Makefile
| Internet media type | text/x-makefile |
|---|---|
| Type of format | Build automation |
| Standard | POSIX |
A makefile is a file containing a set of directives used with the make build automation tool.
Most often, the makefile directs make on how to compile and link a program. Using C/C++ as an example, when a C/C++ source file is changed, it must be recompiled. If a header file has changed, each C/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 program. These instructions with their dependencies are specified in a makefile. If none of the files that are prerequisites have been changed since the last time the program was compiled, no actions take place. For large software projects, using Makefiles can substantially reduce build times if only a few source files have changed.
Makefiles originated on Unix like systems and are still a primary software build mechanism in such environments.
Windows supports a variation of makefiles with its nmake utility. Standard Unix like makefiles can be executed in Windows in a Cygwin environment.
Makefiles contain five kinds of things: explicit rules, implicit rules, variable definitions, directives, and comments.
A makefile consists of “rules” in the following form:
A 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 "clean".
A dependency (also called prerequisite) is a file that is used as input to create the target. A target often depends on several files. However, the rule that specifies a recipe for the target need not have any prerequisites. For example, the rule containing the delete command associated with the target "clean" does not have prerequisites.
The system command(s) (also called recipe) is an action that make carries out. A recipe may have more than one command, either on the same line or each on its own line. Note the use of meaningful indentation in specifying commands; also note that the indentation must consist of a single <tab> character.
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