The GNU Make Book

GNU make is the most widely used build automation tool, but it can be challenging to master and its terse language can be tough to parse for even experienced programmers. Those who run into difficulties face a long, involved struggle, often leaving unsolved problems behind and GNU make’s vast potential untapped.

The GNU Make Book demystifies GNU make and shows you how to use its best features. You’ll find a fast, thorough rundown of the basics of variables, rules, targets, and makefiles. Learn how to fix wastefully long build times and other common problems, and gain insight into more advanced capabilities, such as complex pattern rules. With this utterly pragmatic manual and cookbook, you’ll make rapid progress toward becoming a more effective user.

You’ll also learn how to:

• Master user-defined functions, variables, and path handling
• Weigh the pitfalls and advantages of GNU make parallelization
• Handle automatic dependency generation, rebuilding, and non-recursive make
• Modify the GNU make source and take advantage of the GNU Make Standard Library
• Create makefile assertions and debug makefiles

Contents 

Chapter 1: The Basics Revisited

Chapter 2: Makefile Debugging

Chapter 3: Building and Rebuilding

Chapter 4: Pitfalls and Problems

Chapter 5: Pushing the Envelope

Chapter 6: The GNU Make Standard Library

GNU make is known for being tricky to use, but it doesn’t have to be. If you’re looking for a deeper understanding of this indispensable tool, you’ll find The GNU Make Book to be an indispensable guide.

About the Author

John Graham-Cumming is a longtime GNU make expert. He wrote the acclaimed machine learning–based POPFile email filter and successfully petitioned the British government to apologize for its treatment of Alan Turing. He holds a doctorate in computer security from Oxford University and works at CloudFlare.