Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mstar!mstar.morningstar.com!bob
From: bob@MorningStar.Com (Bob Sutterfield)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.questions
Subject: Re: Want info on parallel makes
Message-ID: <BOB.90Jul11141716@volitans.MorningStar.Com>
Date: 11 Jul 90 18:17:27 GMT
References: <464@mtndew.UUCP> <1695@hulda.erbe.se>
Sender: usenet@MorningStar.COM (USENET Administrator)
Reply-To: bob@MorningStar.Com (Bob Sutterfield)
Organization: Morning Star Technologies
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In-Reply-To: prc@erbe.se's message of 10 Jul 90 20:41:28 GMT

GNU Make, when invoked with the -j<number> option, will do up to
<number> tasks in parallel.  Rather than requiring a novel Makefile
syntax, it deduces independent tasks from a well-written but otherwise
normal Makefile.  Once forked by the Makefile, tasks are subject to
the operating system's normal process scheduler.  It can perform some
tasks in parallel, then a few in serial, then some more in parallel,
if the dependencies are appropriate.

For example, `gmake -j7 libXt.a' is about right for a Sun-4/60 with
16Mb, plenty of swap space, and nothing else to do.  If your CC is gcc
and your CFLAGS include -pipe, you may want to back down to -j4 or so.