5 Note: This document mostly applies to U-Boot so is included here even
6 though it refers to Linux.
8 This document describes the Linux kernel Makefiles.
14 === 3 The kbuild files
15 --- 3.1 Goal definitions
16 --- 3.2 Built-in object goals - obj-y
17 --- 3.3 Loadable module goals - obj-m
19 --- 3.5 Library file goals - lib-y
20 --- 3.6 Descending down in directories
21 --- 3.7 Non-builtin vmlinux targets - extra-y
22 --- 3.8 Always built goals - always-y
23 --- 3.9 Compilation flags
24 --- 3.10 Dependency tracking
26 --- 3.12 Command change detection
27 --- 3.13 $(CC) support functions
28 --- 3.14 $(LD) support functions
29 --- 3.15 Script Invocation
31 === 4 Host Program support
32 --- 4.1 Simple Host Program
33 --- 4.2 Composite Host Programs
34 --- 4.3 Using C++ for host programs
35 --- 4.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
36 --- 4.5 When host programs are actually built
38 === 5 Userspace Program support
39 --- 5.1 Simple Userspace Program
40 --- 5.2 Composite Userspace Programs
41 --- 5.3 Controlling compiler options for userspace programs
42 --- 5.4 When userspace programs are actually built
44 === 6 Kbuild clean infrastructure
46 === 7 Architecture Makefiles
47 --- 7.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
48 --- 7.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders
49 --- 7.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare
50 --- 7.4 List directories to visit when descending
51 --- 7.5 Architecture-specific boot images
52 --- 7.6 Building non-kbuild targets
53 --- 7.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
55 --- 7.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
56 --- 7.10 Generic header files
57 --- 7.11 Post-link pass
59 === 8 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
60 --- 8.1 no-export-headers
65 === 9 Kbuild Variables
66 === 10 Makefile language
73 The Makefiles have five parts::
75 Makefile the top Makefile.
76 .config the kernel configuration file.
77 arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile the arch Makefile.
78 scripts/Makefile.* common rules etc. for all kbuild Makefiles.
79 kbuild Makefiles exist in every subdirectory
81 The top Makefile reads the .config file, which comes from the kernel
82 configuration process.
84 The top Makefile is responsible for building two major products: vmlinux
85 (the resident kernel image) and modules (any module files).
86 It builds these goals by recursively descending into the subdirectories of
87 the kernel source tree.
88 The list of subdirectories which are visited depends upon the kernel
89 configuration. The top Makefile textually includes an arch Makefile
90 with the name arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile. The arch Makefile supplies
91 architecture-specific information to the top Makefile.
93 Each subdirectory has a kbuild Makefile which carries out the commands
94 passed down from above. The kbuild Makefile uses information from the
95 .config file to construct various file lists used by kbuild to build
96 any built-in or modular targets.
98 scripts/Makefile.* contains all the definitions/rules etc. that
99 are used to build the kernel based on the kbuild makefiles.
105 People have four different relationships with the kernel Makefiles.
107 *Users* are people who build kernels. These people type commands such as
108 "make menuconfig" or "make". They usually do not read or edit
109 any kernel Makefiles (or any other source files).
111 *Normal developers* are people who work on features such as device
112 drivers, file systems, and network protocols. These people need to
113 maintain the kbuild Makefiles for the subsystem they are
114 working on. In order to do this effectively, they need some overall
115 knowledge about the kernel Makefiles, plus detailed knowledge about the
116 public interface for kbuild.
118 *Arch developers* are people who work on an entire architecture, such
119 as sparc or ia64. Arch developers need to know about the arch Makefile
120 as well as kbuild Makefiles.
122 *Kbuild developers* are people who work on the kernel build system itself.
123 These people need to know about all aspects of the kernel Makefiles.
125 This document is aimed towards normal developers and arch developers.
131 Most Makefiles within the kernel are kbuild Makefiles that use the
132 kbuild infrastructure. This chapter introduces the syntax used in the
134 The preferred name for the kbuild files are 'Makefile' but 'Kbuild' can
135 be used and if both a 'Makefile' and a 'Kbuild' file exists, then the 'Kbuild'
138 Section 3.1 "Goal definitions" is a quick intro; further chapters provide
139 more details, with real examples.
144 Goal definitions are the main part (heart) of the kbuild Makefile.
145 These lines define the files to be built, any special compilation
146 options, and any subdirectories to be entered recursively.
148 The most simple kbuild makefile contains one line:
154 This tells kbuild that there is one object in that directory, named
155 foo.o. foo.o will be built from foo.c or foo.S.
157 If foo.o shall be built as a module, the variable obj-m is used.
158 Therefore the following pattern is often used:
162 obj-$(CONFIG_FOO) += foo.o
164 $(CONFIG_FOO) evaluates to either y (for built-in) or m (for module).
165 If CONFIG_FOO is neither y nor m, then the file will not be compiled
168 3.2 Built-in object goals - obj-y
169 ---------------------------------
171 The kbuild Makefile specifies object files for vmlinux
172 in the $(obj-y) lists. These lists depend on the kernel
175 Kbuild compiles all the $(obj-y) files. It then calls
176 "$(AR) rcSTP" to merge these files into one built-in.a file.
177 This is a thin archive without a symbol table. It will be later
178 linked into vmlinux by scripts/link-vmlinux.sh
180 The order of files in $(obj-y) is significant. Duplicates in
181 the lists are allowed: the first instance will be linked into
182 built-in.a and succeeding instances will be ignored.
184 Link order is significant, because certain functions
185 (module_init() / __initcall) will be called during boot in the
186 order they appear. So keep in mind that changing the link
187 order may e.g. change the order in which your SCSI
188 controllers are detected, and thus your disks are renumbered.
192 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
193 # Makefile for the kernel ISDN subsystem and device drivers.
194 # Each configuration option enables a list of files.
195 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_I4L) += isdn.o
196 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
198 3.3 Loadable module goals - obj-m
199 ---------------------------------
201 $(obj-m) specifies object files which are built as loadable
204 A module may be built from one source file or several source
205 files. In the case of one source file, the kbuild makefile
206 simply adds the file to $(obj-m).
210 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
211 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
213 Note: In this example $(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) evaluates to 'm'
215 If a kernel module is built from several source files, you specify
216 that you want to build a module in the same way as above; however,
217 kbuild needs to know which object files you want to build your
218 module from, so you have to tell it by setting a $(<module_name>-y)
223 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
224 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_I4L) += isdn.o
225 isdn-y := isdn_net_lib.o isdn_v110.o isdn_common.o
227 In this example, the module name will be isdn.o. Kbuild will
228 compile the objects listed in $(isdn-y) and then run
229 "$(LD) -r" on the list of these files to generate isdn.o.
231 Due to kbuild recognizing $(<module_name>-y) for composite objects,
232 you can use the value of a `CONFIG_` symbol to optionally include an
233 object file as part of a composite object.
238 obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2.o
239 ext2-y := balloc.o dir.o file.o ialloc.o inode.o ioctl.o \
240 namei.o super.o symlink.o
241 ext2-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR) += xattr.o xattr_user.o \
244 In this example, xattr.o, xattr_user.o and xattr_trusted.o are only
245 part of the composite object ext2.o if $(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR)
248 Note: Of course, when you are building objects into the kernel,
249 the syntax above will also work. So, if you have CONFIG_EXT2_FS=y,
250 kbuild will build an ext2.o file for you out of the individual
251 parts and then link this into built-in.a, as you would expect.
253 3.5 Library file goals - lib-y
254 ------------------------------
256 Objects listed with obj-* are used for modules, or
257 combined in a built-in.a for that specific directory.
258 There is also the possibility to list objects that will
259 be included in a library, lib.a.
260 All objects listed with lib-y are combined in a single
261 library for that directory.
262 Objects that are listed in obj-y and additionally listed in
263 lib-y will not be included in the library, since they will
264 be accessible anyway.
265 For consistency, objects listed in lib-m will be included in lib.a.
267 Note that the same kbuild makefile may list files to be built-in
268 and to be part of a library. Therefore the same directory
269 may contain both a built-in.a and a lib.a file.
273 #arch/x86/lib/Makefile
276 This will create a library lib.a based on delay.o. For kbuild to
277 actually recognize that there is a lib.a being built, the directory
278 shall be listed in libs-y.
280 See also "7.4 List directories to visit when descending".
282 Use of lib-y is normally restricted to `lib/` and `arch/*/lib`.
284 3.6 Descending down in directories
285 ----------------------------------
287 A Makefile is only responsible for building objects in its own
288 directory. Files in subdirectories should be taken care of by
289 Makefiles in these subdirs. The build system will automatically
290 invoke make recursively in subdirectories, provided you let it know of
293 To do so, obj-y and obj-m are used.
294 ext2 lives in a separate directory, and the Makefile present in fs/
295 tells kbuild to descend down using the following assignment.
300 obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2/
302 If CONFIG_EXT2_FS is set to either 'y' (built-in) or 'm' (modular)
303 the corresponding obj- variable will be set, and kbuild will descend
304 down in the ext2 directory.
306 Kbuild uses this information not only to decide that it needs to visit
307 the directory, but also to decide whether or not to link objects from
308 the directory into vmlinux.
310 When Kbuild descends into the directory with 'y', all built-in objects
311 from that directory are combined into the built-in.a, which will be
312 eventually linked into vmlinux.
314 When Kbuild descends into the directory with 'm', in contrast, nothing
315 from that directory will be linked into vmlinux. If the Makefile in
316 that directory specifies obj-y, those objects will be left orphan.
317 It is very likely a bug of the Makefile or of dependencies in Kconfig.
319 Kbuild also supports dedicated syntax, subdir-y and subdir-m, for
320 descending into subdirectories. It is a good fit when you know they
321 do not contain kernel-space objects at all. A typical usage is to let
322 Kbuild descend into subdirectories to build tools.
327 subdir-$(CONFIG_GCC_PLUGINS) += gcc-plugins
328 subdir-$(CONFIG_MODVERSIONS) += genksyms
329 subdir-$(CONFIG_SECURITY_SELINUX) += selinux
331 Unlike obj-y/m, subdir-y/m does not need the trailing slash since this
332 syntax is always used for directories.
334 It is good practice to use a `CONFIG_` variable when assigning directory
335 names. This allows kbuild to totally skip the directory if the
336 corresponding `CONFIG_` option is neither 'y' nor 'm'.
338 3.7 Non-builtin vmlinux targets - extra-y
339 -----------------------------------------
341 extra-y specifies targets which are needed for building vmlinux,
342 but not combined into built-in.a.
348 Some objects must be placed at the head of vmlinux. They are
349 directly linked to vmlinux without going through built-in.a
350 A typical use-case is an object that contains the entry point.
352 arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile should specify such objects as head-y.
355 Given that we can control the section order in the linker script,
356 why do we need head-y?
358 2) vmlinux linker script
360 The linker script for vmlinux is located at
361 arch/$(SRCARCH)/kernel/vmlinux.lds
365 # arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
366 extra-y := head_$(BITS).o
367 extra-y += head$(BITS).o
369 extra-y += platform-quirks.o
370 extra-y += vmlinux.lds
372 $(extra-y) should only contain targets needed for vmlinux.
374 Kbuild skips extra-y when vmlinux is apparently not a final goal.
375 (e.g. 'make modules', or building external modules)
377 If you intend to build targets unconditionally, always-y (explained
378 in the next section) is the correct syntax to use.
380 3.8 Always built goals - always-y
381 ---------------------------------
383 always-y specifies targets which are literally always built when
384 Kbuild visits the Makefile.
388 offsets-file := include/generated/asm-offsets.h
389 always-y += $(offsets-file)
391 3.9 Compilation flags
392 ---------------------
394 ccflags-y, asflags-y and ldflags-y
395 These three flags apply only to the kbuild makefile in which they
396 are assigned. They are used for all the normal cc, as and ld
397 invocations happening during a recursive build.
398 Note: Flags with the same behaviour were previously named:
399 EXTRA_CFLAGS, EXTRA_AFLAGS and EXTRA_LDFLAGS.
400 They are still supported but their usage is deprecated.
402 ccflags-y specifies options for compiling with $(CC).
406 # drivers/acpi/acpica/Makefile
407 ccflags-y := -Os -D_LINUX -DBUILDING_ACPICA
408 ccflags-$(CONFIG_ACPI_DEBUG) += -DACPI_DEBUG_OUTPUT
410 This variable is necessary because the top Makefile owns the
411 variable $(KBUILD_CFLAGS) and uses it for compilation flags for the
414 asflags-y specifies assembler options.
418 #arch/sparc/kernel/Makefile
421 ldflags-y specifies options for linking with $(LD).
425 #arch/cris/boot/compressed/Makefile
426 ldflags-y += -T $(srctree)/$(src)/decompress_$(arch-y).lds
428 subdir-ccflags-y, subdir-asflags-y
429 The two flags listed above are similar to ccflags-y and asflags-y.
430 The difference is that the subdir- variants have effect for the kbuild
431 file where they are present and all subdirectories.
432 Options specified using subdir-* are added to the commandline before
433 the options specified using the non-subdir variants.
437 subdir-ccflags-y := -Werror
439 ccflags-remove-y, asflags-remove-y
440 These flags are used to remove particular flags for the compiler,
441 assembler invocations.
445 ccflags-remove-$(CONFIG_MCOUNT) += -pg
448 CFLAGS_$@ and AFLAGS_$@ only apply to commands in current
451 $(CFLAGS_$@) specifies per-file options for $(CC). The $@
452 part has a literal value which specifies the file that it is for.
454 CFLAGS_$@ has the higher priority than ccflags-remove-y; CFLAGS_$@
455 can re-add compiler flags that were removed by ccflags-remove-y.
459 # drivers/scsi/Makefile
460 CFLAGS_aha152x.o = -DAHA152X_STAT -DAUTOCONF
462 This line specify compilation flags for aha152x.o.
464 $(AFLAGS_$@) is a similar feature for source files in assembly
467 AFLAGS_$@ has the higher priority than asflags-remove-y; AFLAGS_$@
468 can re-add assembler flags that were removed by asflags-remove-y.
472 # arch/arm/kernel/Makefile
473 AFLAGS_head.o := -DTEXT_OFFSET=$(TEXT_OFFSET)
474 AFLAGS_crunch-bits.o := -Wa,-mcpu=ep9312
475 AFLAGS_iwmmxt.o := -Wa,-mcpu=iwmmxt
478 3.10 Dependency tracking
479 ------------------------
481 Kbuild tracks dependencies on the following:
483 1) All prerequisite files (both `*.c` and `*.h`)
484 2) `CONFIG_` options used in all prerequisite files
485 3) Command-line used to compile target
487 Thus, if you change an option to $(CC) all affected files will
493 Custom rules are used when the kbuild infrastructure does
494 not provide the required support. A typical example is
495 header files generated during the build process.
496 Another example are the architecture-specific Makefiles which
497 need custom rules to prepare boot images etc.
499 Custom rules are written as normal Make rules.
500 Kbuild is not executing in the directory where the Makefile is
501 located, so all custom rules shall use a relative
502 path to prerequisite files and target files.
504 Two variables are used when defining custom rules:
507 $(src) is a relative path which points to the directory
508 where the Makefile is located. Always use $(src) when
509 referring to files located in the src tree.
512 $(obj) is a relative path which points to the directory
513 where the target is saved. Always use $(obj) when
514 referring to generated files.
518 #drivers/scsi/Makefile
519 $(obj)/53c8xx_d.h: $(src)/53c7,8xx.scr $(src)/script_asm.pl
520 $(CPP) -DCHIP=810 - < $< | ... $(src)/script_asm.pl
522 This is a custom rule, following the normal syntax
525 The target file depends on two prerequisite files. References
526 to the target file are prefixed with $(obj), references
527 to prerequisites are referenced with $(src) (because they are not
531 echoing information to user in a rule is often a good practice
532 but when execution "make -s" one does not expect to see any output
533 except for warnings/errors.
534 To support this kbuild defines $(kecho) which will echo out the
535 text following $(kecho) to stdout except if "make -s" is used.
540 $(BOOT_TARGETS): vmlinux
541 $(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=$(boot) MACHINE=$(MACHINE) $(boot)/$@
542 @$(kecho) ' Kernel: $(boot)/$@ is ready'
544 When kbuild is executing with KBUILD_VERBOSE=0, then only a shorthand
545 of a command is normally displayed.
546 To enable this behaviour for custom commands kbuild requires
547 two variables to be set::
549 quiet_cmd_<command> - what shall be echoed
550 cmd_<command> - the command to execute
555 quiet_cmd_crc32 = GEN $@
558 $(obj)/crc32table.h: $(obj)/gen_crc32table
561 When updating the $(obj)/crc32table.h target, the line:
565 will be displayed with "make KBUILD_VERBOSE=0".
567 3.12 Command change detection
568 -----------------------------
570 When the rule is evaluated, timestamps are compared between the target
571 and its prerequisite files. GNU Make updates the target when any of the
572 prerequisites is newer than that.
574 The target should be rebuilt also when the command line has changed
575 since the last invocation. This is not supported by Make itself, so
576 Kbuild achieves this by a kind of meta-programming.
578 if_changed is the macro used for this purpose, in the following form::
580 quiet_cmd_<command> = ...
583 <target>: <source(s)> FORCE
584 $(call if_changed,<command>)
586 Any target that utilizes if_changed must be listed in $(targets),
587 otherwise the command line check will fail, and the target will
590 If the target is already listed in the recognized syntax such as
591 obj-y/m, lib-y/m, extra-y/m, always-y/m, hostprogs, userprogs, Kbuild
592 automatically adds it to $(targets). Otherwise, the target must be
593 explicitly added to $(targets).
595 Assignments to $(targets) are without $(obj)/ prefix. if_changed may be
596 used in conjunction with custom rules as defined in "3.11 Custom Rules".
598 Note: It is a typical mistake to forget the FORCE prerequisite.
599 Another common pitfall is that whitespace is sometimes significant; for
600 instance, the below will fail (note the extra space after the comma)::
602 target: source(s) FORCE
604 **WRONG!** $(call if_changed, objcopy)
607 if_changed should not be used more than once per target.
608 It stores the executed command in a corresponding .cmd
609 file and multiple calls would result in overwrites and
610 unwanted results when the target is up to date and only the
611 tests on changed commands trigger execution of commands.
613 3.13 $(CC) support functions
614 ----------------------------
616 The kernel may be built with several different versions of
617 $(CC), each supporting a unique set of features and options.
618 kbuild provides basic support to check for valid options for $(CC).
619 $(CC) is usually the gcc compiler, but other alternatives are
623 as-option is used to check if $(CC) -- when used to compile
624 assembler (`*.S`) files -- supports the given option. An optional
625 second option may be specified if the first option is not supported.
630 cflags-y += $(call as-option,-Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y),)
632 In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
633 -Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y) if it is supported by $(CC).
634 The second argument is optional, and if supplied will be used
635 if first argument is not supported.
638 as-instr checks if the assembler reports a specific instruction
639 and then outputs either option1 or option2
640 C escapes are supported in the test instruction
641 Note: as-instr-option uses KBUILD_AFLAGS for assembler options
644 cc-option is used to check if $(CC) supports a given option, and if
645 not supported to use an optional second option.
650 cflags-y += $(call cc-option,-march=pentium-mmx,-march=i586)
652 In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
653 -march=pentium-mmx if supported by $(CC), otherwise -march=i586.
654 The second argument to cc-option is optional, and if omitted,
655 cflags-y will be assigned no value if first option is not supported.
656 Note: cc-option uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
659 cc-option-yn is used to check if gcc supports a given option
660 and return 'y' if supported, otherwise 'n'.
665 biarch := $(call cc-option-yn, -m32)
666 aflags-$(biarch) += -a32
667 cflags-$(biarch) += -m32
669 In the above example, $(biarch) is set to y if $(CC) supports the -m32
670 option. When $(biarch) equals 'y', the expanded variables $(aflags-y)
671 and $(cflags-y) will be assigned the values -a32 and -m32,
673 Note: cc-option-yn uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
676 cc-disable-warning checks if gcc supports a given warning and returns
677 the commandline switch to disable it. This special function is needed,
678 because gcc 4.4 and later accept any unknown -Wno-* option and only
679 warn about it if there is another warning in the source file.
683 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-disable-warning, unused-but-set-variable)
685 In the above example, -Wno-unused-but-set-variable will be added to
686 KBUILD_CFLAGS only if gcc really accepts it.
689 cc-ifversion tests the version of $(CC) and equals the fourth parameter
690 if version expression is true, or the fifth (if given) if the version
695 #fs/reiserfs/Makefile
696 ccflags-y := $(call cc-ifversion, -lt, 0402, -O1)
698 In this example, ccflags-y will be assigned the value -O1 if the
699 $(CC) version is less than 4.2.
700 cc-ifversion takes all the shell operators:
701 -eq, -ne, -lt, -le, -gt, and -ge
702 The third parameter may be a text as in this example, but it may also
703 be an expanded variable or a macro.
706 cc-cross-prefix is used to check if there exists a $(CC) in path with
707 one of the listed prefixes. The first prefix where there exist a
708 prefix$(CC) in the PATH is returned - and if no prefix$(CC) is found
709 then nothing is returned.
710 Additional prefixes are separated by a single space in the
711 call of cc-cross-prefix.
712 This functionality is useful for architecture Makefiles that try
713 to set CROSS_COMPILE to well-known values but may have several
714 values to select between.
715 It is recommended only to try to set CROSS_COMPILE if it is a cross
716 build (host arch is different from target arch). And if CROSS_COMPILE
717 is already set then leave it with the old value.
722 ifneq ($(SUBARCH),$(ARCH))
723 ifeq ($(CROSS_COMPILE),)
724 CROSS_COMPILE := $(call cc-cross-prefix, m68k-linux-gnu-)
728 3.14 $(LD) support functions
729 ----------------------------
732 ld-option is used to check if $(LD) supports the supplied option.
733 ld-option takes two options as arguments.
734 The second argument is an optional option that can be used if the
735 first option is not supported by $(LD).
740 LDFLAGS_vmlinux += $(call ld-option, -X)
742 3.15 Script invocation
743 ----------------------
745 Make rules may invoke scripts to build the kernel. The rules shall
746 always provide the appropriate interpreter to execute the script. They
747 shall not rely on the execute bits being set, and shall not invoke the
748 script directly. For the convenience of manual script invocation, such
749 as invoking ./scripts/checkpatch.pl, it is recommended to set execute
750 bits on the scripts nonetheless.
752 Kbuild provides variables $(CONFIG_SHELL), $(AWK), $(PERL),
753 and $(PYTHON3) to refer to interpreters for the respective
759 cmd_depmod = $(CONFIG_SHELL) $(srctree)/scripts/depmod.sh $(DEPMOD) \
762 4 Host Program support
763 ======================
765 Kbuild supports building executables on the host for use during the
767 Two steps are required in order to use a host executable.
769 The first step is to tell kbuild that a host program exists. This is
770 done utilising the variable "hostprogs".
772 The second step is to add an explicit dependency to the executable.
773 This can be done in two ways. Either add the dependency in a rule,
774 or utilise the variable "always-y".
775 Both possibilities are described in the following.
777 4.1 Simple Host Program
778 -----------------------
780 In some cases there is a need to compile and run a program on the
781 computer where the build is running.
782 The following line tells kbuild that the program bin2hex shall be
783 built on the build host.
789 Kbuild assumes in the above example that bin2hex is made from a single
790 c-source file named bin2hex.c located in the same directory as
793 4.2 Composite Host Programs
794 ---------------------------
796 Host programs can be made up based on composite objects.
797 The syntax used to define composite objects for host programs is
798 similar to the syntax used for kernel objects.
799 $(<executable>-objs) lists all objects used to link the final
804 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
805 hostprogs := lxdialog
806 lxdialog-objs := checklist.o lxdialog.o
808 Objects with extension .o are compiled from the corresponding .c
809 files. In the above example, checklist.c is compiled to checklist.o
810 and lxdialog.c is compiled to lxdialog.o.
812 Finally, the two .o files are linked to the executable, lxdialog.
813 Note: The syntax <executable>-y is not permitted for host-programs.
815 4.3 Using C++ for host programs
816 -------------------------------
818 kbuild offers support for host programs written in C++. This was
819 introduced solely to support kconfig, and is not recommended
824 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
826 qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
828 In the example above the executable is composed of the C++ file
829 qconf.cc - identified by $(qconf-cxxobjs).
831 If qconf is composed of a mixture of .c and .cc files, then an
832 additional line can be used to identify this.
836 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
838 qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
839 qconf-objs := check.o
841 4.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
842 --------------------------------------------------
844 When compiling host programs, it is possible to set specific flags.
845 The programs will always be compiled utilising $(HOSTCC) passed
846 the options specified in $(KBUILD_HOSTCFLAGS).
847 To set flags that will take effect for all host programs created
848 in that Makefile, use the variable HOST_EXTRACFLAGS.
852 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
853 HOST_EXTRACFLAGS += -I/usr/include/ncurses
855 To set specific flags for a single file the following construction
860 #arch/ppc64/boot/Makefile
861 HOSTCFLAGS_piggyback.o := -DKERNELBASE=$(KERNELBASE)
863 It is also possible to specify additional options to the linker.
867 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
868 HOSTLDLIBS_qconf := -L$(QTDIR)/lib
870 When linking qconf, it will be passed the extra option
873 4.5 When host programs are actually built
874 -----------------------------------------
876 Kbuild will only build host-programs when they are referenced
878 This is possible in two ways:
880 (1) List the prerequisite explicitly in a custom rule.
884 #drivers/pci/Makefile
885 hostprogs := gen-devlist
886 $(obj)/devlist.h: $(src)/pci.ids $(obj)/gen-devlist
887 ( cd $(obj); ./gen-devlist ) < $<
889 The target $(obj)/devlist.h will not be built before
890 $(obj)/gen-devlist is updated. Note that references to
891 the host programs in custom rules must be prefixed with $(obj).
895 When there is no suitable custom rule, and the host program
896 shall be built when a makefile is entered, the always-y
897 variable shall be used.
901 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
902 hostprogs := lxdialog
903 always-y := $(hostprogs)
905 Kbuild provides the following shorthand for this:
907 hostprogs-always-y := lxdialog
909 This will tell kbuild to build lxdialog even if not referenced in
912 5 Userspace Program support
913 ===========================
915 Just like host programs, Kbuild also supports building userspace executables
916 for the target architecture (i.e. the same architecture as you are building
919 The syntax is quite similar. The difference is to use "userprogs" instead of
922 5.1 Simple Userspace Program
923 ----------------------------
925 The following line tells kbuild that the program bpf-direct shall be
926 built for the target architecture.
930 userprogs := bpf-direct
932 Kbuild assumes in the above example that bpf-direct is made from a
933 single C source file named bpf-direct.c located in the same directory
936 5.2 Composite Userspace Programs
937 --------------------------------
939 Userspace programs can be made up based on composite objects.
940 The syntax used to define composite objects for userspace programs is
941 similar to the syntax used for kernel objects.
942 $(<executable>-objs) lists all objects used to link the final
947 #samples/seccomp/Makefile
948 userprogs := bpf-fancy
949 bpf-fancy-objs := bpf-fancy.o bpf-helper.o
951 Objects with extension .o are compiled from the corresponding .c
952 files. In the above example, bpf-fancy.c is compiled to bpf-fancy.o
953 and bpf-helper.c is compiled to bpf-helper.o.
955 Finally, the two .o files are linked to the executable, bpf-fancy.
956 Note: The syntax <executable>-y is not permitted for userspace programs.
958 5.3 Controlling compiler options for userspace programs
959 -------------------------------------------------------
961 When compiling userspace programs, it is possible to set specific flags.
962 The programs will always be compiled utilising $(CC) passed
963 the options specified in $(KBUILD_USERCFLAGS).
964 To set flags that will take effect for all userspace programs created
965 in that Makefile, use the variable userccflags.
969 # samples/seccomp/Makefile
970 userccflags += -I usr/include
972 To set specific flags for a single file the following construction
977 bpf-helper-userccflags += -I user/include
979 It is also possible to specify additional options to the linker.
983 # net/bpfilter/Makefile
984 bpfilter_umh-userldflags += -static
986 When linking bpfilter_umh, it will be passed the extra option -static.
988 5.4 When userspace programs are actually built
989 ----------------------------------------------
991 Kbuild builds userspace programs only when told to do so.
992 There are two ways to do this.
994 (1) Add it as the prerequisite of another file
998 #net/bpfilter/Makefile
999 userprogs := bpfilter_umh
1000 $(obj)/bpfilter_umh_blob.o: $(obj)/bpfilter_umh
1002 $(obj)/bpfilter_umh is built before $(obj)/bpfilter_umh_blob.o
1008 userprogs := binderfs_example
1009 always-y := $(userprogs)
1011 Kbuild provides the following shorthand for this:
1013 userprogs-always-y := binderfs_example
1015 This will tell Kbuild to build binderfs_example when it visits this
1018 6 Kbuild clean infrastructure
1019 =============================
1021 "make clean" deletes most generated files in the obj tree where the kernel
1022 is compiled. This includes generated files such as host programs.
1023 Kbuild knows targets listed in $(hostprogs), $(always-y), $(always-m),
1024 $(always-), $(extra-y), $(extra-) and $(targets). They are all deleted
1025 during "make clean". Files matching the patterns "*.[oas]", "*.ko", plus
1026 some additional files generated by kbuild are deleted all over the kernel
1027 source tree when "make clean" is executed.
1029 Additional files or directories can be specified in kbuild makefiles by use of
1035 clean-files := crc32table.h
1037 When executing "make clean", the file "crc32table.h" will be deleted.
1038 Kbuild will assume files to be in the same relative directory as the
1039 Makefile, except if prefixed with $(objtree).
1041 To exclude certain files or directories from make clean, use the
1042 $(no-clean-files) variable.
1044 Usually kbuild descends down in subdirectories due to "obj-* := dir/",
1045 but in the architecture makefiles where the kbuild infrastructure
1046 is not sufficient this sometimes needs to be explicit.
1050 #arch/x86/boot/Makefile
1051 subdir- := compressed
1053 The above assignment instructs kbuild to descend down in the
1054 directory compressed/ when "make clean" is executed.
1056 To support the clean infrastructure in the Makefiles that build the
1057 final bootimage there is an optional target named archclean:
1063 $(Q)$(MAKE) $(clean)=arch/x86/boot
1065 When "make clean" is executed, make will descend down in arch/x86/boot,
1066 and clean as usual. The Makefile located in arch/x86/boot/ may use
1067 the subdir- trick to descend further down.
1069 Note 1: arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile cannot use "subdir-", because that file is
1070 included in the top level makefile, and the kbuild infrastructure
1071 is not operational at that point.
1073 Note 2: All directories listed in core-y, libs-y, drivers-y and net-y will
1074 be visited during "make clean".
1076 7 Architecture Makefiles
1077 ========================
1079 The top level Makefile sets up the environment and does the preparation,
1080 before starting to descend down in the individual directories.
1081 The top level makefile contains the generic part, whereas
1082 arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile contains what is required to set up kbuild
1083 for said architecture.
1084 To do so, arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile sets up a number of variables and defines
1087 When kbuild executes, the following steps are followed (roughly):
1089 1) Configuration of the kernel => produce .config
1090 2) Store kernel version in include/linux/version.h
1091 3) Updating all other prerequisites to the target prepare:
1092 - Additional prerequisites are specified in arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile
1093 4) Recursively descend down in all directories listed in
1094 init-* core* drivers-* net-* libs-* and build all targets.
1095 - The values of the above variables are expanded in arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile.
1096 5) All object files are then linked and the resulting file vmlinux is
1097 located at the root of the obj tree.
1098 The very first objects linked are listed in head-y, assigned by
1099 arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile.
1100 6) Finally, the architecture-specific part does any required post processing
1101 and builds the final bootimage.
1102 - This includes building boot records
1103 - Preparing initrd images and the like
1106 7.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
1107 --------------------------------------------------------
1110 Generic $(LD) options
1112 Flags used for all invocations of the linker.
1113 Often specifying the emulation is sufficient.
1118 KBUILD_LDFLAGS := -m elf_s390
1120 Note: ldflags-y can be used to further customise
1121 the flags used. See section 3.7.
1124 Options for $(LD) when linking vmlinux
1126 LDFLAGS_vmlinux is used to specify additional flags to pass to
1127 the linker when linking the final vmlinux image.
1128 LDFLAGS_vmlinux uses the LDFLAGS_$@ support.
1133 LDFLAGS_vmlinux := -e stext
1138 When $(call if_changed,objcopy) is used to translate a .o file,
1139 the flags specified in OBJCOPYFLAGS will be used.
1140 $(call if_changed,objcopy) is often used to generate raw binaries on
1146 OBJCOPYFLAGS := -O binary
1148 #arch/s390/boot/Makefile
1149 $(obj)/image: vmlinux FORCE
1150 $(call if_changed,objcopy)
1152 In this example, the binary $(obj)/image is a binary version of
1153 vmlinux. The usage of $(call if_changed,xxx) will be described later.
1158 Default value - see top level Makefile
1159 Append or modify as required per architecture.
1163 #arch/sparc64/Makefile
1164 KBUILD_AFLAGS += -m64 -mcpu=ultrasparc
1167 $(CC) compiler flags
1169 Default value - see top level Makefile
1170 Append or modify as required per architecture.
1172 Often, the KBUILD_CFLAGS variable depends on the configuration.
1176 #arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
1177 cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_32) := -march=i386
1178 cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_64) := -mcmodel=small
1179 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(cflags-y)
1181 Many arch Makefiles dynamically run the target C compiler to
1182 probe supported options::
1187 cflags-$(CONFIG_MPENTIUMII) += $(call cc-option,\
1188 -march=pentium2,-march=i686)
1190 # Disable unit-at-a-time mode ...
1191 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-option,-fno-unit-at-a-time)
1195 The first example utilises the trick that a config option expands
1196 to 'y' when selected.
1198 KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL
1199 Assembler options specific for built-in
1201 $(KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
1202 resident kernel code.
1204 KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE
1205 Assembler options specific for modules
1207 $(KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
1208 are used for assembler.
1210 From commandline AFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.rst).
1212 KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL
1213 $(CC) options specific for built-in
1215 $(KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
1216 resident kernel code.
1218 KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE
1219 Options for $(CC) when building modules
1221 $(KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
1223 From commandline CFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.rst).
1225 KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE
1226 Options for $(LD) when linking modules
1228 $(KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options
1229 used when linking modules. This is often a linker script.
1231 From commandline LDFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.rst).
1235 The linker script with full path. Assigned by the top-level Makefile.
1239 The module linker script with full path. Assigned by the top-level
1240 Makefile and additionally by the arch Makefile.
1244 All object files for vmlinux. They are linked to vmlinux in the same
1245 order as listed in KBUILD_VMLINUX_OBJS.
1249 All .a "lib" files for vmlinux. KBUILD_VMLINUX_OBJS and
1250 KBUILD_VMLINUX_LIBS together specify all the object files used to
1253 7.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders
1254 ------------------------------------
1256 The archheaders: rule is used to generate header files that
1257 may be installed into user space by "make header_install".
1259 It is run before "make archprepare" when run on the
1260 architecture itself.
1263 7.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare
1264 ------------------------------------
1266 The archprepare: rule is used to list prerequisites that need to be
1267 built before starting to descend down in the subdirectories.
1268 This is usually used for header files containing assembler constants.
1273 archprepare: maketools
1275 In this example, the file target maketools will be processed
1276 before descending down in the subdirectories.
1277 See also chapter XXX-TODO that describes how kbuild supports
1278 generating offset header files.
1281 7.4 List directories to visit when descending
1282 ---------------------------------------------
1284 An arch Makefile cooperates with the top Makefile to define variables
1285 which specify how to build the vmlinux file. Note that there is no
1286 corresponding arch-specific section for modules; the module-building
1287 machinery is all architecture-independent.
1290 head-y, core-y, libs-y, drivers-y
1291 $(head-y) lists objects to be linked first in vmlinux.
1293 $(libs-y) lists directories where a lib.a archive can be located.
1295 The rest list directories where a built-in.a object file can be
1298 Then the rest follows in this order:
1300 $(core-y), $(libs-y), $(drivers-y)
1302 The top level Makefile defines values for all generic directories,
1303 and arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile only adds architecture-specific
1308 # arch/sparc/Makefile
1309 core-y += arch/sparc/
1311 libs-y += arch/sparc/prom/
1312 libs-y += arch/sparc/lib/
1314 drivers-$(CONFIG_PM) += arch/sparc/power/
1316 7.5 Architecture-specific boot images
1317 -------------------------------------
1319 An arch Makefile specifies goals that take the vmlinux file, compress
1320 it, wrap it in bootstrapping code, and copy the resulting files
1321 somewhere. This includes various kinds of installation commands.
1322 The actual goals are not standardized across architectures.
1324 It is common to locate any additional processing in a boot/
1325 directory below arch/$(SRCARCH)/.
1327 Kbuild does not provide any smart way to support building a
1328 target specified in boot/. Therefore arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile shall
1329 call make manually to build a target in boot/.
1331 The recommended approach is to include shortcuts in
1332 arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile, and use the full path when calling down
1333 into the arch/$(SRCARCH)/boot/Makefile.
1338 boot := arch/x86/boot
1340 $(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=$(boot) $(boot)/$@
1342 "$(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=<dir>" is the recommended way to invoke
1343 make in a subdirectory.
1345 There are no rules for naming architecture-specific targets,
1346 but executing "make help" will list all relevant targets.
1347 To support this, $(archhelp) must be defined.
1353 echo '* bzImage - Compressed kernel image (arch/x86/boot/bzImage)'
1356 When make is executed without arguments, the first goal encountered
1357 will be built. In the top level Makefile the first goal present
1359 An architecture shall always, per default, build a bootable image.
1360 In "make help", the default goal is highlighted with a '*'.
1361 Add a new prerequisite to all: to select a default goal different
1369 When "make" is executed without arguments, bzImage will be built.
1371 7.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
1372 ---------------------------------------------
1374 Kbuild provides a few macros that are useful when building a
1378 Link target. Often, LDFLAGS_$@ is used to set specific options to ld.
1382 #arch/x86/boot/Makefile
1383 LDFLAGS_bootsect := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary
1384 LDFLAGS_setup := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary -e begtext
1386 targets += setup setup.o bootsect bootsect.o
1387 $(obj)/setup $(obj)/bootsect: %: %.o FORCE
1388 $(call if_changed,ld)
1390 In this example, there are two possible targets, requiring different
1391 options to the linker. The linker options are specified using the
1392 LDFLAGS_$@ syntax - one for each potential target.
1393 $(targets) are assigned all potential targets, by which kbuild knows
1394 the targets and will:
1396 1) check for commandline changes
1397 2) delete target during make clean
1399 The ": %: %.o" part of the prerequisite is a shorthand that
1400 frees us from listing the setup.o and bootsect.o files.
1403 It is a common mistake to forget the "targets :=" assignment,
1404 resulting in the target file being recompiled for no
1408 Copy binary. Uses OBJCOPYFLAGS usually specified in
1409 arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile.
1410 OBJCOPYFLAGS_$@ may be used to set additional options.
1413 Compress target. Use maximum compression to compress target.
1417 #arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
1418 $(obj)/vmlinux.bin.gz: $(vmlinux.bin.all-y) FORCE
1419 $(call if_changed,gzip)
1422 Create flattened device tree blob object suitable for linking
1423 into vmlinux. Device tree blobs linked into vmlinux are placed
1424 in an init section in the image. Platform code *must* copy the
1425 blob to non-init memory prior to calling unflatten_device_tree().
1427 To use this command, simply add `*.dtb` into obj-y or targets, or make
1428 some other target depend on `%.dtb`
1430 A central rule exists to create `$(obj)/%.dtb` from `$(src)/%.dts`;
1431 architecture Makefiles do no need to explicitly write out that rule.
1436 DTC_FLAGS ?= -p 1024
1438 7.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
1439 --------------------------------
1441 When the vmlinux image is built, the linker script
1442 arch/$(SRCARCH)/kernel/vmlinux.lds is used.
1443 The script is a preprocessed variant of the file vmlinux.lds.S
1444 located in the same directory.
1445 kbuild knows .lds files and includes a rule `*lds.S` -> `*lds`.
1449 #arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
1450 extra-y := vmlinux.lds
1452 The assignment to extra-y is used to tell kbuild to build the
1454 The assignment to $(CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds) tells kbuild to use the
1455 specified options when building the target vmlinux.lds.
1457 When building the `*.lds` target, kbuild uses the variables::
1459 KBUILD_CPPFLAGS : Set in top-level Makefile
1460 cppflags-y : May be set in the kbuild makefile
1461 CPPFLAGS_$(@F) : Target-specific flags.
1462 Note that the full filename is used in this
1465 The kbuild infrastructure for `*lds` files is used in several
1466 architecture-specific files.
1468 7.10 Generic header files
1469 -------------------------
1471 The directory include/asm-generic contains the header files
1472 that may be shared between individual architectures.
1473 The recommended approach how to use a generic header file is
1474 to list the file in the Kbuild file.
1475 See "8.2 generic-y" for further info on syntax etc.
1480 If the file arch/xxx/Makefile.postlink exists, this makefile
1481 will be invoked for post-link objects (vmlinux and modules.ko)
1482 for architectures to run post-link passes on. Must also handle
1485 This pass runs after kallsyms generation. If the architecture
1486 needs to modify symbol locations, rather than manipulate the
1487 kallsyms, it may be easier to add another postlink target for
1488 .tmp_vmlinux? targets to be called from link-vmlinux.sh.
1490 For example, powerpc uses this to check relocation sanity of
1491 the linked vmlinux file.
1493 8 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
1494 ------------------------------------
1496 The kernel includes a set of headers that is exported to userspace.
1497 Many headers can be exported as-is but other headers require a
1498 minimal pre-processing before they are ready for user-space.
1499 The pre-processing does:
1501 - drop kernel-specific annotations
1502 - drop include of compiler.h
1503 - drop all sections that are kernel internal (guarded by `ifdef __KERNEL__`)
1505 All headers under include/uapi/, include/generated/uapi/,
1506 arch/<arch>/include/uapi/ and arch/<arch>/include/generated/uapi/
1509 A Kbuild file may be defined under arch/<arch>/include/uapi/asm/ and
1510 arch/<arch>/include/asm/ to list asm files coming from asm-generic.
1511 See subsequent chapter for the syntax of the Kbuild file.
1513 8.1 no-export-headers
1514 ---------------------
1516 no-export-headers is essentially used by include/uapi/linux/Kbuild to
1517 avoid exporting specific headers (e.g. kvm.h) on architectures that do
1518 not support it. It should be avoided as much as possible.
1523 If an architecture uses a verbatim copy of a header from
1524 include/asm-generic then this is listed in the file
1525 arch/$(SRCARCH)/include/asm/Kbuild like this:
1529 #arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1530 generic-y += termios.h
1533 During the prepare phase of the build a wrapper include
1534 file is generated in the directory::
1536 arch/$(SRCARCH)/include/generated/asm
1538 When a header is exported where the architecture uses
1539 the generic header a similar wrapper is generated as part
1540 of the set of exported headers in the directory::
1544 The generated wrapper will in both cases look like the following:
1546 Example: termios.h::
1548 #include <asm-generic/termios.h>
1553 If an architecture generates other header files alongside generic-y
1554 wrappers, generated-y specifies them.
1556 This prevents them being treated as stale asm-generic wrappers and
1561 #arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1562 generated-y += syscalls_32.h
1567 mandatory-y is essentially used by include/(uapi/)asm-generic/Kbuild
1568 to define the minimum set of ASM headers that all architectures must have.
1570 This works like optional generic-y. If a mandatory header is missing
1571 in arch/$(SRCARCH)/include/(uapi/)/asm, Kbuild will automatically
1572 generate a wrapper of the asm-generic one.
1577 The top Makefile exports the following variables:
1579 VERSION, PATCHLEVEL, SUBLEVEL, EXTRAVERSION
1580 These variables define the current kernel version. A few arch
1581 Makefiles actually use these values directly; they should use
1582 $(KERNELRELEASE) instead.
1584 $(VERSION), $(PATCHLEVEL), and $(SUBLEVEL) define the basic
1585 three-part version number, such as "2", "4", and "0". These three
1586 values are always numeric.
1588 $(EXTRAVERSION) defines an even tinier sublevel for pre-patches
1589 or additional patches. It is usually some non-numeric string
1590 such as "-pre4", and is often blank.
1593 $(KERNELRELEASE) is a single string such as "2.4.0-pre4", suitable
1594 for constructing installation directory names or showing in
1595 version strings. Some arch Makefiles use it for this purpose.
1598 This variable defines the target architecture, such as "i386",
1599 "arm", or "sparc". Some kbuild Makefiles test $(ARCH) to
1600 determine which files to compile.
1602 By default, the top Makefile sets $(ARCH) to be the same as the
1603 host system architecture. For a cross build, a user may
1604 override the value of $(ARCH) on the command line::
1609 This variable specifies the directory in arch/ to build.
1611 ARCH and SRCARCH may not necessarily match. A couple of arch
1612 directories are biarch, that is, a single `arch/*/` directory supports
1613 both 32-bit and 64-bit.
1615 For example, you can pass in ARCH=i386, ARCH=x86_64, or ARCH=x86.
1616 For all of them, SRCARCH=x86 because arch/x86/ supports both i386 and
1620 This variable defines a place for the arch Makefiles to install
1621 the resident kernel image and System.map file.
1622 Use this for architecture-specific install targets.
1624 INSTALL_MOD_PATH, MODLIB
1625 $(INSTALL_MOD_PATH) specifies a prefix to $(MODLIB) for module
1626 installation. This variable is not defined in the Makefile but
1627 may be passed in by the user if desired.
1629 $(MODLIB) specifies the directory for module installation.
1630 The top Makefile defines $(MODLIB) to
1631 $(INSTALL_MOD_PATH)/lib/modules/$(KERNELRELEASE). The user may
1632 override this value on the command line if desired.
1635 If this variable is specified, it will cause modules to be stripped
1636 after they are installed. If INSTALL_MOD_STRIP is '1', then the
1637 default option --strip-debug will be used. Otherwise, the
1638 INSTALL_MOD_STRIP value will be used as the option(s) to the strip
1642 10 Makefile language
1643 ====================
1645 The kernel Makefiles are designed to be run with GNU Make. The Makefiles
1646 use only the documented features of GNU Make, but they do use many
1649 GNU Make supports elementary list-processing functions. The kernel
1650 Makefiles use a novel style of list building and manipulation with few
1653 GNU Make has two assignment operators, ":=" and "=". ":=" performs
1654 immediate evaluation of the right-hand side and stores an actual string
1655 into the left-hand side. "=" is like a formula definition; it stores the
1656 right-hand side in an unevaluated form and then evaluates this form each
1657 time the left-hand side is used.
1659 There are some cases where "=" is appropriate. Usually, though, ":="
1660 is the right choice.
1665 - Original version made by Michael Elizabeth Chastain, <mailto:mec@shout.net>
1666 - Updates by Kai Germaschewski <kai@tp1.ruhr-uni-bochum.de>
1667 - Updates by Sam Ravnborg <sam@ravnborg.org>
1668 - Language QA by Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@gmx.de>
1673 - Describe how kbuild supports shipped files with _shipped.
1674 - Generating offset header files.
1675 - Add more variables to chapters 7 or 9?