1 GNU make NEWS -*-indented-text-*-
2 History of user-visible changes.
5 Copyright (C) 2002,2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
6 See the end for copying conditions.
8 All changes mentioned here are more fully described in the GNU make
9 manual, which is contained in this distribution as the file doc/make.texi.
11 Please send GNU make bug reports to <bug-make@gnu.org>.
12 See the README file and the GNU make manual for details on sending bug
17 * GNU make is ported to OS/2.
18 Port provided by Andreas Buening <andreas.buening@nexgo.de>.
20 * All pattern-specific variables that match a given target are now used
21 (previously only the first match was used).
23 * Target-specific variables can be marked as exportable using the
26 * In a recursive $(call ...) context, any extra arguments from the outer
27 call are now masked in the context of the inner call.
29 * Enhancements for POSIX compatibility:
30 - Only touch targets (under -t) if they have at least one command.
35 * A new feature exists: order-only prerequisites. These prerequisites
36 affect the order in which targets are built, but they do not impact
37 the rebuild/no-rebuild decision of their dependents. That is to say,
38 they allow you to require target B be built before target A, without
39 requiring that target A will always be rebuilt if target B is updated.
40 Patch for this feature provided by Greg McGary <greg@mcgary.org>.
42 * For compatibility with SysV make, GNU make now supports the peculiar
43 syntax $$@, $$(@D), and $$(@F) in the prerequisites list of a rule.
44 This syntax is only valid within explicit and static pattern rules: it
45 cannot be used in implicit (suffix or pattern) rules. Edouard G. Parmelan
46 <egp@free.fr> provided a patch implementing this feature; however, I
47 decided to implement it in a different way.
49 * The argument to the "ifdef" conditional is now expanded before it's
50 tested, so it can be a constructed variable name.
52 Similarly, the arguments to "export" (when not used in a variable
53 definition context) and "unexport" are also now expanded.
55 * A new function is defined: $(value ...). The argument to this
56 function is the _name_ of a variable. The result of the function is
57 the value of the variable, without having been expanded.
59 * A new function is defined: $(eval ...). The arguments to this
60 function should expand to makefile commands, which will then be
61 evaluated as if they had appeared in the makefile. In combination
62 with define/endef multiline variable definitions this is an extremely
63 powerful capability. The $(value ...) function is also sometimes
66 * A new built-in variable is defined, $(MAKEFILE_LIST). It contains a
67 list of each makefile GNU make has read, or started to read, in the
68 order in which they were encountered. So, the last filename in the
69 list when a makefile is just being read (before any includes) is the
70 name of the current makefile.
72 * A new built-in variable is defined: $(.VARIABLES). When it is
73 expanded it returns a complete list of variable names defined by all
74 makefiles at that moment.
76 * A new command-line option is defined, -B or --always-make. If
77 specified GNU make will consider all targets out-of-date even if they
78 would otherwise not be.
80 * The arguments to $(call ...) functions were being stored in $1, $2,
81 etc. as recursive variables, even though they are fully expanded
82 before assignment. This means that escaped dollar signs ($$ etc.)
83 were not behaving properly. Now the arguments are stored as simple
84 variables. This may mean that if you added extra escaping to your
85 $(call ...) function arguments you will need to undo it now.
87 * The variable invoked by $(call ...) can now be recursive: unlike other
88 variables it can reference itself and this will not produce an error
89 when it is used as the first argument to $(call ...) (but only then).
91 * New pseudo-target .LOW_RESOLUTION_TIME, superseding the configure
92 option --disable-nsec-timestamps. You might need this if your build
93 process depends on tools like "cp -p" preserving time stamps, since
94 "cp -p" (right now) doesn't preserve the subsecond portion of a time
97 * Updated translations for French, Galician, German, Japanese, Korean,
98 and Russian. New translations for Croatian, Danish, Hebrew, and
101 * Updated internationalization support to Gettext 0.11.5.
102 GNU make now uses Gettext's "external" feature, and does not include
103 any internationalization code itself. Configure will search your
104 system for an existing implementation of GNU Gettext (only GNU Gettext
105 is acceptable) and use it if it exists. If not, NLS will be disabled.
106 See ABOUT-NLS for more information.
108 * Updated to autoconf 2.54 and automake 1.7. Users should not be impacted.
112 * .SECONDARY with no prerequisites now prevents any target from being
113 removed because make thinks it's an intermediate file, not just those
114 listed in the makefile.
116 * New configure option --disable-nsec-timestamps, but this was
117 superseded in later versions by the .LOW_RESOLUTION_TIME pseudo-target.
121 * GNU make optionally supports internationalization and locales via the
122 GNU gettext (or local gettext if suitable) package. See the ABOUT-NLS
123 file for more information on configuring GNU make for NLS.
125 * Previously, GNU make quoted variables such as MAKEFLAGS and
126 MAKEOVERRIDES for proper parsing by the shell. This allowed them to
127 be used within make build scripts. However, using them there is not
128 proper behavior: they are meant to be passed to subshells via the
129 environment. Unfortunately the values were not quoted properly to be
130 passed through the environment. This meant that make didn't properly
131 pass some types of command line values to submakes.
133 With this version we change that behavior: now these variables are
134 quoted properly for passing through the environment, which is the
135 correct way to do it. If you previously used these variables
136 explicitly within a make rule you may need to re-examine your use for
137 correctness given this change.
139 * A new pseudo-target .NOTPARALLEL is available. If defined, the
140 current makefile is run serially regardless of the value of -j.
141 However, submakes are still eligible for parallel execution.
143 * The --debug option has changed: it now allows optional flags
144 controlling the amount and type of debugging output. By default only
145 a minimal amount information is generated, displaying the names of
146 "normal" targets (not makefiles) that were deemed out of date and in
147 need of being rebuilt.
149 Note that the -d option behaves as before: it takes no arguments and
150 all debugging information is generated.
152 * The `-p' (print database) output now includes filename and linenumber
153 information for variable definitions, to aid debugging.
155 * The wordlist function no longer reverses its arguments if the "start"
156 value is greater than the "end" value. If that's true, nothing is
159 * Hartmut Becker provided many updates for the VMS port of GNU make.
160 See the readme.vms file for more details.
164 * Two new functions, $(error ...) and $(warning ...) are available. The
165 former will cause make to fail and exit immediately upon expansion of
166 the function, with the text provided as the error message. The latter
167 causes the text provided to be printed as a warning message, but make
170 * A new function $(call ...) is available. This allows users to create
171 their own parameterized macros and invoke them later. Original
172 implementation of this function was provided by Han-Wen Nienhuys
175 * A new function $(if ...) is available. It provides if-then-else
176 capabilities in a builtin function. Original implementation of this
177 function was provided by Han-Wen Nienhuys <hanwen@cs.uu.nl>.
179 * Make defines a new variable, .LIBPATTERNS. This variable controls how
180 library dependency expansion (dependencies like ``-lfoo'') is performed.
182 * Make accepts CRLF sequences as well as traditional LF, for
183 compatibility with makefiles created on other operating systems.
185 * Make accepts a new option: -R, or --no-builtin-variables. This option
186 disables the definition of the rule-specific builtin variables (CC,
187 LD, AR, etc.). Specifying this option forces -r (--no-builtin-rules)
190 * A "job server" feature, suggested by Howard Chu <hyc@highlandsun.com>.
192 On systems that support POSIX pipe(2) semantics, GNU make can now pass
193 -jN options to submakes rather than forcing them all to use -j1. The
194 top make and all its sub-make processes use a pipe to communicate with
195 each other to ensure that no more than N jobs are started across all
196 makes. To get the old behavior of -j back, you can configure make
197 with the --disable-job-server option.
199 * The confusing term "dependency" has been replaced by the more accurate
200 and standard term "prerequisite", both in the manual and in all GNU make
203 * GNU make supports the "big archive" library format introduced in AIX 4.3.
205 * GNU make supports large files on AIX, HP-UX, and IRIX. These changes
206 were provided by Paul Eggert <eggert@twinsun.com>. (Large file
207 support for Solaris and Linux was introduced in 3.77, but the
208 configuration had issues: these have also been resolved).
210 * The Windows 95/98/NT (W32) version of GNU make now has native support
211 for the Cygnus Cygwin release B20.1 shell (bash).
213 * The GNU make regression test suite, long available separately "under
214 the table", has been integrated into the release. You can invoke it
215 by running "make check" in the distribution. Note that it requires
216 Perl (either Perl 4 or Perl 5) to run.
220 * Implement BSD make's "?=" variable assignment operator. The variable
221 is assigned the specified value only if that variable is not already
224 * Make defines a new variable, "CURDIR", to contain the current working
225 directory (after the -C option, if any, has been processed).
226 Modifying this variable has no effect on the operation of make.
228 * Make defines a new default RCS rule, for new-style master file
229 storage: ``% :: RCS/%'' (note no ``,v'' suffix).
231 Make defines new default rules for DOS-style C++ file naming
232 conventions, with ``.cpp'' suffixes. All the same rules as for
233 ``.cc'' and ``.C'' suffixes are provided, along with LINK.cpp and
234 COMPILE.cpp macros (which default to the same value as LINK.cc and
235 COMPILE.cc). Note CPPFLAGS is still C preprocessor flags! You should
236 use CXXFLAGS to change C++ compiler flags.
238 * A new feature, "target-specific variable values", has been added.
239 This is a large change so please see the appropriate sections of the
240 manual for full details. Briefly, syntax like this:
242 TARGET: VARIABLE = VALUE
244 defines VARIABLE as VALUE within the context of TARGET. This is
245 similar to SunOS make's "TARGET := VARIABLE = VALUE" feature. Note
246 that the assignment may be of any type, not just recursive, and that
247 the override keyword is available.
249 COMPATIBILITY: This new syntax means that if you have any rules where
250 the first or second dependency has an equal sign (=) in its name,
251 you'll have to escape them with a backslash: "foo : bar\=baz".
252 Further, if you have any dependencies which already contain "\=",
253 you'll have to escape both of them: "foo : bar\\\=baz".
255 * A new appendix listing the most common error and warning messages
256 generated by GNU make, with some explanation, has been added to the
257 GNU make User's Manual.
259 * Updates to the GNU make Customs library support (see README.customs).
261 * Updates to the Windows 95/NT port from Rob Tulloh (see README.W32),
262 and to the DOS port from Eli Zaretski (see README.DOS).
266 * Small (but serious) bug fix. Quick rollout to get into the GNU source CD.
270 * GNU make now uses automake to control Makefile.in generation. This
271 should make it more consistent with the GNU standards.
273 * VPATH functionality has been changed to incorporate the VPATH+ patch,
274 previously maintained by Paul Smith <psmith@baynetworks.com>. See the
277 * Make defines a new variable, `MAKECMDGOALS', to contain the goals that
278 were specified on the command line, if any. Modifying this variable
279 has no effect on the operation of make.
281 * A new function, `$(wordlist S,E,TEXT)', is available: it returns a
282 list of words from number S to number E (inclusive) of TEXT.
284 * Instead of an error, detection of future modification times gives a
285 warning and continues. The warning is repeated just before GNU make
286 exits, so it is less likely to be lost.
288 * Fix the $(basename) and $(suffix) functions so they only operate on
289 the last filename, not the entire string:
291 Command Old Result New Result
292 ------- ---------- ----------
294 $(basename a.b/c) a a.b/c
296 $(suffix a.b/c) b/c <empty>
298 * The $(strip) function now removes newlines as well as TABs and spaces.
300 * The $(shell) function now changes CRLF (\r\n) pairs to a space as well
303 * Updates to the Windows 95/NT port from Rob Tulloh (see README.W32).
305 * Eli Zaretskii has updated the port to 32-bit protected mode on MSDOS
306 and MS-Windows, building with the DJGPP v2 port of GNU C/C++ compiler
307 and utilities. See README.DOS for details, and direct all questions
308 concerning this port to Eli Zaretskii <eliz@is.elta.co.il> or DJ
309 Delorie <dj@delorie.com>.
311 * John W. Eaton has updated the VMS port to support libraries and VPATH.
315 * The directory messages printed by `-w' and implicitly in sub-makes,
316 are now omitted if Make runs no commands and has no other messages to print.
318 * Make now detects files that for whatever reason have modification times
319 in the future and gives an error. Files with such impossible timestamps
320 can result from unsynchronized clocks, or archived distributions
321 containing bogus timestamps; they confuse Make's dependency engine
324 * The new directive `sinclude' is now recognized as another name for
325 `-include', for compatibility with some other Makes.
327 * Aaron Digulla has contributed a port to AmigaDOS. See README.Amiga for
328 details, and direct all Amiga-related questions to <digulla@fh-konstanz.de>.
330 * Rob Tulloh of Tivoli Systems has contributed a port to Windows NT or 95.
331 See README.W32 for details, and direct all Windows-related questions to
332 <rob_tulloh@tivoli.com>.
336 * Converted to use Autoconf version 2, so `configure' has some new options.
337 See INSTALL for details.
339 * You can now send a SIGUSR1 signal to Make to toggle printing of debugging
340 output enabled by -d, at any time during the run.
344 * DJ Delorie has ported Make to MS-DOS using the GO32 extender.
345 He is maintaining the DOS port, not the GNU Make maintainer;
346 please direct bugs and questions for DOS to <djgpp@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>.
347 MS-DOS binaries are available for FTP from ftp.simtel.net in
348 /pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/.
350 * The `MAKEFLAGS' variable (in the environment or in a makefile) can now
351 contain variable definitions itself; these are treated just like
352 command-line variable definitions. Make will automatically insert any
353 variable definitions from the environment value of `MAKEFLAGS' or from
354 the command line, into the `MAKEFLAGS' value exported to children. The
355 `MAKEOVERRIDES' variable previously included in the value of `$(MAKE)'
356 for sub-makes is now included in `MAKEFLAGS' instead. As before, you can
357 reset `MAKEOVERRIDES' in your makefile to avoid putting all the variables
358 in the environment when its size is limited.
360 * If `.DELETE_ON_ERROR' appears as a target, Make will delete the target of
361 a rule if it has changed when its commands exit with a nonzero status,
362 just as when the commands get a signal.
364 * The automatic variable `$+' is new. It lists all the dependencies like
365 `$^', but preserves duplicates listed in the makefile. This is useful
366 for linking rules, where library files sometimes need to be listed twice
369 * You can now specify the `.IGNORE' and `.SILENT' special targets with
370 dependencies to limit their effects to those files. If a file appears as
371 a dependency of `.IGNORE', then errors will be ignored while running the
372 commands to update that file. Likewise if a file appears as a dependency
373 of `.SILENT', then the commands to update that file will not be printed
374 before they are run. (This change was made to conform to POSIX.2.)
378 * The automatic variables `$(@D)', `$(%D)', `$(*D)', `$(<D)', `$(?D)', and
379 `$(^D)' now omit the trailing slash from the directory name. (This change
380 was made to comply with POSIX.2.)
382 * The source distribution now includes the Info files for the Make manual.
383 There is no longer a separate distribution containing Info and DVI files.
385 * You can now set the variables `binprefix' and/or `manprefix' in
386 Makefile.in (or on the command line when installing) to install GNU make
387 under a name other than `make' (i.e., ``make binprefix=g install''
388 installs GNU make as `gmake').
390 * The built-in Texinfo rules use the new variables `TEXI2DVI_FLAGS' for
391 flags to the `texi2dvi' script, and `MAKEINFO_FLAGS' for flags to the
394 * The exit status of Make when it runs into errors is now 2 instead of 1.
395 The exit status is 1 only when using -q and some target is not up to date.
396 (This change was made to comply with POSIX.2.)
400 * It is no longer a fatal error to have a NUL character in a makefile.
401 You should never put a NUL in a makefile because it can have strange
402 results, but otherwise empty lines full of NULs (such as produced by
403 the `xmkmf' program) will always work fine.
405 * The error messages for nonexistent included makefiles now refer to the
406 makefile name and line number where the `include' appeared, so Emacs's
407 C-x ` command takes you there (in case it's a typo you need to fix).
411 * Implicit rule search for archive member references is now done in the
412 opposite order from previous versions: the whole target name `LIB(MEM)'
413 first, and just the member name and parentheses `(MEM)' second.
415 * Make now gives an error for an unterminated variable or function reference.
416 For example, `$(foo' with no matching `)' or `${bar' with no matching `}'.
418 * The new default variable `MAKE_VERSION' gives the version number of
419 Make, and a string describing the remote job support compiled in (if any).
420 Thus the value (in this release) is something like `3.69' or `3.69-Customs'.
422 * Commands in an invocation of the `shell' function are no longer run with
423 a modified environment like target commands are. As in versions before
424 3.68, they now run with the environment that `make' started with. We
425 have reversed the change made in version 3.68 because it turned out to
426 cause a paradoxical situation in cases like:
428 export variable = $(shell echo value)
430 When Make attempted to put this variable in the environment for a target
431 command, it would try expand the value by running the shell command
432 `echo value'. In version 3.68, because it constructed an environment
433 for that shell command in the same way, Make would begin to go into an
434 infinite loop and then get a fatal error when it detected the loop.
436 * The commands given for `.DEFAULT' are now used for phony targets with no
441 * You can list several archive member names inside parenthesis:
442 `lib(mem1 mem2 mem3)' is equivalent to `lib(mem1) lib(mem2) lib(mem3)'.
444 * You can use wildcards inside archive member references. For example,
445 `lib(*.o)' expands to all existing members of `lib' whose names end in
446 `.o' (e.g. `lib(a.o) lib(b.o)'); `*.a(*.o)' expands to all such members
447 of all existing files whose names end in `.a' (e.g. `foo.a(a.o)
448 foo.a(b.o) bar.a(c.o) bar.a(d.o)'.
450 * A suffix rule `.X.a' now produces two pattern rules:
451 (%.o): %.X # Previous versions produced only this.
452 %.a: %.X # Now produces this as well, just like other suffixes.
454 * The new flag `--warn-undefined-variables' says to issue a warning message
455 whenever Make expands a reference to an undefined variable.
457 * The new `-include' directive is just like `include' except that there is
458 no error (not even a warning) for a nonexistent makefile.
460 * Commands in an invocation of the `shell' function are now run with a
461 modified environment like target commands are, so you can use `export' et
462 al to set up variables for them. They used to run with the environment
463 that `make' started with.
467 * `make --version' (or `make -v') now exits immediately after printing
472 * Make now supports long-named members in `ar' archive files.
476 * Make now supports the `+=' syntax for a variable definition which appends
477 to the variable's previous value. See the section `Appending More Text
478 to Variables' in the manual for full details.
480 * The new option `--no-print-directory' inhibits the `-w' or
481 `--print-directory' feature. Make turns on `--print-directory'
482 automatically if you use `-C' or `--directory', and in sub-makes; some
483 users have found this behavior undesirable.
485 * The built-in implicit rules now support the alternative extension
486 `.txinfo' for Texinfo files, just like `.texinfo' and `.texi'.
490 * Make now uses a standard GNU `configure' script. See the new file
491 INSTALL for the new (and much simpler) installation procedure.
493 * There is now a shell script to build Make the first time, if you have no
494 other `make' program. `build.sh' is created by `configure'; see README.
496 * GNU Make now completely conforms to the POSIX.2 specification for `make'.
498 * Elements of the `$^' and `$?' automatic variables that are archive
499 member references now list only the member name, as in Unix and POSIX.2.
501 * You should no longer ever need to specify the `-w' switch, which prints
502 the current directory before and after Make runs. The `-C' switch to
503 change directory, and recursive use of Make, now set `-w' automatically.
505 * Multiple double-colon rules for the same target will no longer have their
506 commands run simultaneously under -j, as this could result in the two
507 commands trying to change the file at the same time and interfering with
510 * The `SHELL' variable is now never taken from the environment.
511 Each makefile that wants a shell other than the default (/bin/sh) must
512 set SHELL itself. SHELL is always exported to child processes.
513 This change was made for compatibility with POSIX.2.
515 * Make now accepts long options. There is now an informative usage message
516 that tells you what all the options are and what they do. Try `make --help'.
518 * There are two new directives: `export' and `unexport'. All variables are
519 no longer automatically put into the environments of the commands that
520 Make runs. Instead, only variables specified on the command line or in
521 the environment are exported by default. To export others, use:
523 or you can define variables with:
524 export VARIABLE = VALUE
526 export VARIABLE := VALUE
530 .EXPORT_ALL_VARIABLES:
531 to get the old behavior. See the node `Variables/Recursion' in the manual
532 for a full description.
534 * The commands from the `.DEFAULT' special target are only applied to
535 targets which have no rules at all, not all targets with no commands.
536 This change was made for compatibility with Unix make.
538 * All fatal error messages now contain `***', so they are easy to find in
541 * Dependency file names like `-lNAME' are now replaced with the actual file
542 name found, as with files found by normal directory search (VPATH).
543 The library file `libNAME.a' may now be found in the current directory,
544 which is checked before VPATH; the standard set of directories (/lib,
545 /usr/lib, /usr/local/lib) is now checked last.
546 See the node `Libraries/Search' in the manual for full details.
548 * A single `include' directive can now specify more than one makefile to
551 You can also use shell file name patterns in an `include' directive:
554 * The default directories to search for included makefiles, and for
555 libraries specified with `-lNAME', are now set by configuration.
557 * You can now use blanks as well as colons to separate the directories in a
558 search path for the `vpath' directive or the `VPATH' variable.
560 * You can now use variables and functions in the left hand side of a
561 variable assignment, as in "$(foo)bar = value".
563 * The `MAKE' variable is always defined as `$(MAKE_COMMAND) $(MAKEOVERRIDES)'.
564 The `MAKE_COMMAND' variable is now defined to the name with which make
567 * The built-in rules for C++ compilation now use the variables `$(CXX)' and
568 `$(CXXFLAGS)' instead of `$(C++)' and `$(C++FLAGS)'. The old names had
569 problems with shells that cannot have `+' in environment variable names.
571 * The value of a recursively expanded variable is now expanded when putting
572 it into the environment for child processes. This change was made for
573 compatibility with Unix make.
575 * A rule with no targets before the `:' is now accepted and ignored.
576 This change was made for compatibility with SunOS 4 make.
577 We do not recommend that you write your makefiles to take advantage of this.
579 * The `-I' switch can now be used in MAKEFLAGS, and are put there
580 automatically just like other switches.
584 * Built-in rules for C++ source files with the `.C' suffix.
585 We still recommend that you use `.cc' instead.
587 * If commands are given too many times for a single target,
588 the last set given is used, and a warning message is printed.
590 * Error messages about makefiles are in standard GNU error format,
591 so C-x ` in Emacs works on them.
593 * Dependencies of pattern rules which contain no % need not actually exist
594 if they can be created (just like dependencies which do have a %).
598 * A message is always printed when Make decides there is nothing to be done.
599 It used to be that no message was printed for top-level phony targets
600 (because "`phony' is up to date" isn't quite right). Now a different
601 message "Nothing to be done for `phony'" is printed in that case.
603 * Archives on AIX now supposedly work.
605 * When the commands specified for .DEFAULT are used to update a target,
606 the $< automatic variable is given the same value as $@ for that target.
607 This is how Unix make behaves, and this behavior is mandated by POSIX.2.
611 * The -n, -q, and -t options are not put in the `MAKEFLAGS' and `MFLAG'
612 variables while remaking makefiles, so recursive makes done while remaking
613 makefiles will behave properly.
615 * If the special target `.NOEXPORT' is specified in a makefile,
616 only variables that came from the environment and variables
617 defined on the command line are exported.
621 * Suffix rules may have dependencies (which are ignored).
625 * Dependencies of the form `-lLIB' are searched for as /usr/local/lib/libLIB.a
626 as well as libLIB.a in /usr/lib, /lib, the current directory, and VPATH.
630 * There is now a Unix man page for GNU Make. It is certainly not a replacement
631 for the Texinfo manual, but it documents the basic functionality and the
632 switches. For full documentation, you should still read the Texinfo manual.
633 Thanks to Dennis Morse of Stanford University for contributing the initial
636 * Variables which are defined by default (e.g., `CC') will no longer be put
637 into the environment for child processes. (If these variables are reset by the
638 environment, makefiles, or the command line, they will still go into the
641 * Makefiles which have commands but no dependencies (and thus are always
642 considered out of date and in need of remaking), will not be remade (if they
643 were being remade only because they were makefiles). This means that GNU
644 Make will no longer go into an infinite loop when fed the makefiles that
645 `imake' (necessary to build X Windows) produces.
647 * There is no longer a warning for using the `vpath' directive with an explicit
648 pathname (instead of a `%' pattern).
652 * When removing intermediate files, only one `rm' command line is printed,
653 listing all file names.
655 * There are now automatic variables `$(^D)', `$(^F)', `$(?D)', and `$(?F)'.
656 These are the directory-only and file-only versions of `$^' and `$?'.
658 * Library dependencies given as `-lNAME' will use "libNAME.a" in the current
659 directory if it exists.
661 * The automatic variable `$($/)' is no longer defined.
663 * Leading `+' characters on a command line make that line be executed even
664 under -n, -t, or -q (as if the line contained `$(MAKE)').
666 * For command lines containing `$(MAKE)', `${MAKE}', or leading `+' characters,
667 only those lines are executed, not their entire rules.
668 (This is how Unix make behaves for lines containing `$(MAKE)' or `${MAKE}'.)
672 * Filenames in rules will now have ~ and ~USER expanded.
674 * The `-p' output has been changed so it can be used as a makefile.
675 (All information that isn't specified by makefiles is prefaced with comment
680 * The % character can be quoted with backslash in implicit pattern rules,
681 static pattern rules, `vpath' directives, and `patsubst', `filter', and
682 `filter-out' functions. A warning is issued if a `vpath' directive's
683 pattern contains no %.
685 * The `wildcard' variable expansion function now expands ~ and ~USER.
687 * Messages indicating failed commands now contain the target name:
688 make: *** [target] Error 1
690 * The `-p' output format has been changed somewhat to look more like
691 makefile rules and to give all information that Make has about files.
697 * The `-l' switch with no argument removes any previous load-average limit.
699 * When the `-w' switch is in effect, and Make has updated makefiles,
700 it will write a `Leaving directory' messagfe before re-executing itself.
701 This makes the `directory change tracking' changes to Emacs's compilation
702 commands work properly.
706 * The automatic variable `$*' is now defined for explicit rules,
707 as it is in Unix make.
711 * The `-j' switch is now put in the MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS variables when
712 specified without an argument (indicating infinite jobs).
713 The `-l' switch is not always put in the MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS variables.
715 * Make no longer checks hashed directories after running commands.
716 The behavior implemented in 3.41 caused too much slowdown.
720 * A dependency is NOT considered newer than its dependent if
721 they have the same modification time. The behavior implemented
722 in 3.43 conflicts with RCS.
726 * Dependency loops are no longer fatal errors.
728 * A dependency is considered newer than its dependent if
729 they have the same modification time.
733 * The variables F77 and F77FLAGS are now set by default to $(FC) and
734 $(FFLAGS). Makefiles designed for System V make may use these variables in
735 explicit rules and expect them to be set. Unfortunately, there is no way to
736 make setting these affect the Fortran implicit rules unless FC and FFLAGS
737 are not used (and these are used by BSD make).
741 * Make now checks to see if its hashed directories are changed by commands.
742 Other makes that hash directories (Sun, 4.3 BSD) don't do this.
746 * The `shell' function no longer captures standard error output.
750 * A file beginning with a dot can be the default target if it also contains
751 a slash (e.g., `../bin/foo'). (Unix make allows this as well.)
755 * Archive member names are truncated to 15 characters.
757 * Yet more USG stuff.
759 * Minimal support for Microport System V (a 16-bit machine and a
760 brain-damaged compiler). This has even lower priority than other USG
761 support, so if it gets beyond trivial, I will take it out completely.
763 * Revamped default implicit rules (not much visible change).
765 * The -d and -p options can come from the environment.
769 * Improved support for USG and HPUX (hopefully).
771 * A variable reference like `$(foo:a=b)', if `a' contains a `%', is
772 equivalent to `$(patsubst a,b,$(foo))'.
774 * Defining .DEFAULT with no deps or commands clears its commands.
776 * New default implicit rules for .S (cpp, then as), and .sh (copy and make
777 executable). All default implicit rules that use cpp (even indirectly), use
782 * Giving the -j option with no arguments gives you infinite jobs.
786 * New option: "-l LOAD" says not to start any new jobs while others are
787 running if the load average is not below LOAD (a floating-point number).
789 * There is support in place for implementations of remote command execution
790 in Make. See the file remote.c.
794 * No more than 10 directories will be kept open at once.
795 (This number can be changed by redefining MAX_OPEN_DIRECTORIES in dir.c.)
799 * Archive files will have their modification times recorded before doing
800 anything that might change their modification times by updating an archive
805 * The `MAKELEVEL' variable is defined for use by makefiles.
809 * The recursion level indications in error messages are much shorter than
810 they were in version 3.14.
814 * Leading spaces before directives are ignored (as documented).
816 * Included makefiles can determine the default goal target.
817 (System V Make does it this way, so we are being compatible).
821 * Variables that are defaults built into Make will not be put in the
822 environment for children. This just saves some environment space and,
823 except under -e, will be transparent to sub-makes.
825 * Error messages from sub-makes will indicate the level of recursion.
827 * Hopefully some speed-up for large directories due to a change in the
828 directory hashing scheme.
830 * One child will always get a standard input that is usable.
832 * Default makefiles that don't exist will be remade and read in.
836 * Count parentheses inside expansion function calls so you can
837 have nested calls: `$(sort $(foreach x,a b,$(x)))'.
841 * Several bug fixes, including USG and Sun386i support.
843 * `shell' function to expand shell commands a la `
845 * If the `-d' flag is given, version information will be printed.
847 * The `-c' option has been renamed to `-C' for compatibility with tar.
849 * The `-p' option no longer inhibits other normal operation.
851 * Makefiles will be updated and re-read if necessary.
853 * Can now run several commands at once (parallelism), -j option.
855 * Error messages will contain the level of Make recursion, if any.
857 * The `MAKEFLAGS' and `MFLAGS' variables will be scanned for options after
860 * A double-colon rule with no dependencies will always have its commands run.
861 (This is how both the BSD and System V versions of Make do it.)
865 (Changes from versions 1 through 3.05 were never recorded. Sorry.)
867 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
868 Copyright information:
870 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
871 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
872 copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved, thus
873 giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
875 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions of this
876 document, or of portions of it, under the above conditions, provided
877 also that they carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.