Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!torsqnt!geac!censor!isgtec!robert
From: robert@isgtec.UUCP (Robert A. Osborne)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Anyone know of a "better" 'make' than vanilla System-V's?.
Summary: Yes, Imake
Message-ID: <677@isgtec.UUCP>
Date: 9 Oct 90 16:55:26 GMT
References: <1990Oct3.000440.5275@hades.ausonics.oz.au>
Reply-To: robert@isgtec.UUCP (Robert Osborne)
Organization: ISG Technologies Inc. Mississauga Ont. Canada
Lines: 32

In article <1990Oct3.000440.5275@hades.ausonics.oz.au> greyham@hades.ausonics.oz.au (Greyham Stoney) writes:
>My company is working on a medium-to-large software project for which we use
>standard System-V 'make' to specify the rules by which objects are made from
>source files, and for specifying the source file dependancies.
We're working  on  a  large  software  project  that  has  to  be
supported  on  several  platforms  (SGI,  Sun, Dec) and are using
Imake (a tool that comes with X) to define our makefiles.   Imake
uses  cpp  and  some  template files to create a Makefile from an
Imakefile.  We only need one Imakefile; the  proper  makefile  is
created for each platform.

>	they [his makefiles] all contain the same command to put
>	an object in a library, although the library name differs. Changing the
>	name of the librarian utility (if we needed to) would be impossible
>	(have to change 100+ Makefiles just to do that).
The Imakefile would have a rule, say InstallLibrary, that would look like:

	InstallLibrary(library_name,a.o b.o c.o)

This rule could handle everything (the Imakefile might consist of only this
line)  including installing, compiling debug/optimized, 'clean'ing, making
tags, prototypes, etc.  When the librarian utility changes a single line is
changed in a defaults file and away you go.

>	Why can't the dependancies be discerned from the source file at make time?.
Imake includes 'makedepend' which finds source dependancies (including
nested .h's).  It can be used to make these dependancies at make time.

I would recommend getting a hold of these tools!
Rob.
-- 
Robert A. Osborne   ...uunet!utai!lsuc!isgtec!robert or robert@isgtec.uucp