1 GNU make NEWS -*-indented-text-*-
2 History of user-visible changes.
5 Copyright (C) 2002 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
20 * A new feature exists: order-only prerequisites. These prerequisites
21 affect the order in which targets are built, but they do not impact
22 the rebuild/no-rebuild decision of their dependents. That is to say,
23 they allow you to require target B be built before target A, without
24 requiring that target A will always be rebuilt if target B is updated.
25 Patch for this feature provided by Greg McGary <greg@mcgary.org>.
27 * For compatibility with SysV make, GNU make now supports the peculiar
28 syntax $$@, $$(@D), and $$(@F) in the prerequisites list of a rule.
29 This syntax is only valid within explicit and static pattern rules: it
30 cannot be used in implicit (suffix or pattern) rules. Edouard G. Parmelan
31 <egp@free.fr> provided a patch implementing this feature; however, I
32 decided to implement it in a different way.
34 * The argument to the "ifdef" conditional is now expanded before it's
35 tested, so it can be a constructed variable name.
37 Similarly, the arguments to "export" (when not used in a variable
38 definition context) and "unexport" are also now expanded.
40 * A new function is defined: $(value ...). The argument to this
41 function is the _name_ of a variable. The result of the function is
42 the value of the variable, without having been expanded.
44 * A new function is defined: $(eval ...). The arguments to this
45 function should expand to makefile commands, which will then be
46 evaluated as if they had appeared in the makefile. In combination
47 with define/endef multiline variable definitions this is an extremely
48 powerful capability. The $(value ...) function is also sometimes
51 * A new built-in variable is defined, $(MAKEFILE_LIST). It contains a
52 list of each makefile GNU make has read, or started to read, in the
53 order in which they were encountered. So, the last filename in the
54 list when a makefile is just being read (before any includes) is the
55 name of the current makefile.
57 * A new built-in variable is defined: $(.VARIABLES). When it is
58 expanded it returns a complete list of variable names defined by all
59 makefiles at that moment.
61 * A new command-line option is defined, -B or --always-make. If
62 specified GNU make will consider all targets out-of-date even if they
63 would otherwise not be.
65 * The arguments to $(call ...) functions were being stored in $1, $2,
66 etc. as recursive variables, even though they are fully expanded
67 before assignment. This means that escaped dollar signs ($$ etc.)
68 were not behaving properly. Now the arguments are stored as simple
69 variables. This may mean that if you added extra escaping to your
70 $(call ...) function arguments you will need to undo it now.
72 * The variable invoked by $(call ...) can now be recursive: unlike other
73 variables it can reference itself and this will not produce an error
74 when it is used as the first argument to $(call ...) (but only then).
76 * New pseudo-target .LOW_RESOLUTION_TIME, superseding the configure
77 option --disable-nsec-timestamps. You might need this if your build
78 process depends on tools like "cp -p" preserving time stamps, since
79 "cp -p" (right now) doesn't preserve the subsecond portion of a time
82 * Updated translations for French, Galician, German, Japanese, Korean,
83 and Russian. New translations for Croatian, Danish, Hebrew, and
86 * Updated internationalization support to Gettext 0.11.5.
87 GNU make now uses Gettext's "external" feature, and does not include
88 any internationalization code itself. Configure will search your
89 system for an existing implementation of GNU Gettext (only GNU Gettext
90 is acceptable) and use it if it exists. If not, NLS will be disabled.
91 See ABOUT-NLS for more information.
93 * Updated to autoconf 2.54 and automake 1.7. Users should not be impacted.
97 * .SECONDARY with no prerequisites now prevents any target from being
98 removed because make thinks it's an intermediate file, not just those
99 listed in the makefile.
101 * New configure option --disable-nsec-timestamps, but this was
102 superseded in later versions by the .LOW_RESOLUTION_TIME pseudo-target.
106 * GNU make optionally supports internationalization and locales via the
107 GNU gettext (or local gettext if suitable) package. See the ABOUT-NLS
108 file for more information on configuring GNU make for NLS.
110 * Previously, GNU make quoted variables such as MAKEFLAGS and
111 MAKEOVERRIDES for proper parsing by the shell. This allowed them to
112 be used within make build scripts. However, using them there is not
113 proper behavior: they are meant to be passed to subshells via the
114 environment. Unfortunately the values were not quoted properly to be
115 passed through the environment. This meant that make didn't properly
116 pass some types of command line values to submakes.
118 With this version we change that behavior: now these variables are
119 quoted properly for passing through the environment, which is the
120 correct way to do it. If you previously used these variables
121 explicitly within a make rule you may need to re-examine your use for
122 correctness given this change.
124 * A new pseudo-target .NOTPARALLEL is available. If defined, the
125 current makefile is run serially regardless of the value of -j.
126 However, submakes are still eligible for parallel execution.
128 * The --debug option has changed: it now allows optional flags
129 controlling the amount and type of debugging output. By default only
130 a minimal amount information is generated, displaying the names of
131 "normal" targets (not makefiles) that were deemed out of date and in
132 need of being rebuilt.
134 Note that the -d option behaves as before: it takes no arguments and
135 all debugging information is generated.
137 * The `-p' (print database) output now includes filename and linenumber
138 information for variable definitions, to aid debugging.
140 * The wordlist function no longer reverses its arguments if the "start"
141 value is greater than the "end" value. If that's true, nothing is
144 * Hartmut Becker provided many updates for the VMS port of GNU make.
145 See the readme.vms file for more details.
149 * Two new functions, $(error ...) and $(warning ...) are available. The
150 former will cause make to fail and exit immediately upon expansion of
151 the function, with the text provided as the error message. The latter
152 causes the text provided to be printed as a warning message, but make
155 * A new function $(call ...) is available. This allows users to create
156 their own parameterized macros and invoke them later. Original
157 implementation of this function was provided by Han-Wen Nienhuys
160 * A new function $(if ...) is available. It provides if-then-else
161 capabilities in a builtin function. Original implementation of this
162 function was provided by Han-Wen Nienhuys <hanwen@cs.uu.nl>.
164 * Make defines a new variable, .LIBPATTERNS. This variable controls how
165 library dependency expansion (dependencies like ``-lfoo'') is performed.
167 * Make accepts CRLF sequences as well as traditional LF, for
168 compatibility with makefiles created on other operating systems.
170 * Make accepts a new option: -R, or --no-builtin-variables. This option
171 disables the definition of the rule-specific builtin variables (CC,
172 LD, AR, etc.). Specifying this option forces -r (--no-builtin-rules)
175 * A "job server" feature, suggested by Howard Chu <hyc@highlandsun.com>.
177 On systems that support POSIX pipe(2) semantics, GNU make can now pass
178 -jN options to submakes rather than forcing them all to use -j1. The
179 top make and all its sub-make processes use a pipe to communicate with
180 each other to ensure that no more than N jobs are started across all
181 makes. To get the old behavior of -j back, you can configure make
182 with the --disable-job-server option.
184 * The confusing term "dependency" has been replaced by the more accurate
185 and standard term "prerequisite", both in the manual and in all GNU make
188 * GNU make supports the "big archive" library format introduced in AIX 4.3.
190 * GNU make supports large files on AIX, HP-UX, and IRIX. These changes
191 were provided by Paul Eggert <eggert@twinsun.com>. (Large file
192 support for Solaris and Linux was introduced in 3.77, but the
193 configuration had issues: these have also been resolved).
195 * The Windows 95/98/NT (W32) version of GNU make now has native support
196 for the Cygnus Cygwin release B20.1 shell (bash).
198 * The GNU make regression test suite, long available separately "under
199 the table", has been integrated into the release. You can invoke it
200 by running "make check" in the distribution. Note that it requires
201 Perl (either Perl 4 or Perl 5) to run.
205 * Implement BSD make's "?=" variable assignment operator. The variable
206 is assigned the specified value only if that variable is not already
209 * Make defines a new variable, "CURDIR", to contain the current working
210 directory (after the -C option, if any, has been processed).
211 Modifying this variable has no effect on the operation of make.
213 * Make defines a new default RCS rule, for new-style master file
214 storage: ``% :: RCS/%'' (note no ``,v'' suffix).
216 Make defines new default rules for DOS-style C++ file naming
217 conventions, with ``.cpp'' suffixes. All the same rules as for
218 ``.cc'' and ``.C'' suffixes are provided, along with LINK.cpp and
219 COMPILE.cpp macros (which default to the same value as LINK.cc and
220 COMPILE.cc). Note CPPFLAGS is still C preprocessor flags! You should
221 use CXXFLAGS to change C++ compiler flags.
223 * A new feature, "target-specific variable values", has been added.
224 This is a large change so please see the appropriate sections of the
225 manual for full details. Briefly, syntax like this:
227 TARGET: VARIABLE = VALUE
229 defines VARIABLE as VALUE within the context of TARGET. This is
230 similar to SunOS make's "TARGET := VARIABLE = VALUE" feature. Note
231 that the assignment may be of any type, not just recursive, and that
232 the override keyword is available.
234 COMPATIBILITY: This new syntax means that if you have any rules where
235 the first or second dependency has an equal sign (=) in its name,
236 you'll have to escape them with a backslash: "foo : bar\=baz".
237 Further, if you have any dependencies which already contain "\=",
238 you'll have to escape both of them: "foo : bar\\\=baz".
240 * A new appendix listing the most common error and warning messages
241 generated by GNU make, with some explanation, has been added to the
242 GNU make User's Manual.
244 * Updates to the GNU make Customs library support (see README.customs).
246 * Updates to the Windows 95/NT port from Rob Tulloh (see README.W32),
247 and to the DOS port from Eli Zaretski (see README.DOS).
251 * Small (but serious) bug fix. Quick rollout to get into the GNU source CD.
255 * GNU make now uses automake to control Makefile.in generation. This
256 should make it more consistent with the GNU standards.
258 * VPATH functionality has been changed to incorporate the VPATH+ patch,
259 previously maintained by Paul Smith <psmith@baynetworks.com>. See the
262 * Make defines a new variable, `MAKECMDGOALS', to contain the goals that
263 were specified on the command line, if any. Modifying this variable
264 has no effect on the operation of make.
266 * A new function, `$(wordlist S,E,TEXT)', is available: it returns a
267 list of words from number S to number E (inclusive) of TEXT.
269 * Instead of an error, detection of future modification times gives a
270 warning and continues. The warning is repeated just before GNU make
271 exits, so it is less likely to be lost.
273 * Fix the $(basename) and $(suffix) functions so they only operate on
274 the last filename, not the entire string:
276 Command Old Result New Result
277 ------- ---------- ----------
279 $(basename a.b/c) a a.b/c
281 $(suffix a.b/c) b/c <empty>
283 * The $(strip) function now removes newlines as well as TABs and spaces.
285 * The $(shell) function now changes CRLF (\r\n) pairs to a space as well
288 * Updates to the Windows 95/NT port from Rob Tulloh (see README.W32).
290 * Eli Zaretskii has updated the port to 32-bit protected mode on MSDOS
291 and MS-Windows, building with the DJGPP v2 port of GNU C/C++ compiler
292 and utilities. See README.DOS for details, and direct all questions
293 concerning this port to Eli Zaretskii <eliz@is.elta.co.il> or DJ
294 Delorie <dj@delorie.com>.
296 * John W. Eaton has updated the VMS port to support libraries and VPATH.
300 * The directory messages printed by `-w' and implicitly in sub-makes,
301 are now omitted if Make runs no commands and has no other messages to print.
303 * Make now detects files that for whatever reason have modification times
304 in the future and gives an error. Files with such impossible timestamps
305 can result from unsynchronized clocks, or archived distributions
306 containing bogus timestamps; they confuse Make's dependency engine
309 * The new directive `sinclude' is now recognized as another name for
310 `-include', for compatibility with some other Makes.
312 * Aaron Digulla has contributed a port to AmigaDOS. See README.Amiga for
313 details, and direct all Amiga-related questions to <digulla@fh-konstanz.de>.
315 * Rob Tulloh of Tivoli Systems has contributed a port to Windows NT or 95.
316 See README.W32 for details, and direct all Windows-related questions to
317 <rob_tulloh@tivoli.com>.
321 * Converted to use Autoconf version 2, so `configure' has some new options.
322 See INSTALL for details.
324 * You can now send a SIGUSR1 signal to Make to toggle printing of debugging
325 output enabled by -d, at any time during the run.
329 * DJ Delorie has ported Make to MS-DOS using the GO32 extender.
330 He is maintaining the DOS port, not the GNU Make maintainer;
331 please direct bugs and questions for DOS to <djgpp@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>.
332 MS-DOS binaries are available for FTP from ftp.simtel.net in
333 /pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/.
335 * The `MAKEFLAGS' variable (in the environment or in a makefile) can now
336 contain variable definitions itself; these are treated just like
337 command-line variable definitions. Make will automatically insert any
338 variable definitions from the environment value of `MAKEFLAGS' or from
339 the command line, into the `MAKEFLAGS' value exported to children. The
340 `MAKEOVERRIDES' variable previously included in the value of `$(MAKE)'
341 for sub-makes is now included in `MAKEFLAGS' instead. As before, you can
342 reset `MAKEOVERRIDES' in your makefile to avoid putting all the variables
343 in the environment when its size is limited.
345 * If `.DELETE_ON_ERROR' appears as a target, Make will delete the target of
346 a rule if it has changed when its commands exit with a nonzero status,
347 just as when the commands get a signal.
349 * The automatic variable `$+' is new. It lists all the dependencies like
350 `$^', but preserves duplicates listed in the makefile. This is useful
351 for linking rules, where library files sometimes need to be listed twice
354 * You can now specify the `.IGNORE' and `.SILENT' special targets with
355 dependencies to limit their effects to those files. If a file appears as
356 a dependency of `.IGNORE', then errors will be ignored while running the
357 commands to update that file. Likewise if a file appears as a dependency
358 of `.SILENT', then the commands to update that file will not be printed
359 before they are run. (This change was made to conform to POSIX.2.)
363 * The automatic variables `$(@D)', `$(%D)', `$(*D)', `$(<D)', `$(?D)', and
364 `$(^D)' now omit the trailing slash from the directory name. (This change
365 was made to comply with POSIX.2.)
367 * The source distribution now includes the Info files for the Make manual.
368 There is no longer a separate distribution containing Info and DVI files.
370 * You can now set the variables `binprefix' and/or `manprefix' in
371 Makefile.in (or on the command line when installing) to install GNU make
372 under a name other than `make' (i.e., ``make binprefix=g install''
373 installs GNU make as `gmake').
375 * The built-in Texinfo rules use the new variables `TEXI2DVI_FLAGS' for
376 flags to the `texi2dvi' script, and `MAKEINFO_FLAGS' for flags to the
379 * The exit status of Make when it runs into errors is now 2 instead of 1.
380 The exit status is 1 only when using -q and some target is not up to date.
381 (This change was made to comply with POSIX.2.)
385 * It is no longer a fatal error to have a NUL character in a makefile.
386 You should never put a NUL in a makefile because it can have strange
387 results, but otherwise empty lines full of NULs (such as produced by
388 the `xmkmf' program) will always work fine.
390 * The error messages for nonexistent included makefiles now refer to the
391 makefile name and line number where the `include' appeared, so Emacs's
392 C-x ` command takes you there (in case it's a typo you need to fix).
396 * Implicit rule search for archive member references is now done in the
397 opposite order from previous versions: the whole target name `LIB(MEM)'
398 first, and just the member name and parentheses `(MEM)' second.
400 * Make now gives an error for an unterminated variable or function reference.
401 For example, `$(foo' with no matching `)' or `${bar' with no matching `}'.
403 * The new default variable `MAKE_VERSION' gives the version number of
404 Make, and a string describing the remote job support compiled in (if any).
405 Thus the value (in this release) is something like `3.69' or `3.69-Customs'.
407 * Commands in an invocation of the `shell' function are no longer run with
408 a modified environment like target commands are. As in versions before
409 3.68, they now run with the environment that `make' started with. We
410 have reversed the change made in version 3.68 because it turned out to
411 cause a paradoxical situation in cases like:
413 export variable = $(shell echo value)
415 When Make attempted to put this variable in the environment for a target
416 command, it would try expand the value by running the shell command
417 `echo value'. In version 3.68, because it constructed an environment
418 for that shell command in the same way, Make would begin to go into an
419 infinite loop and then get a fatal error when it detected the loop.
421 * The commands given for `.DEFAULT' are now used for phony targets with no
426 * You can list several archive member names inside parenthesis:
427 `lib(mem1 mem2 mem3)' is equivalent to `lib(mem1) lib(mem2) lib(mem3)'.
429 * You can use wildcards inside archive member references. For example,
430 `lib(*.o)' expands to all existing members of `lib' whose names end in
431 `.o' (e.g. `lib(a.o) lib(b.o)'); `*.a(*.o)' expands to all such members
432 of all existing files whose names end in `.a' (e.g. `foo.a(a.o)
433 foo.a(b.o) bar.a(c.o) bar.a(d.o)'.
435 * A suffix rule `.X.a' now produces two pattern rules:
436 (%.o): %.X # Previous versions produced only this.
437 %.a: %.X # Now produces this as well, just like other suffixes.
439 * The new flag `--warn-undefined-variables' says to issue a warning message
440 whenever Make expands a reference to an undefined variable.
442 * The new `-include' directive is just like `include' except that there is
443 no error (not even a warning) for a nonexistent makefile.
445 * Commands in an invocation of the `shell' function are now run with a
446 modified environment like target commands are, so you can use `export' et
447 al to set up variables for them. They used to run with the environment
448 that `make' started with.
452 * `make --version' (or `make -v') now exits immediately after printing
457 * Make now supports long-named members in `ar' archive files.
461 * Make now supports the `+=' syntax for a variable definition which appends
462 to the variable's previous value. See the section `Appending More Text
463 to Variables' in the manual for full details.
465 * The new option `--no-print-directory' inhibits the `-w' or
466 `--print-directory' feature. Make turns on `--print-directory'
467 automatically if you use `-C' or `--directory', and in sub-makes; some
468 users have found this behavior undesirable.
470 * The built-in implicit rules now support the alternative extension
471 `.txinfo' for Texinfo files, just like `.texinfo' and `.texi'.
475 * Make now uses a standard GNU `configure' script. See the new file
476 INSTALL for the new (and much simpler) installation procedure.
478 * There is now a shell script to build Make the first time, if you have no
479 other `make' program. `build.sh' is created by `configure'; see README.
481 * GNU Make now completely conforms to the POSIX.2 specification for `make'.
483 * Elements of the `$^' and `$?' automatic variables that are archive
484 member references now list only the member name, as in Unix and POSIX.2.
486 * You should no longer ever need to specify the `-w' switch, which prints
487 the current directory before and after Make runs. The `-C' switch to
488 change directory, and recursive use of Make, now set `-w' automatically.
490 * Multiple double-colon rules for the same target will no longer have their
491 commands run simultaneously under -j, as this could result in the two
492 commands trying to change the file at the same time and interfering with
495 * The `SHELL' variable is now never taken from the environment.
496 Each makefile that wants a shell other than the default (/bin/sh) must
497 set SHELL itself. SHELL is always exported to child processes.
498 This change was made for compatibility with POSIX.2.
500 * Make now accepts long options. There is now an informative usage message
501 that tells you what all the options are and what they do. Try `make --help'.
503 * There are two new directives: `export' and `unexport'. All variables are
504 no longer automatically put into the environments of the commands that
505 Make runs. Instead, only variables specified on the command line or in
506 the environment are exported by default. To export others, use:
508 or you can define variables with:
509 export VARIABLE = VALUE
511 export VARIABLE := VALUE
515 .EXPORT_ALL_VARIABLES:
516 to get the old behavior. See the node `Variables/Recursion' in the manual
517 for a full description.
519 * The commands from the `.DEFAULT' special target are only applied to
520 targets which have no rules at all, not all targets with no commands.
521 This change was made for compatibility with Unix make.
523 * All fatal error messages now contain `***', so they are easy to find in
526 * Dependency file names like `-lNAME' are now replaced with the actual file
527 name found, as with files found by normal directory search (VPATH).
528 The library file `libNAME.a' may now be found in the current directory,
529 which is checked before VPATH; the standard set of directories (/lib,
530 /usr/lib, /usr/local/lib) is now checked last.
531 See the node `Libraries/Search' in the manual for full details.
533 * A single `include' directive can now specify more than one makefile to
536 You can also use shell file name patterns in an `include' directive:
539 * The default directories to search for included makefiles, and for
540 libraries specified with `-lNAME', are now set by configuration.
542 * You can now use blanks as well as colons to separate the directories in a
543 search path for the `vpath' directive or the `VPATH' variable.
545 * You can now use variables and functions in the left hand side of a
546 variable assignment, as in "$(foo)bar = value".
548 * The `MAKE' variable is always defined as `$(MAKE_COMMAND) $(MAKEOVERRIDES)'.
549 The `MAKE_COMMAND' variable is now defined to the name with which make
552 * The built-in rules for C++ compilation now use the variables `$(CXX)' and
553 `$(CXXFLAGS)' instead of `$(C++)' and `$(C++FLAGS)'. The old names had
554 problems with shells that cannot have `+' in environment variable names.
556 * The value of a recursively expanded variable is now expanded when putting
557 it into the environment for child processes. This change was made for
558 compatibility with Unix make.
560 * A rule with no targets before the `:' is now accepted and ignored.
561 This change was made for compatibility with SunOS 4 make.
562 We do not recommend that you write your makefiles to take advantage of this.
564 * The `-I' switch can now be used in MAKEFLAGS, and are put there
565 automatically just like other switches.
569 * Built-in rules for C++ source files with the `.C' suffix.
570 We still recommend that you use `.cc' instead.
572 * If commands are given too many times for a single target,
573 the last set given is used, and a warning message is printed.
575 * Error messages about makefiles are in standard GNU error format,
576 so C-x ` in Emacs works on them.
578 * Dependencies of pattern rules which contain no % need not actually exist
579 if they can be created (just like dependencies which do have a %).
583 * A message is always printed when Make decides there is nothing to be done.
584 It used to be that no message was printed for top-level phony targets
585 (because "`phony' is up to date" isn't quite right). Now a different
586 message "Nothing to be done for `phony'" is printed in that case.
588 * Archives on AIX now supposedly work.
590 * When the commands specified for .DEFAULT are used to update a target,
591 the $< automatic variable is given the same value as $@ for that target.
592 This is how Unix make behaves, and this behavior is mandated by POSIX.2.
596 * The -n, -q, and -t options are not put in the `MAKEFLAGS' and `MFLAG'
597 variables while remaking makefiles, so recursive makes done while remaking
598 makefiles will behave properly.
600 * If the special target `.NOEXPORT' is specified in a makefile,
601 only variables that came from the environment and variables
602 defined on the command line are exported.
606 * Suffix rules may have dependencies (which are ignored).
610 * Dependencies of the form `-lLIB' are searched for as /usr/local/lib/libLIB.a
611 as well as libLIB.a in /usr/lib, /lib, the current directory, and VPATH.
615 * There is now a Unix man page for GNU Make. It is certainly not a replacement
616 for the Texinfo manual, but it documents the basic functionality and the
617 switches. For full documentation, you should still read the Texinfo manual.
618 Thanks to Dennis Morse of Stanford University for contributing the initial
621 * Variables which are defined by default (e.g., `CC') will no longer be put
622 into the environment for child processes. (If these variables are reset by the
623 environment, makefiles, or the command line, they will still go into the
626 * Makefiles which have commands but no dependencies (and thus are always
627 considered out of date and in need of remaking), will not be remade (if they
628 were being remade only because they were makefiles). This means that GNU
629 Make will no longer go into an infinite loop when fed the makefiles that
630 `imake' (necessary to build X Windows) produces.
632 * There is no longer a warning for using the `vpath' directive with an explicit
633 pathname (instead of a `%' pattern).
637 * When removing intermediate files, only one `rm' command line is printed,
638 listing all file names.
640 * There are now automatic variables `$(^D)', `$(^F)', `$(?D)', and `$(?F)'.
641 These are the directory-only and file-only versions of `$^' and `$?'.
643 * Library dependencies given as `-lNAME' will use "libNAME.a" in the current
644 directory if it exists.
646 * The automatic variable `$($/)' is no longer defined.
648 * Leading `+' characters on a command line make that line be executed even
649 under -n, -t, or -q (as if the line contained `$(MAKE)').
651 * For command lines containing `$(MAKE)', `${MAKE}', or leading `+' characters,
652 only those lines are executed, not their entire rules.
653 (This is how Unix make behaves for lines containing `$(MAKE)' or `${MAKE}'.)
657 * Filenames in rules will now have ~ and ~USER expanded.
659 * The `-p' output has been changed so it can be used as a makefile.
660 (All information that isn't specified by makefiles is prefaced with comment
665 * The % character can be quoted with backslash in implicit pattern rules,
666 static pattern rules, `vpath' directives, and `patsubst', `filter', and
667 `filter-out' functions. A warning is issued if a `vpath' directive's
668 pattern contains no %.
670 * The `wildcard' variable expansion function now expands ~ and ~USER.
672 * Messages indicating failed commands now contain the target name:
673 make: *** [target] Error 1
675 * The `-p' output format has been changed somewhat to look more like
676 makefile rules and to give all information that Make has about files.
682 * The `-l' switch with no argument removes any previous load-average limit.
684 * When the `-w' switch is in effect, and Make has updated makefiles,
685 it will write a `Leaving directory' messagfe before re-executing itself.
686 This makes the `directory change tracking' changes to Emacs's compilation
687 commands work properly.
691 * The automatic variable `$*' is now defined for explicit rules,
692 as it is in Unix make.
696 * The `-j' switch is now put in the MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS variables when
697 specified without an argument (indicating infinite jobs).
698 The `-l' switch is not always put in the MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS variables.
700 * Make no longer checks hashed directories after running commands.
701 The behavior implemented in 3.41 caused too much slowdown.
705 * A dependency is NOT considered newer than its dependent if
706 they have the same modification time. The behavior implemented
707 in 3.43 conflicts with RCS.
711 * Dependency loops are no longer fatal errors.
713 * A dependency is considered newer than its dependent if
714 they have the same modification time.
718 * The variables F77 and F77FLAGS are now set by default to $(FC) and
719 $(FFLAGS). Makefiles designed for System V make may use these variables in
720 explicit rules and expect them to be set. Unfortunately, there is no way to
721 make setting these affect the Fortran implicit rules unless FC and FFLAGS
722 are not used (and these are used by BSD make).
726 * Make now checks to see if its hashed directories are changed by commands.
727 Other makes that hash directories (Sun, 4.3 BSD) don't do this.
731 * The `shell' function no longer captures standard error output.
735 * A file beginning with a dot can be the default target if it also contains
736 a slash (e.g., `../bin/foo'). (Unix make allows this as well.)
740 * Archive member names are truncated to 15 characters.
742 * Yet more USG stuff.
744 * Minimal support for Microport System V (a 16-bit machine and a
745 brain-damaged compiler). This has even lower priority than other USG
746 support, so if it gets beyond trivial, I will take it out completely.
748 * Revamped default implicit rules (not much visible change).
750 * The -d and -p options can come from the environment.
754 * Improved support for USG and HPUX (hopefully).
756 * A variable reference like `$(foo:a=b)', if `a' contains a `%', is
757 equivalent to `$(patsubst a,b,$(foo))'.
759 * Defining .DEFAULT with no deps or commands clears its commands.
761 * New default implicit rules for .S (cpp, then as), and .sh (copy and make
762 executable). All default implicit rules that use cpp (even indirectly), use
767 * Giving the -j option with no arguments gives you infinite jobs.
771 * New option: "-l LOAD" says not to start any new jobs while others are
772 running if the load average is not below LOAD (a floating-point number).
774 * There is support in place for implementations of remote command execution
775 in Make. See the file remote.c.
779 * No more than 10 directories will be kept open at once.
780 (This number can be changed by redefining MAX_OPEN_DIRECTORIES in dir.c.)
784 * Archive files will have their modification times recorded before doing
785 anything that might change their modification times by updating an archive
790 * The `MAKELEVEL' variable is defined for use by makefiles.
794 * The recursion level indications in error messages are much shorter than
795 they were in version 3.14.
799 * Leading spaces before directives are ignored (as documented).
801 * Included makefiles can determine the default goal target.
802 (System V Make does it this way, so we are being compatible).
806 * Variables that are defaults built into Make will not be put in the
807 environment for children. This just saves some environment space and,
808 except under -e, will be transparent to sub-makes.
810 * Error messages from sub-makes will indicate the level of recursion.
812 * Hopefully some speed-up for large directories due to a change in the
813 directory hashing scheme.
815 * One child will always get a standard input that is usable.
817 * Default makefiles that don't exist will be remade and read in.
821 * Count parentheses inside expansion function calls so you can
822 have nested calls: `$(sort $(foreach x,a b,$(x)))'.
826 * Several bug fixes, including USG and Sun386i support.
828 * `shell' function to expand shell commands a la `
830 * If the `-d' flag is given, version information will be printed.
832 * The `-c' option has been renamed to `-C' for compatibility with tar.
834 * The `-p' option no longer inhibits other normal operation.
836 * Makefiles will be updated and re-read if necessary.
838 * Can now run several commands at once (parallelism), -j option.
840 * Error messages will contain the level of Make recursion, if any.
842 * The `MAKEFLAGS' and `MFLAGS' variables will be scanned for options after
845 * A double-colon rule with no dependencies will always have its commands run.
846 (This is how both the BSD and System V versions of Make do it.)
850 (Changes from versions 1 through 3.05 were never recorded. Sorry.)
852 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
853 Copyright information:
855 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
856 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
857 copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved, thus
858 giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
860 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions of this
861 document, or of portions of it, under the above conditions, provided
862 also that they carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.