Appendix F Using the GNUstep Make Package#

Reference/doc on the GNUstep make package; mainly examples of various types of projects.

F.1 Makefile Contents#

Note. Type man make for assistance.

Make files comprise four key content types:

  • Comments

    # prefixes comments.

  • Macros

    SRC=main.m assigns a macro that is implemented as:gcc $(SRC) and is interpreted as: gcc main.m

  • Explicit rules Explicit rules are used to indicate which files depend upon supporting files and the commands required for their compilation:

    targetfile : sourcefiles
    commands

    A Tab precedes each command that must be implemented on the source files in order to create the target file:

    main: main.m List.h
    gcc -o main main.m List.h

  • Implicit rules Implicit rules broadly echo explicit variants but do not specify commands, rather the extensions indicate which commands are performed:

    servertest.o: servertest.c io.h
    is interpreted as:
    $(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c servertest.c io.h

F.1.1 Makefile Example#

# The following two lines force the standard make to recognize the 
# Objective-C .m suffix.

.SUFFIXES: .o .m
.m.o:
$(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $< 


# Macro declarations

CC = gcc
CFLAGS = -g
LIBS = -lobjc
SRC=main.m Truck.m Station.m Vehicle.m
OBJ=main.o Truck.o Station.o Vehicle.o


# Explicit rules

hist: $(OBJ)
    $(CC) $(CFLAGS) -o main $(OBJ) $(LIBS)


# Implicit rules

Truck.o: Truck.h Truck.m
Station.o: Truck.h Station.h Station.m
Vehicle.o: Truck.h Vehicle.h Vehicle.m
main.o: Station.h Vehicle.h

F.1.2 Makefile Structure#

The following Makefile defines a project:

#
# A GNUmakefile
#

# Check that the GNUSTEP_MAKEFILES environment variable is set
ifeq ($(GNUSTEP_MAKEFILES),)
GNUSTEP_MAKEFILES := $(shell gnustep-config --variable=GNUSTEP_MAKEFILES 2>/dev/null)
 ifeq ($(GNUSTEP_MAKEFILES),)
   $(error You need to set GNUSTEP_MAKEFILES before compiling!)
 endif
endif

# Include the common variables
include $(GNUSTEP_MAKEFILES)/common.make

# Build an Objective-C program
OBJC_PROGRAM_NAME = simple

# Objective-C files requiring compilation
simple_OBJC_FILES = source.m

-include GNUmakefile.preamble

# Include in the rules for making Objective-C programs
include $(GNUSTEP_MAKEFILES)/objc.make

-include GNUmakefile.postamble

To compile a package that uses the Makefile Package, type make in the top-level directory of the package. A non-GNUstep Objective-C file may be compiled by adding -lobjc on at the command line.

F.1.3 Debug, Profile and Sanitization#

By default the Makefile Package does not flag the compiler to generate debugging information that is generated by typing:

make debug=yes

This command also causes the Makefile Package to turn off optimization. It is therefore necessary to override the optimization flag when running Make if both debugging information and optimization is required. Use the variable OPTFLAG to override the optimization flag.

By default the Makefile Package does not instruct the compiler to create profiling information that is generated by typing:

make profile=yes

By default the Makefile Package does not instruct the compiler to create address and leak sanitization information. This is turned on by typing:

make asan=yes

F.1.4 Static, Shared and DLLs#

By default the Makefile Package generates a shared library if it is building a library project type, and it will link with shared libraries if it is building an application or command-line tool project type. To tell the Makefile Package not to build using shared libraries but using static libraries instead, type:

make shared=no

This default is only applicable on systems that support shared libraries; systems that do not support shared libraries will always build using static libraries. Some systems support DLLs that are a form of shared libraries; on these systems DLLs are built by default unless the Makefile Package is told to build using static libraries instead.

F.2 Project Types#

Projects are divided into different types. To create a project of a specific type, a make file is specified:

include $(GNUSTEP_MAKEFILES)/application.make

Each project type is independent, and if you want to create two project types in the same directory (e.g. a tool and a Java program), include both the desired make files in your main Make file.

  • Aggregate - aggregate.make

    An Aggregate project holds several sub-projects that are of any valid project type (including the Aggregate type). The only project variable is the SUBPROJECTS variable:

    Aggregate project: SUBPROJECTS

    SUBPROJECTS defines the directory names that hold the sub-projects that the Aggregate project should build.

  • Graphical Applications - application.make

    An application is an Objective-C program that includes a GUI component, and by default links in all the GNUstep libraries required for GUI development, such as the Base and GUI libraries.

  • Bundles - bundle.make

    A bundle is a collection of resources and code that can be used to enhance an existing application or tool dynamically using the NSBundle class from the GNUstep base library.

  • Command Line C Tools - ctool.make

    A ctool is a project that uses only C language files. Otherwise it is similar to the ObjC project type.

  • Documentation - documentation.make

    The Documentation project provides rules to use various types of documentation such as texi and LaTeX documentation, and convert them into finished documentation like info, PostScript, HTML, etc.

  • Frameworks - framework.make

    A Framework is a collection of resources and a library that provides common code that can be linked into a Tool or Application. In many respects it is similar to a Bundle.

  • Java - java.make

    This project provides rules for building java programs. It also makes it easy to make java projects that interact with the GNUstep libraries.

  • Libraries - library.make

    The Makefile Package provides a project type for building libraries that may be static, shared, or dynamic link libraries (DLLs). The latter two variants are supported only on some platforms.