1 GNU make NEWS -- history of user-visible changes. 9 May 1996
3 Copyright (C) 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
4 See the end for copying conditions.
6 Please send GNU make bug reports to bug-gnu-utils@prep.ai.mit.edu.
10 * The directory messages printed by `-w' and implicitly in sub-makes,
11 are now omitted if Make runs no commands and has no other messages to print.
13 * Make now detects files that for whatever reason have modification times
14 in the future and gives an error. Files with such impossible timestamps
15 can result from unsynchronized clocks, or archived distributions
16 containing bogus timestamps; they confuse Make's dependency engine
19 * The new directive `sinclude' is now recognized as another name for
20 `-include', for compatibility with some other Makes.
22 * Aaron Digulla has contributed a port to AmigaDOS. See README.Amiga for
23 details, and direct all Amiga-related questions to <digulla@fh-konstanz.de>.
27 * Converted to use Autoconf version 2, so `configure' has some new options.
28 See INSTALL for details.
30 * You can now send a SIGUSR1 signal to Make to toggle printing of debugging
31 output enabled by -d, at any time during the run.
35 * DJ Delorie has ported Make to MS-DOS using the GO32 extender.
36 He is maintaining the DOS port, not the GNU Make maintainer;
37 please direct bugs and questions for DOS to <djgpp@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>.
38 MS-DOS binaries are available for FTP from oak.oakland.edu:pub/msdos/djgpp.
40 * The `MAKEFLAGS' variable (in the environment or in a makefile) can now
41 contain variable definitions itself; these are treated just like
42 command-line variable definitions. Make will automatically insert any
43 variable definitions from the environment value of `MAKEFLAGS' or from
44 the command line, into the `MAKEFLAGS' value exported to children. The
45 `MAKEOVERRIDES' variable previously included in the value of `$(MAKE)'
46 for sub-makes is now included in `MAKEFLAGS' instead. As before, you can
47 reset `MAKEOVERRIDES' in your makefile to avoid putting all the variables
48 in the environment when its size is limited.
50 * If `.DELETE_ON_ERROR' appears as a target, Make will delete the target of
51 a rule if it has changed when its commands exit with a nonzero status,
52 just as when the commands get a signal.
54 * The automatic variable `$+' is new. It lists all the dependencies like
55 `$^', but preserves duplicates listed in the makefile. This is useful
56 for linking rules, where library files sometimes need to be listed twice
59 * You can now specify the `.IGNORE' and `.SILENT' special targets with
60 dependencies to limit their effects to those files. If a file appears as
61 a dependency of `.IGNORE', then errors will be ignored while running the
62 commands to update that file. Likewise if a file appears as a dependency
63 of `.SILENT', then the commands to update that file will not be printed
64 before they are run. (This change was made to conform to POSIX.2.)
68 * The automatic variables `$(@D)', `$(%D)', `$(*D)', `$(<D)', `$(?D)', and
69 `$(^D)' now omit the trailing slash from the directory name. (This change
70 was made to comply with POSIX.2.)
72 * The source distribution now includes the Info files for the Make manual.
73 There is no longer a separate distribution containing Info and DVI files.
75 * You can now set the variables `binprefix' and/or `manprefix' in
76 Makefile.in (or on the command line when installing) to install GNU make
77 under a name other than `make' (i.e., ``make binprefix=g install''
78 installs GNU make as `gmake').
80 * The built-in Texinfo rules use the new variables `TEXI2DVI_FLAGS' for
81 flags to the `texi2dvi' script, and `MAKEINFO_FLAGS' for flags to the
84 * The exit status of Make when it runs into errors is now 2 instead of 1.
85 The exit status is 1 only when using -q and some target is not up to date.
86 (This change was made to comply with POSIX.2.)
90 * It is no longer a fatal error to have a NUL character in a makefile.
91 You should never put a NUL in a makefile because it can have strange
92 results, but otherwise empty lines full of NULs (such as produced by
93 the `xmkmf' program) will always work fine.
95 * The error messages for nonexistent included makefiles now refer to the
96 makefile name and line number where the `include' appeared, so Emacs's
97 C-x ` command takes you there (in case it's a typo you need to fix).
101 * Implicit rule search for archive member references is now done in the
102 opposite order from previous versions: the whole target name `LIB(MEM)'
103 first, and just the member name and parentheses `(MEM)' second.
105 * Make now gives an error for an unterminated variable or function reference.
106 For example, `$(foo' with no matching `)' or `${bar' with no matching `}'.
108 * The new default variable `MAKE_VERSION' gives the version number of
109 Make, and a string describing the remote job support compiled in (if any).
110 Thus the value (in this release) is something like `3.69' or `3.69-Customs'.
112 * Commands in an invocation of the `shell' function are no longer run with
113 a modified environment like target commands are. As in versions before
114 3.68, they now run with the environment that `make' started with. We
115 have reversed the change made in version 3.68 because it turned out to
116 cause a paradoxical situation in cases like:
118 export variable = $(shell echo value)
120 When Make attempted to put this variable in the environment for a target
121 command, it would try expand the value by running the shell command
122 `echo value'. In version 3.68, because it constructed an environment
123 for that shell command in the same way, Make would begin to go into an
124 infinite loop and then get a fatal error when it detected the loop.
126 * The commands given for `.DEFAULT' are now used for phony targets with no
131 * You can list several archive member names inside parenthesis:
132 `lib(mem1 mem2 mem3)' is equivalent to `lib(mem1) lib(mem2) lib(mem3)'.
134 * You can use wildcards inside archive member references. For example,
135 `lib(*.o)' expands to all existing members of `lib' whose names end in
136 `.o' (e.g. `lib(a.o) lib(b.o)'); `*.a(*.o)' expands to all such members
137 of all existing files whose names end in `.a' (e.g. `foo.a(a.o)
138 foo.a(b.o) bar.a(c.o) bar.a(d.o)'.
140 * A suffix rule `.X.a' now produces two pattern rules:
141 (%.o): %.X # Previous versions produced only this.
142 %.a: %.X # Now produces this as well, just like other suffixes.
144 * The new flag `--warn-undefined-variables' says to issue a warning message
145 whenever Make expands a reference to an undefined variable.
147 * The new `-include' directive is just like `include' except that there is
148 no error (not even a warning) for a nonexistent makefile.
150 * Commands in an invocation of the `shell' function are now run with a
151 modified environment like target commands are, so you can use `export' et
152 al to set up variables for them. They used to run with the environment
153 that `make' started with.
157 * `make --version' (or `make -v') now exits immediately after printing
162 * Make now supports long-named members in `ar' archive files.
166 * Make now supports the `+=' syntax for a variable definition which appends
167 to the variable's previous value. See the section `Appending More Text
168 to Variables' in the manual for full details.
170 * The new option `--no-print-directory' inhibits the `-w' or
171 `--print-directory' feature. Make turns on `--print-directory'
172 automatically if you use `-C' or `--directory', and in sub-makes; some
173 users have found this behavior undesirable.
175 * The built-in implicit rules now support the alternative extension
176 `.txinfo' for Texinfo files, just like `.texinfo' and `.texi'.
180 * Make now uses a standard GNU `configure' script. See the new file
181 INSTALL for the new (and much simpler) installation procedure.
183 * There is now a shell script to build Make the first time, if you have no
184 other `make' program. `build.sh' is created by `configure'; see README.
186 * GNU Make now completely conforms to the POSIX.2 specification for `make'.
188 * Elements of the `$^' and `$?' automatic variables that are archive
189 member references now list only the member name, as in Unix and POSIX.2.
191 * You should no longer ever need to specify the `-w' switch, which prints
192 the current directory before and after Make runs. The `-C' switch to
193 change directory, and recursive use of Make, now set `-w' automatically.
195 * Multiple double-colon rules for the same target will no longer have their
196 commands run simultaneously under -j, as this could result in the two
197 commands trying to change the file at the same time and interfering with
200 * The `SHELL' variable is now never taken from the environment.
201 Each makefile that wants a shell other than the default (/bin/sh) must
202 set SHELL itself. SHELL is always exported to child processes.
203 This change was made for compatibility with POSIX.2.
205 * Make now accepts long options. There is now an informative usage message
206 that tells you what all the options are and what they do. Try `make --help'.
208 * There are two new directives: `export' and `unexport'. All variables are
209 no longer automatically put into the environments of the commands that
210 Make runs. Instead, only variables specified on the command line or in
211 the environment are exported by default. To export others, use:
213 or you can define variables with:
214 export VARIABLE = VALUE
216 export VARIABLE := VALUE
220 .EXPORT_ALL_VARIABLES:
221 to get the old behavior. See the node `Variables/Recursion' in the manual
222 for a full description.
224 * The commands from the `.DEFAULT' special target are only applied to
225 targets which have no rules at all, not all targets with no commands.
226 This change was made for compatibility with Unix make.
228 * All fatal error messages now contain `***', so they are easy to find in
231 * Dependency file names like `-lNAME' are now replaced with the actual file
232 name found, as with files found by normal directory search (VPATH).
233 The library file `libNAME.a' may now be found in the current directory,
234 which is checked before VPATH; the standard set of directories (/lib,
235 /usr/lib, /usr/local/lib) is now checked last.
236 See the node `Libraries/Search' in the manual for full details.
238 * A single `include' directive can now specify more than one makefile to
241 You can also use shell file name patterns in an `include' directive:
244 * The default directories to search for included makefiles, and for
245 libraries specified with `-lNAME', are now set by configuration.
247 * You can now use blanks as well as colons to separate the directories in a
248 search path for the `vpath' directive or the `VPATH' variable.
250 * You can now use variables and functions in the left hand side of a
251 variable assignment, as in "$(foo)bar = value".
253 * The `MAKE' variable is always defined as `$(MAKE_COMMAND) $(MAKEOVERRIDES)'.
254 The `MAKE_COMMAND' variable is now defined to the name with which make
257 * The built-in rules for C++ compilation now use the variables `$(CXX)' and
258 `$(CXXFLAGS)' instead of `$(C++)' and `$(C++FLAGS)'. The old names had
259 problems with shells that cannot have `+' in environment variable names.
261 * The value of a recursively expanded variable is now expanded when putting
262 it into the environment for child processes. This change was made for
263 compatibility with Unix make.
265 * A rule with no targets before the `:' is now accepted and ignored.
266 This change was made for compatibility with SunOS 4 make.
267 We do not recommend that you write your makefiles to take advantage of this.
269 * The `-I' switch can now be used in MAKEFLAGS, and are put there
270 automatically just like other switches.
274 * Built-in rules for C++ source files with the `.C' suffix.
275 We still recommend that you use `.cc' instead.
277 * If commands are given too many times for a single target,
278 the last set given is used, and a warning message is printed.
280 * Error messages about makefiles are in standard GNU error format,
281 so C-x ` in Emacs works on them.
283 * Dependencies of pattern rules which contain no % need not actually exist
284 if they can be created (just like dependencies which do have a %).
288 * A message is always printed when Make decides there is nothing to be done.
289 It used to be that no message was printed for top-level phony targets
290 (because "`phony' is up to date" isn't quite right). Now a different
291 message "Nothing to be done for `phony'" is printed in that case.
293 * Archives on AIX now supposedly work.
295 * When the commands specified for .DEFAULT are used to update a target,
296 the $< automatic variable is given the same value as $@ for that target.
297 This is how Unix make behaves, and this behavior is mandated by POSIX.2.
301 * The -n, -q, and -t options are not put in the `MAKEFLAGS' and `MFLAG'
302 variables while remaking makefiles, so recursive makes done while remaking
303 makefiles will behave properly.
305 * If the special target `.NOEXPORT' is specified in a makefile,
306 only variables that came from the environment and variables
307 defined on the command line are exported.
311 * Suffix rules may have dependencies (which are ignored).
315 * Dependencies of the form `-lLIB' are searched for as /usr/local/lib/libLIB.a
316 as well as libLIB.a in /usr/lib, /lib, the current directory, and VPATH.
320 * There is now a Unix man page for GNU Make. It is certainly not a replacement
321 for the Texinfo manual, but it documents the basic functionality and the
322 switches. For full documentation, you should still read the Texinfo manual.
323 Thanks to Dennis Morse of Stanford University for contributing the initial
326 * Variables which are defined by default (e.g., `CC') will no longer be put
327 into the environment for child processes. (If these variables are reset by the
328 environment, makefiles, or the command line, they will still go into the
331 * Makefiles which have commands but no dependencies (and thus are always
332 considered out of date and in need of remaking), will not be remade (if they
333 were being remade only because they were makefiles). This means that GNU
334 Make will no longer go into an infinite loop when fed the makefiles that
335 `imake' (necessary to build X Windows) produces.
337 * There is no longer a warning for using the `vpath' directive with an explicit
338 pathname (instead of a `%' pattern).
342 * When removing intermediate files, only one `rm' command line is printed,
343 listing all file names.
345 * There are now automatic variables `$(^D)', `$(^F)', `$(?D)', and `$(?F)'.
346 These are the directory-only and file-only versions of `$^' and `$?'.
348 * Library dependencies given as `-lNAME' will use "libNAME.a" in the current
349 directory if it exists.
351 * The automatic variable `$($/)' is no longer defined.
353 * Leading `+' characters on a command line make that line be executed even
354 under -n, -t, or -q (as if the line contained `$(MAKE)').
356 * For command lines containing `$(MAKE)', `${MAKE}', or leading `+' characters,
357 only those lines are executed, not their entire rules.
358 (This is how Unix make behaves for lines containing `$(MAKE)' or `${MAKE}'.)
362 * Filenames in rules will now have ~ and ~USER expanded.
364 * The `-p' output has been changed so it can be used as a makefile.
365 (All information that isn't specified by makefiles is prefaced with comment
370 * The % character can be quoted with backslash in implicit pattern rules,
371 static pattern rules, `vpath' directives, and `patsubst', `filter', and
372 `filter-out' functions. A warning is issued if a `vpath' directive's
373 pattern contains no %.
375 * The `wildcard' variable expansion function now expands ~ and ~USER.
377 * Messages indicating failed commands now contain the target name:
378 make: *** [target] Error 1
380 * The `-p' output format has been changed somewhat to look more like
381 makefile rules and to give all information that Make has about files.
387 * The `-l' switch with no argument removes any previous load-average limit.
389 * When the `-w' switch is in effect, and Make has updated makefiles,
390 it will write a `Leaving directory' messagfe before re-executing itself.
391 This makes the `directory change tracking' changes to Emacs's compilation
392 commands work properly.
396 * The automatic variable `$*' is now defined for explicit rules,
397 as it is in Unix make.
401 * The `-j' switch is now put in the MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS variables when
402 specified without an argument (indicating infinite jobs).
403 The `-l' switch is not always put in the MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS variables.
405 * Make no longer checks hashed directories after running commands.
406 The behavior implemented in 3.41 caused too much slowdown.
410 * A dependency is NOT considered newer than its dependent if
411 they have the same modification time. The behavior implemented
412 in 3.43 conflicts with RCS.
416 * Dependency loops are no longer fatal errors.
418 * A dependency is considered newer than its dependent if
419 they have the same modification time.
423 * The variables F77 and F77FLAGS are now set by default to $(FC) and
424 $(FFLAGS). Makefiles designed for System V make may use these variables in
425 explicit rules and expect them to be set. Unfortunately, there is no way to
426 make setting these affect the Fortran implicit rules unless FC and FFLAGS
427 are not used (and these are used by BSD make).
431 * Make now checks to see if its hashed directories are changed by commands.
432 Other makes that hash directories (Sun, 4.3 BSD) don't do this.
436 * The `shell' function no longer captures standard error output.
440 * A file beginning with a dot can be the default target if it also contains
441 a slash (e.g., `../bin/foo'). (Unix make allows this as well.)
445 * Archive member names are truncated to 15 characters.
447 * Yet more USG stuff.
449 * Minimal support for Microport System V (a 16-bit machine and a
450 brain-damaged compiler). This has even lower priority than other USG
451 support, so if it gets beyond trivial, I will take it out completely.
453 * Revamped default implicit rules (not much visible change).
455 * The -d and -p options can come from the environment.
459 * Improved support for USG and HPUX (hopefully).
461 * A variable reference like `$(foo:a=b)', if `a' contains a `%', is
462 equivalent to `$(patsubst a,b,$(foo))'.
464 * Defining .DEFAULT with no deps or commands clears its commands.
466 * New default implicit rules for .S (cpp, then as), and .sh (copy and make
467 executable). All default implicit rules that use cpp (even indirectly), use
472 * Giving the -j option with no arguments gives you infinite jobs.
476 * New option: "-l LOAD" says not to start any new jobs while others are
477 running if the load average is not below LOAD (a floating-point number).
479 * There is support in place for implementations of remote command execution
480 in Make. See the file remote.c.
484 * No more than 10 directories will be kept open at once.
485 (This number can be changed by redefining MAX_OPEN_DIRECTORIES in dir.c.)
489 * Archive files will have their modification times recorded before doing
490 anything that might change their modification times by updating an archive
495 * The `MAKELEVEL' variable is defined for use by makefiles.
499 * The recursion level indications in error messages are much shorter than
500 they were in version 3.14.
504 * Leading spaces before directives are ignored (as documented).
506 * Included makefiles can determine the default goal target.
507 (System V Make does it this way, so we are being compatible).
511 * Variables that are defaults built into Make will not be put in the
512 environment for children. This just saves some environment space and,
513 except under -e, will be transparent to sub-makes.
515 * Error messages from sub-makes will indicate the level of recursion.
517 * Hopefully some speed-up for large directories due to a change in the
518 directory hashing scheme.
520 * One child will always get a standard input that is usable.
522 * Default makefiles that don't exist will be remade and read in.
526 * Count parentheses inside expansion function calls so you can
527 have nested calls: `$(sort $(foreach x,a b,$(x)))'.
531 * Several bug fixes, including USG and Sun386i support.
533 * `shell' function to expand shell commands a la `
535 * If the `-d' flag is given, version information will be printed.
537 * The `-c' option has been renamed to `-C' for compatibility with tar.
539 * The `-p' option no longer inhibits other normal operation.
541 * Makefiles will be updated and re-read if necessary.
543 * Can now run several commands at once (parallelism), -j option.
545 * Error messages will contain the level of Make recursion, if any.
547 * The `MAKEFLAGS' and `MFLAGS' variables will be scanned for options after
550 * A double-colon rule with no dependencies will always have its commands run.
551 (This is how both the BSD and System V versions of Make do it.)
555 (Changes from versions 1 through 3.05 were never recorded. Sorry.)
557 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
558 Copyright information:
560 Copyright (C) 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
562 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
563 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
564 copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved,
565 thus giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
567 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions
568 of this document, or of portions of it,
569 under the above conditions, provided also that they
570 carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.
573 version-control: never