `$%', and `$?' have
     corresponding forms like `$(@F)' and `$(@D)'.  We have generalized
     this to `$^' as an obvious extension.  *Note Automatic Variables:
     Automatic.

   * Substitution variable references.  *Note Basics of Variable
     References: Reference.

   * The command-line options `-b' and `-m', accepted and ignored.  In
     System V `make', these options actually do something.

   * Execution of recursive commands to run `make' via the variable
     `MAKE' even if `-n', `-q' or `-t' is specified.  *Note Recursive
     Use of `make': Recursion.

   * Support for suffix `.a' in suffix rules.  *Note Archive Suffix
     Rules::.  This feature is obsolete in GNU `make', because the
     general feature of rule chaining (*note Chains of Implicit Rules:
     Chained Rules.) allows one pattern rule for installing members in
     an archive (*note Archive Update::.) to be sufficient.

   * The arrangement of lines and backslash-newline combinations in
     commands is retained when the commands are printed, so they appear
     as they do in the makefile, except for the stripping of initial
     whitespace.

   The following features were inspired by various other versions of
`make'.  In some cases it is unclear exactly which versions inspired
which others.

   * Pattern rules using `%'.  This has been implemented in several
     versions of `make'.  We're not sure who invented it first, but
     it's been spread around a bit.  *Note Defining and Redefining
     Pattern Rules: Pattern Rules.

   * Rule chaining and implicit intermediate files.  This was
     implemented by Stu Feldman in his version of `make' for AT&T
     Eighth Edition Research Unix, and later by Andrew Hume of AT&T
     Bell Labs in his `mk' program (where he terms it "transitive
     closure").  We do not really know if we got this from either of
     them or thought it up ourselves at the same time.  *Note Chains of
     Implicit Rules: Chained Rules.

   * The automatic variable `$^' containing a list of all dependencies
     of the current target.  We did not invent this, but we have no
     idea who did.  *Note Automatic Variables: Automatic.  The
     automatic variable `$+' is a simple extension of `$^'.

   * The "what if" flag (`-W' in GNU `make') was (as far as we know)
     invented by Andrew Hume in `mk'.  *Note Instead of Executing the
     Commands: Instead of Execution.

   * The concept of doing several things at once (parallelism) exists in
     many incarnations of `make' and similar programs, though not in the
     System V or BSD implementations.  *Note Command Execution:
     Execution.

   * Modified variable references using pattern substitution come from
     SunOS 4.  *Note Basics of Variable References: Reference.  This
     functionality was provided in GNU `make' by the `patsubst'
     function before the alternate syntax was implemented for
     compatibility with SunOS 4.  It is not altogether clear who
     inspired whom, since GNU `make' had `patsubst' before SunOS 4 was
     released.

   * The special significance of `+' characters preceding command lines
     (*note Instead of Executing the Commands: Instead of Execution.) is
     mandated by `IEEE Standard 1003.2-1992' (POSIX.2).

   * The `+=' syntax to append to the value of a variable comes from
     SunOS 4 `make'.  *Note Appending More Text to Variables: Appending.

   * The syntax `ARCHIVE(MEM1 MEM2...)' to list multiple members in a
     single archive file comes from SunOS 4 `make'.  *Note Archive
     Members::.

   * The `-include' directive to include makefiles with no error for a
     nonexistent file comes from SunOS 4 `make'.  (But note that SunOS 4
     `make' does not allow multiple makefiles to be specified in one
     `-include' directive.)  The same feature appears with the name
     `sinclude' in SGI `make' and perhaps others.

   The remaining features are inventions new in GNU `make':

   * Use the `-v' or `--version' option to print version and copyright
     information.

   * Use the `-h' or `--help' option to summarize the options to `make'.

   * Simply-expanded variables.  *Note The Two Flavors of Variables:
     Flavors.

   * Pass command-line variable assignments automatically through the
     variable `MAKE' to recursive `make' invocations.  *Note Recursive
     Use of `make': Recursion.

   * Use the `-C' or `--directory' command option to change directory.
     *Note Summary of Options: Options Summary.

   * Make verbatim variable definitions with `define'.  *Note Defining
     Variables Verbatim: Defining.

   * Declare phony targets with the special target `.PHONY'.

     Andrew Hume of AT&T Bell Labs implemented a similar feature with a
     different syntax in his `mk' program.  This seems to be a case of
     parallel discovery.  *Note Phony Targets: Phony Targets.

   * Manipulate text by calling functions.  *Note Functions for
     Transforming Text: Functions.

   * Use the `-o' or `--old-file' option to pretend a file's
     modification-time is old.  *Note Avoiding Recompilation of Some
     Files: Avoiding Compilation.

   * Conditional execution.

     This feature has been implemented numerous times in various
     versions of `make'; it seems a natural extension derived from the
     features of the C preprocessor and similar macro languages and is
     not a revolutionary concept.  *Note Conditional Parts of
     Makefiles: Conditionals.

   * Specify a search path for included makefiles.  *Note Including
     Other Makefiles: Include.

   * Specify extra makefiles to read with an environment variable.
     *Note The Variable `MAKEFILES': MAKEFILES Variable.

   * Strip leading sequences of `./' from file names, so that `./FILE'
     and `FILE' are considered to be the same file.

   * Use a special search method for library dependencies written in the
     form `-lNAME'.  *Note Directory Search for Link Libraries:
     Libraries/Search.

   * Allow suffixes for suffix rules (*note Old-Fashioned Suffix Rules:
     Suffix Rules.) to contain any characters.  In other versions of
     `make', they must begin with `.' and not contain any `/'
     characters.

   * Keep track of the current level of `make' recursion using the
     variable `MAKELEVEL'.  *Note Recursive Use of `make': Recursion.

   * Provide any goals given on the command line in the variable
     `MAKECMDGOALS'.  *Note Arguments to Specify the Goals: Goals.

   * Specify static pattern rules.  *Note Static Pattern Rules: Static
     Pattern.

   * Provide selective `vpath' search.  *Note Searching Directories for
     Dependencies: Directory Search.

   * Provide computed variable references.  *Note Basics of Variable
     References: Reference.

   * Update makefiles.  *Note How Makefiles Are Remade: Remaking
     Makefiles.  System V `make' has a very, very limited form of this
     functionality in that it will check out SCCS files for makefiles.

   * Various new built-in implicit rules.  *Note Catalogue of Implicit
     Rules: Catalogue of Rules.

   * The built-in variable `MAKE_VERSION' gives the version number of
     `make'.

