GNU Make Reference Manual: Version 4.2

by Richard M. Stallman, Roland McGrath, Paul D. Smith

For GNU Make Version 4.1 The Make program is indispensable to maintainers of free software systems. The GNU Make manual, written by the program's original authors, is the definitive tutorial. It also includes an introductory chapter for novice users. The Make utility automates the process of compilation; it is especially useful when the source files of large programs change. It is a small program with a lot of power. This book will show you: How to write your own makefiles Make's rule syntax and how to write your own rules How the Make utility can be configured to automatically put binary and source files in the right places. How to use make to create archive files automatically Define, set and use Make's variables How Make uses targets so that you can broaden or narrow Make's recompilation efforts on demand. And much more! This manual provides a complete explanation of Make, both the basics and extended features. There is also a convenient Quick Reference appendix for experts.

222 pages, Paperback

Published May 21, 2016

About the author

Richard Matthew Stallman is a software developer and software freedom activist. In 1983 he announced the project to develop the GNU operating system, a Unix-like operating system meant to be entirely free software, and has been the project's leader ever since. With that announcement Stallman also launched the Free Software Movement. In October 1985 he started the Free Software Foundation.

The GNU/Linux system, which is a variant of GNU that also uses the kernel Linux developed by Linus Torvalds, are used in tens or hundreds of millions of computers, and are now preinstalled in computers available in retail stores. However, the distributors of these systems often disregard the ideas of freedom which make free software important.

That is why, since the mid-1990s, Stallman has spent most of his time in political advocacy for free software, and spreading the ethical ideas of the movement, as well as campaigning against both software patents and dangerous extension of copyright laws. Before that, Stallman developed a number of widely used software components of the GNU system, including the original Emacs, the GNU Compiler Collection, the GNU symbolic debugger (gdb), GNU Emacs, and various other programs for the GNU operating system.

Stallman pioneered the concept of copyleft, and is the main author of the GNU General Public License, the most widely used free software license.

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Reviews

[Derek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was frustrated with google results around this topic, so I picked up the latest version of this book from their website. I don't need any of the advanced features for my current projects, and there's no better way to understand a language then by sitting down and reading through an authoritative text written by the implementors.

It was a relatively quick read, and I was able to find the stuff I needed quickly.

All of the implicit rules/etc look like a great way to optimize LoC reduction at the cost of readability...