Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!fluke!lowell
From: lowell@tc.fluke.COM (Lowell Skoog)
Newsgroups: comp.software-eng
Subject: Re: Anyone know of a "better" 'make' than vanilla System-V's?.
Message-ID: <1990Oct12.171347.28996@tc.fluke.COM>
Date: 12 Oct 90 17:13:47 GMT
References: <1990Oct3.000440.5275@hades.ausonics.oz.au>
Organization: John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc., Everett, WA
Lines: 35

In article <1990Oct3.000440.5275@hades.ausonics.oz.au> greyham@hades.ausonics.oz.au (Greyham Stoney) writes:

>	We have well over 100 Makefiles in
>	one project; most of which contain basically the same information; but
>	with minor differences. 

Several respondents have mentioned the "include" directive of make.
I second this recommendation.  I recently developed a set of include
files for SunOS make that we use at Fluke to maintain local
software.  These include files define our basic software maintenance
process.  The working makefiles in each software package inherit the
basic process definition and adapt it as needed, usually by just
specifying input files and destination directories (using make
macros).  The include files have all sorts of defaults built in,
which can be overridden by any working makefile.  If we need to
change a default in the future, all working makefiles will
automatically be updated.  This approach has been a real boon.

>* Dependancies must be explicitly listed in the Makefile; and they are never
>	kept up to date

SunOS 4.0 make has a `.KEEP_STATE' feature, which I have seen in no
other version of make (unfortunately).  When you enable this feature,
make automatically creates a state file that records include file
dependencies during the make run.  It also records command
dependencies, so if you run make with CFLAGS=-g, then run it again
with CFLAGS=-O, every target that depended on the previous setting of
CFLAGS will be automatically rebuilt.  I think this is a great
feature.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lowell Skoog  M/S 223B                             lowell@tc.fluke.COM
John Fluke Mfg. Co. Inc.        {uw-beaver,microsoft,sun}!fluke!lowell
P.O. Box 9090
Everett, WA, USA  98206-9090                            (206) 356-5283