1 GNU make NEWS -*-indented-text-*-
2 History of user-visible changes.
5 See the end of this file for copyrights and conditions.
7 All user-visible changes are more fully described in the GNU make manual,
8 which is contained in this distribution as the file doc/make.texi.
9 See the README file and the GNU make manual for instructions for
12 Version 4.3 (19 Jan 2020)
14 A complete list of bugs fixed in this version is available here:
16 https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?group=make&report_id=111&fix_release_id=108&set=custom
18 * WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
19 Number signs (#) appearing inside a macro reference or function invocation
20 no longer introduce comments and should not be escaped with backslashes:
22 foo := $(shell echo '#')
23 is legal. Previously the number sign needed to be escaped, for example:
24 foo := $(shell echo '\#')
25 Now this latter will resolve to "\#". If you want to write makefiles
26 portable to both versions, assign the number sign to a variable:
28 foo := $(shell echo '$H')
29 This was claimed to be fixed in 3.81, but wasn't, for some reason.
30 To detect this change search for 'nocomment' in the .FEATURES variable.
32 * WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
33 Previously appending using '+=' to an empty variable would result in a value
34 starting with a space. Now the initial space is only added if the variable
35 already contains some value. Similarly, appending an empty string does not
38 * NOTE: Deprecated behavior.
39 Contrary to the documentation, suffix rules with prerequisites are being
40 treated BOTH as simple targets AND as pattern rules. Further, the
41 prerequisites are ignored by the pattern rules. POSIX specifies that in
42 order to be a suffix rule there can be no prerequisites defined. In this
43 release if POSIX mode is enabled then rules with prerequisites cannot be
44 suffix rules. If POSIX mode is not enabled then the previous behavior is
45 preserved (a pattern rule with no extra prerequisites is created) AND a
46 warning about this behavior is generated:
47 warning: ignoring prerequisites on suffix rule definition
48 The POSIX behavior will be adopted as the only behavior in a future release
49 of GNU make so please resolve any warnings.
51 * New feature: Grouped explicit targets
52 Pattern rules have always had the ability to generate multiple targets with
53 a single invocation of the recipe. It's now possible to declare that an
54 explicit rule generates multiple targets with a single invocation. To use
55 this, replace the ":" token with "&:" in the rule. To detect this feature
56 search for 'grouped-target' in the .FEATURES special variable.
57 Implementation contributed by Kaz Kylheku <kaz@kylheku.com>
59 * New feature: .EXTRA_PREREQS variable
60 Words in this variable are considered prerequisites of targets but they are
61 not added to any of the automatic variable values when expanding the
62 recipe. This variable can either be global (applies to all targets) or
63 a target-specific variable. To detect this feature search for 'extra-prereqs'
64 in the .FEATURES special variable.
65 Implementation contributed by Christof Warlich <cwarlich@gmx.de>
67 * Makefiles can now specify the '-j' option in their MAKEFLAGS variable and
68 this will cause make to enable that parallelism mode.
70 * GNU make will now use posix_spawn() on systems where it is available.
71 If you prefer to use fork/exec even on systems where posix_spawn() is
72 present, you can use the --disable-posix-spawn option to configure.
73 Implementation contributed by Aron Barath <baratharon@caesar.elte.hu>
75 * Error messages printed when invoking non-existent commands have been cleaned
76 up and made consistent.
78 * The previous limit of 63 jobs under -jN on MS-Windows is now
79 increased to 4095. That limit includes the subprocess started by
80 the $(shell) function.
82 * A new option --no-silent has been added, that cancels the effect of the
83 -s/--silent/--quiet flag.
85 * A new option -E has been added as a short alias for --eval.
87 * All wildcard expansion within GNU make, including $(wildcard ...), will sort
88 the results. See https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?52076
90 * Interoperate with newer GNU libc and musl C runtime libraries.
92 * Performance improvements provided by Paolo Bonzini <pbonzini@redhat.com>
94 GNU make Developer News
96 * Import the GNU standard bootstrap script to replace the hand-rolled
97 "make update" method for building code from a GNU make Git repository.
99 * Rework the source distribution to move source files into the src/*
100 subdirectory. This aligns with modern best practices in GNU.
102 * Replace local portability code with Gnulib content. Unfortunately due to a
103 problem with Gnulib support for getloadavg, this forces a requirement on
104 Automake 1.16 or above in order to build from Git. See README.git.
107 Version 4.2.1 (10 Jun 2016)
109 A complete list of bugs fixed in this version is available here:
111 https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?group=make&report_id=111&fix_release_id=107&set=custom
113 This release is a bug-fix release.
116 Version 4.2 (22 May 2016)
118 A complete list of bugs fixed in this version is available here:
120 https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?group=make&report_id=111&fix_release_id=106&set=custom
122 * New variable: $(.SHELLSTATUS) is set to the exit status of the last != or
123 $(shell ...) function invoked in this instance of make. This will be "0" if
124 successful or not "0" if not successful. The variable value is unset if no
125 != or $(shell ...) function has been invoked.
127 * The $(file ...) function can now read from a file with $(file <FILE).
128 The function is expanded to the contents of the file. The contents are
129 expanded verbatim except that the final newline, if any, is stripped.
131 * The makefile line numbers shown by GNU make now point directly to the
132 specific line in the recipe where the failure or warning occurred.
133 Sample changes suggested by Brian Vandenberg <phantall@gmail.com>
135 * The interface to GNU make's "jobserver" is stable as documented in the
136 manual, for tools which may want to access it.
138 WARNING: Backward-incompatibility! The internal-only command line option
139 --jobserver-fds has been renamed for publishing, to --jobserver-auth.
141 * The amount of parallelism can be determined by querying MAKEFLAGS, even when
142 the job server is enabled (previously MAKEFLAGS would always contain only
143 "-j", with no number, when job server was enabled).
145 * VMS-specific changes:
147 * Perl test harness now works.
149 * Full support for converting Unix exit status codes to VMS exit status
150 codes. BACKWARD INCOMPATIBILITY Notice: On a child failure the VMS exit
151 code is now the encoded Unix exit status that Make usually generates, not
152 the VMS exit status of the child.
155 Version 4.1 (05 Oct 2014)
157 A complete list of bugs fixed in this version is available here:
159 https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?group=make&report_id=111&fix_release_id=105&set=custom
161 * New variables: $(MAKE_TERMOUT) and $(MAKE_TERMERR) are set to non-empty
162 values if stdout or stderr, respectively, are believed to be writing to a
163 terminal. These variables are exported by default.
165 * Allow a no-text-argument form of the $(file ...) function. Without a text
166 argument nothing is written to the file: it is simply opened in the
167 requested mode, then closed again.
169 * Change the fatal error for mixed explicit and implicit rules, that was
170 introduced in GNU make 3.82, to a non-fatal error. However, this syntax is
171 still deprecated and may return to being illegal in a future version of GNU
172 make. Makefiles that rely on this syntax should be fixed.
173 See https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?33034
175 * VMS-specific changes:
177 * Support for library files added, including support for using the GNV ar
180 * Partial support for properly encoding Unix exit status codes into VMS exit
183 WARNING: Backward-incompatibility! These are different exit status codes
184 than Make exited with in the past.
186 * Macros to hold the current make command are set up to translate the
187 argv[0] string to a VMS format path name and prefix it with "MCR " so that
188 the macro has a space in it.
190 WARNING: Backward-incompatibility! This may break complex makefiles that
191 do processing on those macros. This is unlikely because so much in that
192 area was not and is still not currently working on VMS, it is unlikely to
193 find such a complex makefile, so this is more likely to impact
194 construction of a future makefile.
196 * A command file is always used to run the commands for a recipe.
198 WARNING: Backward-incompatibility! Running the make self tests has
199 exposed that there are significant differences in behavior when running
200 with the command file mode. It is unknown if this will be noticed by most
201 existing VMS makefiles.
203 Version 4.0 (09 Oct 2013)
205 A complete list of bugs fixed in this version is available here:
207 https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?group=make&report_id=111&fix_release_id=101&set=custom
209 * WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
210 If .POSIX is specified, then make adheres to the POSIX backslash/newline
211 handling requirements, which introduces the following changes to the
212 standard backslash/newline handling in non-recipe lines:
213 * Any trailing space before the backslash is preserved
214 * Each backslash/newline (plus subsequent whitespace) is converted to a
217 * New feature: GNU Guile integration
218 This version of GNU make can be compiled with GNU Guile integration.
219 GNU Guile serves as an embedded extension language for make.
220 See the "Guile Function" section in the GNU Make manual for details.
221 Currently GNU Guile 1.8 and 2.0+ are supported. In Guile 1.8 there is no
222 support for internationalized character sets. In Guile 2.0+, scripts can be
225 * New command line option: --output-sync (-O) enables grouping of output by
226 target or by recursive make. This is useful during parallel builds to avoid
227 mixing output from different jobs together giving hard-to-understand
228 results. Original implementation by David Boyce <dsb@boyski.com>.
229 Reworked and enhanced by Frank Heckenbach <f.heckenbach@fh-soft.de>.
230 Windows support by Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>.
232 * New command line option: --trace enables tracing of targets. When enabled
233 the recipe to be invoked is printed even if it would otherwise be suppressed
234 by .SILENT or a "@" prefix character. Also before each recipe is run the
235 makefile name and linenumber where it was defined are shown as well as the
236 prerequisites that caused the target to be considered out of date.
238 * New command line option argument: --debug now accepts a "n" (none) flag
239 which disables all debugging settings that are currently enabled.
241 * New feature: The "job server" capability is now supported on Windows.
242 Implementation contributed by Troy Runkel <Troy.Runkel@mathworks.com>
244 * New feature: The .ONESHELL capability is now supported on Windows. Support
245 added by Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>.
247 * New feature: "!=" shell assignment operator as an alternative to the
248 $(shell ...) function. Implemented for compatibility with BSD makefiles.
249 Note there are subtle differences between "!=" and $(shell ...). See the
250 description in the GNU make manual.
251 WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
252 Variables ending in "!" previously defined as "variable!= value" will now be
253 interpreted as shell assignment. Change your assignment to add whitespace
254 between the "!" and "=": "variable! = value"
256 * New feature: "::=" simple assignment operator as defined by POSIX in 2012.
257 This operator has identical functionality to ":=" in GNU make, but will be
258 portable to any implementation of make conforming to a sufficiently new
259 version of POSIX (see http://austingroupbugs.net/view.php?id=330). It is
260 not necessary to define the .POSIX target to access this operator.
262 * New feature: Loadable objects
263 This version of GNU make contains a "technology preview": the ability to
264 load dynamic objects into the make runtime. These objects can be created by
265 the user and can add extended functionality, usable by makefiles.
267 * New function: $(file ...) writes to a file.
269 * New variable: $(GNUMAKEFLAGS) will be parsed for make flags, just like
270 MAKEFLAGS is. It can be set in the environment or the makefile, containing
271 GNU make-specific flags to allow your makefile to be portable to other
272 versions of make. Once this variable is parsed, GNU make will set it to the
273 empty string so that flags will not be duplicated on recursion.
275 * New variable: `MAKE_HOST' gives the name of the host architecture
276 make was compiled for. This is the same value you see after 'Built for'
277 when running 'make --version'.
279 * Behavior of MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS is more rigorously defined. All simple
280 flags are grouped together in the first word of MAKEFLAGS. No options that
281 accept arguments appear in the first word. If no simple flags are present
282 MAKEFLAGS begins with a space. Flags with both short and long versions
283 always use the short versions in MAKEFLAGS. Flags are listed in
284 alphabetical order using ASCII ordering. MFLAGS never begins with "- ".
286 * Setting the -r and -R options in MAKEFLAGS inside a makefile now works as
287 expected, removing all built-in rules and variables, respectively.
289 * If a recipe fails, the makefile name and linenumber of the recipe are shown.
291 * A .RECIPEPREFIX setting is remembered per-recipe and variables expanded
292 in that recipe also use that recipe prefix setting.
294 * In -p output, .RECIPEPREFIX settings are shown and all target-specific
295 variables are output as if in a makefile, instead of as comments.
297 * On MS-Windows, recipes that use ".." quoting will no longer force
298 invocation of commands via temporary batch files and stock Windows
299 shells, they will be short-circuited and invoked directly. (In
300 other words, " is no longer a special character for stock Windows
301 shells.) This avoids hitting shell limits for command length when
302 quotes are used, but nothing else in the command requires the shell.
303 This change could potentially mean some minor incompatibilities in
304 behavior when the recipe uses quoted string on shell command lines.
307 Version 3.82 (28 Jul 2010)
309 A complete list of bugs fixed in this version is available here:
311 https://sv.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?group=make&report_id=111&fix_release_id=104&set=custom
313 * Compiling GNU make now requires a conforming ISO C 1989 compiler and
314 standard runtime library.
316 * WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
317 The POSIX standard for make was changed in the 2008 version in a
318 fundamentally incompatible way: make is required to invoke the shell as if
319 the '-e' flag were provided. Because this would break many makefiles that
320 have been written to conform to the original text of the standard, the
321 default behavior of GNU make remains to invoke the shell with simply '-c'.
322 However, any makefile specifying the .POSIX special target will follow the
323 new POSIX standard and pass '-e' to the shell. See also .SHELLFLAGS
326 * WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
327 The '$?' variable now contains all prerequisites that caused the target to
328 be considered out of date, even if they do not exist (previously only
329 existing targets were provided in $?).
331 * WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
332 Wildcards were not documented as returning sorted values, but the results
333 have been sorted up until this release.. If your makefiles require sorted
334 results from wildcard expansions, use the $(sort ...) function to request
337 * WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
338 As a result of parser enhancements, three backward-compatibility issues
339 exist: first, a prerequisite containing an "=" cannot be escaped with a
340 backslash any longer. You must create a variable containing an "=" and
341 use that variable in the prerequisite. Second, variable names can no
342 longer contain whitespace, unless you put the whitespace in a variable and
343 use the variable. Third, in previous versions of make it was sometimes
344 not flagged as an error for explicit and pattern targets to appear in the
345 same rule. Now this is always reported as an error.
347 * WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
348 The pattern-specific variables and pattern rules are now applied in the
349 shortest stem first order instead of the definition order (variables
350 and rules with the same stem length are still applied in the definition
351 order). This produces the usually-desired behavior where more specific
352 patterns are preferred. To detect this feature search for 'shortest-stem'
353 in the .FEATURES special variable.
355 * WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
356 The library search behavior has changed to be compatible with the standard
357 linker behavior. Prior to this version for prerequisites specified using
358 the -lfoo syntax make first searched for libfoo.so in the current
359 directory, vpath directories, and system directories. If that didn't yield
360 a match, make then searched for libfoo.a in these directories. Starting
361 with this version make searches first for libfoo.so and then for libfoo.a
362 in each of these directories in order.
364 * New command line option: --eval=STRING causes STRING to be evaluated as
365 makefile syntax (akin to using the $(eval ...) function). The evaluation
366 is performed after all default rules and variables are defined, but before
367 any makefiles are read.
369 * New special variable: .RECIPEPREFIX allows you to reset the recipe
370 introduction character from the default (TAB) to something else. The
371 first character of this variable value is the new recipe introduction
372 character. If the variable is set to the empty string, TAB is used again.
373 It can be set and reset at will; recipes will use the value active when
374 they were first parsed. To detect this feature check the value of
377 * New special variable: .SHELLFLAGS allows you to change the options passed
378 to the shell when it invokes recipes. By default the value will be "-c"
379 (or "-ec" if .POSIX is set).
381 * New special target: .ONESHELL instructs make to invoke a single instance
382 of the shell and provide it with the entire recipe, regardless of how many
383 lines it contains. As a special feature to allow more straightforward
384 conversion of makefiles to use .ONESHELL, any recipe line control
385 characters ('@', '+', or '-') will be removed from the second and
386 subsequent recipe lines. This happens _only_ if the SHELL value is deemed
387 to be a standard POSIX-style shell. If not, then no interior line control
388 characters are removed (as they may be part of the scripting language used
389 with the alternate SHELL).
391 * New variable modifier 'private': prefixing a variable assignment with the
392 modifier 'private' suppresses inheritance of that variable by
393 prerequisites. This is most useful for target- and pattern-specific
396 * New make directive: 'undefine' allows you to undefine a variable so that
397 it appears as if it was never set. Both $(flavor) and $(origin) functions
398 will return 'undefined' for such a variable. To detect this feature search
399 for 'undefine' in the .FEATURES special variable.
401 * The parser for variable assignments has been enhanced to allow multiple
402 modifiers ('export', 'override', 'private') on the same line as variables,
403 including define/endef variables, and in any order. Also, it is possible
404 to create variables and targets named as these modifiers.
406 * The 'define' make directive now allows a variable assignment operator
407 after the variable name, to allow for simple, conditional, or appending
408 multi-line variable assignment.
410 * VMS-specific changes:
412 * Michael Gehre (at VISTEC-SEMI dot COM) supplied a fix for a problem with
413 timestamps of object modules in OLBs. The timestamps were not correctly
414 adjusted to GMT based time, if the local VMS time was using a daylight
415 saving algorithm and if daylight saving was switched off.
417 * John Eisenbraun (at HP dot COM) supplied fixes and and an enhancement to
418 append output redirection in action lines.
420 * Rework of ctrl+c and ctrl+y handling.
422 * Fix a problem with cached strings, which showed on case-insensitive file
425 * Build fixes for const-ified code in VMS specific sources.
427 * A note on appending the redirected output. With this change, a simple
428 mechanism is implemented to make ">>" work in action lines. In VMS
429 there is no simple feature like ">>" to have DCL command or program
430 output redirected and appended to a file. GNU make for VMS already
431 implements the redirection of output. If such a redirection is detected,
432 an ">" on the action line, GNU make creates a DCL command procedure to
433 execute the action and to redirect its output. Based on that, now ">>"
434 is also recognized and a similar but different command procedure is
435 created to implement the append. The main idea here is to create a
436 temporary file which collects the output and which is appended to the
437 wanted output file. Then the temporary file is deleted. This is all done
438 in the command procedure to keep changes in make small and simple. This
439 obviously has some limitations but it seems good enough compared with
440 the current ">" implementation. (And in my opinion, redirection is not
441 really what GNU make has to do.) With this approach, it may happen that
442 the temporary file is not yet appended and is left in SYS$SCRATCH.
443 The temporary file names look like "CMDxxxxx.". Any time the created
444 command procedure can not complete, this happens. Pressing Ctrl+Y to
445 abort make is one case. In case of Ctrl+Y the associated command
446 procedure is left in SYS$SCRATCH as well. Its name is CMDxxxxx.COM.
448 * Change in the Ctrl+Y handling. The CtrlY handler now uses $delprc to
449 delete all children. This way also actions with DCL commands will be
450 stopped. As before the CtrlY handler then sends SIGQUIT to itself,
451 which is handled in common code.
453 * Change in deleteing temporary command files. Temporary command files
454 are now deleted in the vms child termination handler. That deletes
455 them even if a Ctrl+C was pressed.
457 * The behavior of pressing Ctrl+C is not changed. It still has only an
458 effect, after the current action is terminated. If that doesn't happen
459 or takes too long, Ctrl+Y should be used instead.
462 Version 3.81 (01 Apr 2006)
464 * GNU make is ported to OS/2.
466 * GNU make is ported to MinGW. The MinGW build is only supported by
467 the build_w32.bat batch file; see the file README.W32 for more
470 * WARNING: Future backward-incompatibility!
471 Up to and including this release, the '$?' variable does not contain
472 any prerequisite that does not exist, even though that prerequisite
473 might have caused the target to rebuild. Starting with the _next_
474 release of GNU make, '$?' will contain all prerequisites that caused
475 the target to be considered out of date.
476 See https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?16051
478 * WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
479 GNU make now implements a generic "second expansion" feature on the
480 prerequisites of both explicit and implicit (pattern) rules. In order
481 to enable this feature, the special target '.SECONDEXPANSION' must be
482 defined before the first target which takes advantage of it. If this
483 feature is enabled then after all rules have been parsed the
484 prerequisites are expanded again, this time with all the automatic
485 variables in scope. This means that in addition to using standard
486 SysV $$@ in prerequisites lists, you can also use complex functions
487 such as $$(notdir $$@) etc. This behavior applies to implicit rules,
488 as well, where the second expansion occurs when the rule is matched.
489 However, this means that when '.SECONDEXPANSION' is enabled you must
490 double-quote any "$" in your filenames; instead of "foo: boo$$bar" you
491 now must write "foo: foo$$$$bar". Note that the SysV $$@ etc. feature,
492 which used to be available by default, is now ONLY available when the
493 .SECONDEXPANSION target is defined. If your makefiles take advantage
494 of this SysV feature you will need to update them.
496 * WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
497 In order to comply with POSIX, the way in which GNU make processes
498 backslash-newline sequences in recipes has changed. If your makefiles
499 use backslash-newline sequences inside of single-quoted strings in
500 recipes you will be impacted by this change. See the GNU make manual
501 subsection "Splitting Recipe Lines" (node "Splitting Lines"), in
502 section "Recipe Syntax", chapter "Writing Recipe in Rules", for
505 * WARNING: Backward-incompatibility!
506 Some previous versions of GNU make had a bug where "#" in a function
507 invocation such as $(shell ...) was treated as a make comment. A
508 workaround was to escape these with backslashes. This bug has been
509 fixed: if your makefile uses "\#" in a function invocation the
510 backslash is now preserved, so you'll need to remove it.
512 * New command line option: -L (--check-symlink-times). On systems that
513 support symbolic links, if this option is given then GNU make will
514 use the most recent modification time of any symbolic links that are
515 used to resolve target files. The default behavior remains as it
516 always has: use the modification time of the actual target file only.
518 * The "else" conditional line can now be followed by any other valid
519 conditional on the same line: this does not increase the depth of the
520 conditional nesting, so only one "endif" is required to close the
523 * All pattern-specific variables that match a given target are now used
524 (previously only the first match was used).
526 * Target-specific variables can be marked as exportable using the
529 * In a recursive $(call ...) context, any extra arguments from the outer
530 call are now masked in the context of the inner call.
532 * Implemented a solution for the "thundering herd" problem with "-j -l".
533 This version of GNU make uses an algorithm suggested by Thomas Riedl
534 <thomas.riedl@siemens.com> to track the number of jobs started in the
535 last second and artificially adjust GNU make's view of the system's
536 load average accordingly.
538 * New special variables available in this release:
539 - .INCLUDE_DIRS: Expands to a list of directories that make searches
540 for included makefiles.
541 - .FEATURES: Contains a list of special features available in this
543 - .DEFAULT_GOAL: Set the name of the default goal make will
544 use if no goals are provided on the command line.
545 - MAKE_RESTARTS: If set, then this is the number of times this
546 instance of make has been restarted (see "How Makefiles Are Remade"
548 - New automatic variable: $| (added in 3.80, actually): contains all
549 the order-only prerequisites defined for the target.
551 * New functions available in this release:
552 - $(lastword ...) returns the last word in the list. This gives
553 identical results as $(word $(words ...) ...), but is much faster.
554 - $(abspath ...) returns the absolute path (all "." and ".."
555 directories resolved, and any duplicate "/" characters removed) for
557 - $(realpath ...) returns the canonical pathname for each path
558 provided. The canonical pathname is the absolute pathname, with
559 all symbolic links resolved as well.
560 - $(info ...) prints its arguments to stdout. No makefile name or
561 line number info, etc. is printed.
562 - $(flavor ...) returns the flavor of a variable.
563 - $(or ...) provides a short-circuiting OR conditional: each argument
564 is expanded. The first true (non-empty) argument is returned; no
565 further arguments are expanded. Expands to empty if there are no
567 - $(and ...) provides a short-circuiting AND conditional: each
568 argument is expanded. The first false (empty) argument is
569 returned; no further arguments are expanded. Expands to the last
570 argument if all arguments are true.
572 * Changes made for POSIX compatibility:
573 - Only touch targets (under -t) if they have a recipe.
574 - Setting the SHELL make variable does NOT change the value of the
575 SHELL environment variable given to programs invoked by make. As
576 an enhancement to POSIX, if you export the make variable SHELL then
577 it will be set in the environment, just as before.
579 * On MS Windows systems, explicitly setting SHELL to a pathname ending
580 in "cmd" or "cmd.exe" (case-insensitive) will force GNU make to use
581 the DOS command interpreter in batch mode even if a UNIX-like shell
582 could be found on the system.
584 * On VMS there is now support for case-sensitive filesystems such as ODS5.
585 See the README.VMS file for information.
587 * Parallel builds (-jN) no longer require a working Bourne shell on
588 Windows platforms. They work even with the stock Windows shells, such
589 as cmd.exe and command.com.
591 * Updated to autoconf 2.59, automake 1.9.5, and gettext 0.14.1. Users
592 should not be impacted.
594 * New translations for Swedish, Chinese (simplified), Ukrainian,
595 Belarusian, Finnish, Kinyarwandan, and Irish. Many updated
598 A complete list of bugs fixed in this version is available here:
600 https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?group=make&report_id=111&fix_release_id=103
603 Version 3.80 (03 Oct 2002)
605 * A new feature exists: order-only prerequisites. These prerequisites
606 affect the order in which targets are built, but they do not impact
607 the rebuild/no-rebuild decision of their dependents. That is to say,
608 they allow you to require target B be built before target A, without
609 requiring that target A will always be rebuilt if target B is updated.
610 Patch for this feature provided by Greg McGary <greg@mcgary.org>.
612 * For compatibility with SysV make, GNU make now supports the peculiar
613 syntax $$@, $$(@D), and $$(@F) in the prerequisites list of a rule.
614 This syntax is only valid within explicit and static pattern rules: it
615 cannot be used in implicit (suffix or pattern) rules. Edouard G. Parmelan
616 <egp@free.fr> provided a patch implementing this feature; however, I
617 decided to implement it in a different way.
619 * The argument to the "ifdef" conditional is now expanded before it's
620 tested, so it can be a constructed variable name.
622 Similarly, the arguments to "export" (when not used in a variable
623 definition context) and "unexport" are also now expanded.
625 * A new function is defined: $(value ...). The argument to this
626 function is the _name_ of a variable. The result of the function is
627 the value of the variable, without having been expanded.
629 * A new function is defined: $(eval ...). The arguments to this
630 function should expand to makefile commands, which will then be
631 evaluated as if they had appeared in the makefile. In combination
632 with define/endef multiline variable definitions this is an extremely
633 powerful capability. The $(value ...) function is also sometimes
636 * A new built-in variable is defined, $(MAKEFILE_LIST). It contains a
637 list of each makefile GNU make has read, or started to read, in the
638 order in which they were encountered. So, the last filename in the
639 list when a makefile is just being read (before any includes) is the
640 name of the current makefile.
642 * A new built-in variable is defined: $(.VARIABLES). When it is
643 expanded it returns a complete list of variable names defined by all
644 makefiles at that moment.
646 * A new command line option is defined, -B or --always-make. If
647 specified GNU make will consider all targets out-of-date even if they
648 would otherwise not be.
650 * The arguments to $(call ...) functions were being stored in $1, $2,
651 etc. as recursive variables, even though they are fully expanded
652 before assignment. This means that escaped dollar signs ($$ etc.)
653 were not behaving properly. Now the arguments are stored as simple
654 variables. This may mean that if you added extra escaping to your
655 $(call ...) function arguments you will need to undo it now.
657 * The variable invoked by $(call ...) can now be recursive: unlike other
658 variables it can reference itself and this will not produce an error
659 when it is used as the first argument to $(call ...) (but only then).
661 * New pseudo-target .LOW_RESOLUTION_TIME, superseding the configure
662 option --disable-nsec-timestamps. You might need this if your build
663 process depends on tools like "cp -p" preserving time stamps, since
664 "cp -p" (right now) doesn't preserve the subsecond portion of a time
667 * Updated translations for French, Galician, German, Japanese, Korean,
668 and Russian. New translations for Croatian, Danish, Hebrew, and
671 * Updated internationalization support to Gettext 0.11.5.
672 GNU make now uses Gettext's "external" feature, and does not include
673 any internationalization code itself. Configure will search your
674 system for an existing implementation of GNU Gettext (only GNU Gettext
675 is acceptable) and use it if it exists. If not, NLS will be disabled.
676 See ABOUT-NLS for more information.
678 * Updated to autoconf 2.54 and automake 1.7. Users should not be impacted.
680 * VMS-specific changes:
682 * In default.c define variable ARCH as IA64 for VMS on Itanium systems.
684 * In makefile.vms avoid name collision for glob and globfree.
686 * This is the VMS port of GNU Make done by Hartmut.Becker@compaq.com.
688 It is based on the specific version 3.77k and on 3.78.1. 3.77k was done
689 by Klaus Kämpf <kkaempf@rmi.de>, the code was based on the VMS port of
690 GNU Make 3.60 by Mike Moretti.
692 It was ported on OpenVMS/Alpha V7.1, DECC V5.7-006. It was re-build and
693 tested on OpenVMS/Alpha V7.2, OpenVMS/VAX 7.1 and 5.5-2. Different
694 versions of DECC were used. VAXC was tried: it fails; but it doesn't
695 seem worth to get it working. There are still some PTRMISMATCH warnings
696 during the compile. Although perl is working on VMS the test scripts
697 don't work. The function $shell is still missing.
699 There is a known bug in some of the VMS CRTLs. It is in the shipped
700 versions of VMS V7.2 and V7.2-1 and in the currently (October 1999)
701 available ECOs for VMS V7.1 and newer versions. It is fixed in versions
702 shipped with newer VMS versions and all ECO kits after October 1999. It
703 only shows up during the daylight saving time period (DST): stat()
704 returns a modification time 1 hour ahead. This results in GNU make
705 warning messages. For a just created source you will see:
708 gmake.exe;1: *** Warning: File 'x.c' has modification time in the future
709 (940582863 > 940579269)
711 link x.obj /exe=x.exe
712 gmake.exe;1: *** Warning: Clock skew detected. Your build may be
716 A complete list of bugs fixed in this version is available here:
718 https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/index.php?group=make&report_id=111&fix_release_id=102
721 Version 3.79.1 (23 Jun 2000)
723 * .SECONDARY with no prerequisites now prevents any target from being
724 removed because make thinks it's an intermediate file, not just those
725 listed in the makefile.
727 * New configure option --disable-nsec-timestamps, but this was
728 superseded in later versions by the .LOW_RESOLUTION_TIME pseudo-target.
730 Version 3.79 (04 Apr 2000)
732 * GNU make optionally supports internationalization and locales via the
733 GNU gettext (or local gettext if suitable) package. See the ABOUT-NLS
734 file for more information on configuring GNU make for NLS.
736 * Previously, GNU make quoted variables such as MAKEFLAGS and
737 MAKEOVERRIDES for proper parsing by the shell. This allowed them to
738 be used within make build scripts. However, using them there is not
739 proper behavior: they are meant to be passed to subshells via the
740 environment. Unfortunately the values were not quoted properly to be
741 passed through the environment. This meant that make didn't properly
742 pass some types of command line values to submakes.
744 With this version we change that behavior: now these variables are
745 quoted properly for passing through the environment, which is the
746 correct way to do it. If you previously used these variables
747 explicitly within a make rule you may need to re-examine your use for
748 correctness given this change.
750 * A new pseudo-target .NOTPARALLEL is available. If defined, the
751 current makefile is run serially regardless of the value of -j.
752 However, submakes are still eligible for parallel execution.
754 * The --debug option has changed: it now allows optional flags
755 controlling the amount and type of debugging output. By default only
756 a minimal amount information is generated, displaying the names of
757 "normal" targets (not makefiles) that were deemed out of date and in
758 need of being rebuilt.
760 Note that the -d option behaves as before: it takes no arguments and
761 all debugging information is generated.
763 * The `-p' (print database) output now includes filename and linenumber
764 information for variable definitions, to aid debugging.
766 * The wordlist function no longer reverses its arguments if the "start"
767 value is greater than the "end" value. If that's true, nothing is
770 * Hartmut Becker provided many updates for the VMS port of GNU make.
771 See the README.VMS file for more details.
773 * VMS-specific changes:
775 * Fix a problem with automatically remaking makefiles. GNU make uses an
776 execve to restart itself after a successful remake of the makefile. On
777 UNIX systems execve replaces the running program with a new one and
778 resets all signal handling to the default. On VMS execve creates a child
779 process, signal and exit handlers of the parent are still active, and,
780 unfortunately, corrupt the exit code from the child. Fix in job.c:
783 * Added some switches to reflect latest features of DECC. Modifications in
786 * Set some definitions to reflect latest features of DECC. Modifications in
787 config.h-vms (which is copied to config.h).
789 * Added extern strcmpi declaration to avoid 'implicitly declared' messages.
790 Modification in make.h.
792 * Default rule for C++, conditionals for gcc (GCC_IS_NATIVE) or DEC/Digital/
793 Compaq c/c++ compilers. Modifications in default.c.
795 * Usage of opendir() and friends, suppress file version. Modifications in
798 * Added VMS specific code to handle ctrl+c and ctrl+y to abort make.
799 Modifications in job.c.
801 * Added support to have case sensitive targets and dependencies but to
802 still use case blind file names. This is especially useful for Java
806 .SUFFIXES : .class .java
809 HelloWorld.class : HelloWorld.java
811 * A new macro WANT_CASE_SENSITIVE_TARGETS in config.h-vms was introduced.
812 It needs to be enabled to get this feature; default is disabled. The
813 macro HAVE_CASE_INSENSITIVE_FS must not be touched: it is still enabled.
814 Modifications in file.c and config.h-vms.
816 * Bootstrap make to start building make is still makefile.com, but make
817 needs to be re-made with a make to make a correct version: ignore all
818 possible warnings, delete all objects, rename make.exe to a different
821 * Made some minor modifications to the bootstrap build makefile.com.
823 Version 3.78 (22 Sep 1999)
825 * Two new functions, $(error ...) and $(warning ...) are available. The
826 former will cause make to fail and exit immediately upon expansion of
827 the function, with the text provided as the error message. The latter
828 causes the text provided to be printed as a warning message, but make
831 * A new function $(call ...) is available. This allows users to create
832 their own parameterized macros and invoke them later. Original
833 implementation of this function was provided by Han-Wen Nienhuys
836 * A new function $(if ...) is available. It provides if-then-else
837 capabilities in a builtin function. Original implementation of this
838 function was provided by Han-Wen Nienhuys <hanwen@cs.uu.nl>.
840 * Make defines a new variable, .LIBPATTERNS. This variable controls how
841 library dependency expansion (dependencies like ``-lfoo'') is performed.
843 * Make accepts CRLF sequences as well as traditional LF, for
844 compatibility with makefiles created on other operating systems.
846 * Make accepts a new option: -R, or --no-builtin-variables. This option
847 disables the definition of the rule-specific builtin variables (CC,
848 LD, AR, etc.). Specifying this option forces -r (--no-builtin-rules)
851 * A "job server" feature, suggested by Howard Chu <hyc@highlandsun.com>.
853 On systems that support POSIX pipe(2) semantics, GNU make can now pass
854 -jN options to submakes rather than forcing them all to use -j1. The
855 top make and all its sub-make processes use a pipe to communicate with
856 each other to ensure that no more than N jobs are started across all
857 makes. To get the old behavior of -j back, you can configure make
858 with the --disable-job-server option.
860 * The confusing term "dependency" has been replaced by the more accurate
861 and standard term "prerequisite", both in the manual and in all GNU make
864 * GNU make supports the "big archive" library format introduced in AIX 4.3.
866 * GNU make supports large files on AIX, HP-UX, and IRIX. These changes
867 were provided by Paul Eggert <eggert@twinsun.com>. (Large file
868 support for Solaris and Linux was introduced in 3.77, but the
869 configuration had issues: these have also been resolved).
871 * The Windows 95/98/NT (W32) version of GNU make now has native support
872 for the Cygnus Cygwin release B20.1 shell (bash).
874 * The GNU make regression test suite, long available separately "under
875 the table", has been integrated into the release. You can invoke it
876 by running "make check" in the distribution. Note that it requires
877 Perl (either Perl 4 or Perl 5) to run.
879 Version 3.77 (28 Jul 1998)
881 * Implement BSD make's "?=" variable assignment operator. The variable
882 is assigned the specified value only if that variable is not already
885 * Make defines a new variable, "CURDIR", to contain the current working
886 directory (after the -C option, if any, has been processed).
887 Modifying this variable has no effect on the operation of make.
889 * Make defines a new default RCS rule, for new-style master file
890 storage: ``% :: RCS/%'' (note no ``,v'' suffix).
892 Make defines new default rules for DOS-style C++ file naming
893 conventions, with ``.cpp'' suffixes. All the same rules as for
894 ``.cc'' and ``.C'' suffixes are provided, along with LINK.cpp and
895 COMPILE.cpp macros (which default to the same value as LINK.cc and
896 COMPILE.cc). Note CPPFLAGS is still C preprocessor flags! You should
897 use CXXFLAGS to change C++ compiler flags.
899 * A new feature, "target-specific variable values", has been added.
900 This is a large change so please see the appropriate sections of the
901 manual for full details. Briefly, syntax like this:
903 TARGET: VARIABLE = VALUE
905 defines VARIABLE as VALUE within the context of TARGET. This is
906 similar to SunOS make's "TARGET := VARIABLE = VALUE" feature. Note
907 that the assignment may be of any type, not just recursive, and that
908 the override keyword is available.
910 COMPATIBILITY: This new syntax means that if you have any rules where
911 the first or second dependency has an equal sign (=) in its name,
912 you'll have to escape them with a backslash: "foo : bar\=baz".
913 Further, if you have any dependencies which already contain "\=",
914 you'll have to escape both of them: "foo : bar\\\=baz".
916 * A new appendix listing the most common error and warning messages
917 generated by GNU make, with some explanation, has been added to the
918 GNU make User's Manual.
920 * Updates to the GNU make Customs library support (see README.customs).
922 * Updates to the Windows 95/NT port from Rob Tulloh (see README.W32),
923 and to the DOS port from Eli Zaretski (see README.DOS).
925 * VMS-specific changes:
927 * This is the VMS port of GNU Make.
928 It is based on the VMS port of GNU Make 3.60 by Mike Moretti.
929 This port was done by Klaus Kämpf <kkaempf@rmi.de>
931 * There is first-level support available from proGIS Software, Germany.
932 Visit their web-site at http://www.progis.de to get information
933 about other vms software and forthcoming updates to gnu make.
935 * /bin/sh style I/O redirection is supported. You can now write lines like
936 mcr sys$disk:[]program.exe < input.txt > output.txt &> error.txt
938 * Makefile variables are looked up in the current environment. You can set
939 symbols or logicals in DCL and evaluate them in the Makefile via
940 $(<name-of-symbol-or-logical>). Variables defined in the Makefile
941 override VMS symbols/logicals !
943 * Functions for file names are working now. See the GNU Make manual for
944 $(dir ...) and $(wildcard ...). Unix-style and VMS-style names are
945 supported as arguments.
947 * The default rules are set up for GNU C. Building an executable from a
948 single source file is as easy as 'make file.exe'.
950 * The variable $(ARCH) is predefined as ALPHA or VAX resp. Makefiles for
951 different VMS systems can now be written by checking $(ARCH) as in
953 $(ECHO) "On the Alpha"
958 * Command lines of excessive length are correctly broken and written to a
959 batch file in sys$scratch for later execution. There's no limit to the
960 lengths of commands (and no need for .opt files :-) any more.
962 * Empty commands are handled correctly and don't end in a new DCL process.
964 Version 3.76.1 (19 Sep 1997)
966 * Small (but serious) bug fix. Quick rollout to get into the GNU source CD.
968 Version 3.76 (16 Sep 1997)
970 * GNU make now uses automake to control Makefile.in generation. This
971 should make it more consistent with the GNU standards.
973 * VPATH functionality has been changed to incorporate the VPATH+ patch,
974 previously maintained by Paul Smith <psmith@baynetworks.com>. See the
977 * Make defines a new variable, `MAKECMDGOALS', to contain the goals that
978 were specified on the command line, if any. Modifying this variable
979 has no effect on the operation of make.
981 * A new function, `$(wordlist S,E,TEXT)', is available: it returns a
982 list of words from number S to number E (inclusive) of TEXT.
984 * Instead of an error, detection of future modification times gives a
985 warning and continues. The warning is repeated just before GNU make
986 exits, so it is less likely to be lost.
988 * Fix the $(basename) and $(suffix) functions so they only operate on
989 the last filename, not the entire string:
991 Command Old Result New Result
992 ------- ---------- ----------
994 $(basename a.b/c) a a.b/c
996 $(suffix a.b/c) b/c <empty>
998 * The $(strip) function now removes newlines as well as TABs and spaces.
1000 * The $(shell) function now changes CRLF (\r\n) pairs to a space as well
1003 * Updates to the Windows 95/NT port from Rob Tulloh (see README.W32).
1005 * Eli Zaretskii has updated the port to 32-bit protected mode on MSDOS
1006 and MS-Windows, building with the DJGPP v2 port of GNU C/C++ compiler
1007 and utilities. See README.DOS for details, and direct all questions
1008 concerning this port to Eli Zaretskii <eliz@is.elta.co.il> or DJ
1009 Delorie <dj@delorie.com>.
1011 * VMS-specific changes:
1013 * John W. Eaton has updated the VMS port to support libraries and VPATH.
1015 * The cd command is supported if it's called as $(CD). This invokes
1016 the 'builtin_cd' command which changes the directory.
1017 Calling 'set def' doesn't do the trick, since a sub-shell is
1018 spawned for this command, the directory is changed *in this sub-shell*
1019 and the sub-shell ends.
1021 * Libraries are not supported. They were in GNU Make 3.60 but somehow I
1022 didn't care porting the code. If there is enough interest, I'll do it at
1025 * The variable $^ separates files with commas instead of spaces (It's the
1026 natural thing to do for VMS).
1028 * See defaults.c for VMS default suffixes and my definitions for default
1029 rules and variables.
1031 * The shell function is not implemented yet.
1033 * Load average routines haven't been implemented for VMS yet.
1035 * The default include directory for including other makefiles is
1036 SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSLIB] (I don't remember why I didn't just use
1037 SYS$LIBRARY: instead; maybe it wouldn't work that way).
1039 * The default makefiles make looks for are: makefile.vms, gnumakefile,
1040 makefile., and gnumakefile. .
1042 * The stat() function and handling of time stamps in VMS is broken, so I
1043 replaced it with a hack in vmsfunctions.c. I will provide a full rewrite
1044 somewhere in the future. Be warned, the time resolution inside make is
1045 less than what vms provides. This might be a problem on the faster Alphas.
1047 * You can use a : in a filename only if you precede it with a backslash ('\').
1048 E.g.- hobbes\:[bogas.files]
1050 * Make ignores success, informational, or warning errors (-S-, -I-, or -W-).
1051 But it will stop on -E- and -F- errors. (unless you do something
1052 to override this in your makefile, or whatever).
1054 * Remote stuff isn't implemented yet.
1056 * Multiple line DCL commands, such as "if" statements, must be put inside
1057 command files. You can run a command file by using \@.
1059 Version 3.75 (27 Aug 1996)
1061 * The directory messages printed by `-w' and implicitly in sub-makes,
1062 are now omitted if Make runs no commands and has no other messages to print.
1064 * Make now detects files that for whatever reason have modification times
1065 in the future and gives an error. Files with such impossible timestamps
1066 can result from unsynchronized clocks, or archived distributions
1067 containing bogus timestamps; they confuse Make's dependency engine
1070 * The new directive `sinclude' is now recognized as another name for
1071 `-include', for compatibility with some other Makes.
1073 * Aaron Digulla has contributed a port to AmigaDOS. See README.Amiga for
1074 details, and direct all Amiga-related questions to <digulla@fh-konstanz.de>.
1076 * Rob Tulloh of Tivoli Systems has contributed a port to Windows NT or 95.
1077 See README.W32 for details, and direct all Windows-related questions to
1078 <rob_tulloh@tivoli.com>.
1080 * VMS-specific changes:
1082 * Lots of default settings are adapted for VMS. See default.c.
1084 * Long command lines are now converted to command files.
1086 * Comma (',') as a separator is now allowed. See makefile.vms for an example.
1088 Version 3.73 (05 Apr 1995)
1090 * Converted to use Autoconf version 2, so `configure' has some new options.
1091 See INSTALL for details.
1093 * You can now send a SIGUSR1 signal to Make to toggle printing of debugging
1094 output enabled by -d, at any time during the run.
1096 Version 3.72 (04 Nov 1994)
1098 * DJ Delorie has ported Make to MS-DOS using the GO32 extender.
1099 He is maintaining the DOS port, not the GNU Make maintainer;
1100 please direct bugs and questions for DOS to <djgpp@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>.
1101 MS-DOS binaries are available for FTP from ftp.simtel.net in
1102 /pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/.
1104 * The `MAKEFLAGS' variable (in the environment or in a makefile) can now
1105 contain variable definitions itself; these are treated just like
1106 command line variable definitions. Make will automatically insert any
1107 variable definitions from the environment value of `MAKEFLAGS' or from
1108 the command line, into the `MAKEFLAGS' value exported to children. The
1109 `MAKEOVERRIDES' variable previously included in the value of `$(MAKE)'
1110 for sub-makes is now included in `MAKEFLAGS' instead. As before, you can
1111 reset `MAKEOVERRIDES' in your makefile to avoid putting all the variables
1112 in the environment when its size is limited.
1114 * If `.DELETE_ON_ERROR' appears as a target, Make will delete the target of
1115 a rule if it has changed when its recipe exits with a nonzero status,
1116 just as when the recipe gets a signal.
1118 * The automatic variable `$+' is new. It lists all the dependencies like
1119 `$^', but preserves duplicates listed in the makefile. This is useful
1120 for linking rules, where library files sometimes need to be listed twice
1123 * You can now specify the `.IGNORE' and `.SILENT' special targets with
1124 dependencies to limit their effects to those files. If a file appears as
1125 a dependency of `.IGNORE', then errors will be ignored while running the
1126 recipe to update that file. Likewise if a file appears as a dependency
1127 of `.SILENT', then the recipe to update that file will not be printed
1128 before it is run. (This change was made to conform to POSIX.2.)
1130 Version 3.71 (21 May 1994)
1132 * The automatic variables `$(@D)', `$(%D)', `$(*D)', `$(<D)', `$(?D)', and
1133 `$(^D)' now omit the trailing slash from the directory name. (This change
1134 was made to comply with POSIX.2.)
1136 * The source distribution now includes the Info files for the Make manual.
1137 There is no longer a separate distribution containing Info and DVI files.
1139 * You can now set the variables `binprefix' and/or `manprefix' in
1140 Makefile.in (or on the command line when installing) to install GNU make
1141 under a name other than `make' (i.e., ``make binprefix=g install''
1142 installs GNU make as `gmake').
1144 * The built-in Texinfo rules use the new variables `TEXI2DVI_FLAGS' for
1145 flags to the `texi2dvi' script, and `MAKEINFO_FLAGS' for flags to the
1148 * The exit status of Make when it runs into errors is now 2 instead of 1.
1149 The exit status is 1 only when using -q and some target is not up to date.
1150 (This change was made to comply with POSIX.2.)
1152 Version 3.70 (03 Jan 1994)
1154 * It is no longer a fatal error to have a NUL character in a makefile.
1155 You should never put a NUL in a makefile because it can have strange
1156 results, but otherwise empty lines full of NULs (such as produced by
1157 the `xmkmf' program) will always work fine.
1159 * The error messages for nonexistent included makefiles now refer to the
1160 makefile name and line number where the `include' appeared, so Emacs's
1161 C-x ` command takes you there (in case it's a typo you need to fix).
1163 Version 3.69 (07 Nov 1993)
1165 * Implicit rule search for archive member references is now done in the
1166 opposite order from previous versions: the whole target name `LIB(MEM)'
1167 first, and just the member name and parentheses `(MEM)' second.
1169 * Make now gives an error for an unterminated variable or function reference.
1170 For example, `$(foo' with no matching `)' or `${bar' with no matching `}'.
1172 * The new default variable `MAKE_VERSION' gives the version number of
1173 Make, and a string describing the remote job support compiled in (if any).
1174 Thus the value (in this release) is something like `3.69' or `3.69-Customs'.
1176 * Commands in an invocation of the `shell' function are no longer run
1177 with a modified environment like recipes are. As in versions before
1178 3.68, they now run with the environment that `make' started with. We
1179 have reversed the change made in version 3.68 because it turned out to
1180 cause a paradoxical situation in cases like:
1182 export variable = $(shell echo value)
1184 When Make attempted to put this variable in the environment for a
1185 recipe, it would try expand the value by running the shell command
1186 `echo value'. In version 3.68, because it constructed an environment
1187 for that shell command in the same way, Make would begin to go into an
1188 infinite loop and then get a fatal error when it detected the loop.
1190 * The recipe given for `.DEFAULT' is now used for phony targets with no
1193 Version 3.68 (28 Jul 1993)
1195 * You can list several archive member names inside parenthesis:
1196 `lib(mem1 mem2 mem3)' is equivalent to `lib(mem1) lib(mem2) lib(mem3)'.
1198 * You can use wildcards inside archive member references. For example,
1199 `lib(*.o)' expands to all existing members of `lib' whose names end in
1200 `.o' (e.g. `lib(a.o) lib(b.o)'); `*.a(*.o)' expands to all such members
1201 of all existing files whose names end in `.a' (e.g. `foo.a(a.o)
1202 foo.a(b.o) bar.a(c.o) bar.a(d.o)'.
1204 * A suffix rule `.X.a' now produces two pattern rules:
1205 (%.o): %.X # Previous versions produced only this.
1206 %.a: %.X # Now produces this as well, just like other suffixes.
1208 * The new flag `--warn-undefined-variables' says to issue a warning message
1209 whenever Make expands a reference to an undefined variable.
1211 * The new `-include' directive is just like `include' except that there is
1212 no error (not even a warning) for a nonexistent makefile.
1214 * Commands in an invocation of the `shell' function are now run with a
1215 modified environment like recipes are, so you can use `export' et al
1216 to set up variables for them. They used to run with the environment
1217 that `make' started with.
1219 Version 3.66 (21 May 1993)
1221 * `make --version' (or `make -v') now exits immediately after printing
1224 Version 3.65 (09 May 1993)
1226 * Make now supports long-named members in `ar' archive files.
1228 Version 3.64 (21 Apr 1993)
1230 * Make now supports the `+=' syntax for a variable definition which appends
1231 to the variable's previous value. See the section `Appending More Text
1232 to Variables' in the manual for full details.
1234 * The new option `--no-print-directory' inhibits the `-w' or
1235 `--print-directory' feature. Make turns on `--print-directory'
1236 automatically if you use `-C' or `--directory', and in sub-makes; some
1237 users have found this behavior undesirable.
1239 * The built-in implicit rules now support the alternative extension
1240 `.txinfo' for Texinfo files, just like `.texinfo' and `.texi'.
1242 Version 3.63 (22 Jan 1993)
1244 * Make now uses a standard GNU `configure' script. See the new file
1245 INSTALL for the new (and much simpler) installation procedure.
1247 * There is now a shell script to build Make the first time, if you have no
1248 other `make' program. `build.sh' is created by `configure'; see README.
1250 * GNU Make now completely conforms to the POSIX.2 specification for `make'.
1252 * Elements of the `$^' and `$?' automatic variables that are archive
1253 member references now list only the member name, as in Unix and POSIX.2.
1255 * You should no longer ever need to specify the `-w' switch, which prints
1256 the current directory before and after Make runs. The `-C' switch to
1257 change directory, and recursive use of Make, now set `-w' automatically.
1259 * Multiple double-colon rules for the same target will no longer have their
1260 recipes run simultaneously under -j, as this could result in the two
1261 recipes trying to change the file at the same time and interfering with
1264 * The `SHELL' variable is now never taken from the environment.
1265 Each makefile that wants a shell other than the default (/bin/sh) must
1266 set SHELL itself. SHELL is always exported to child processes.
1267 This change was made for compatibility with POSIX.2.
1269 * Make now accepts long options. There is now an informative usage message
1270 that tells you what all the options are and what they do. Try `make --help'.
1272 * There are two new directives: `export' and `unexport'. All variables are
1273 no longer automatically put into the environments of the recipe lines that
1274 Make runs. Instead, only variables specified on the command line or in
1275 the environment are exported by default. To export others, use:
1277 or you can define variables with:
1278 export VARIABLE = VALUE
1280 export VARIABLE := VALUE
1284 .EXPORT_ALL_VARIABLES:
1285 to get the old behavior. See the node `Variables/Recursion' in the manual
1286 for a full description.
1288 * The recipe from the `.DEFAULT' special target is only applied to
1289 targets which have no rules at all, not all targets with no recipe.
1290 This change was made for compatibility with Unix make.
1292 * All fatal error messages now contain `***', so they are easy to find in
1295 * Dependency file names like `-lNAME' are now replaced with the actual file
1296 name found, as with files found by normal directory search (VPATH).
1297 The library file `libNAME.a' may now be found in the current directory,
1298 which is checked before VPATH; the standard set of directories (/lib,
1299 /usr/lib, /usr/local/lib) is now checked last.
1300 See the node `Libraries/Search' in the manual for full details.
1302 * A single `include' directive can now specify more than one makefile to
1305 You can also use shell file name patterns in an `include' directive:
1308 * The default directories to search for included makefiles, and for
1309 libraries specified with `-lNAME', are now set by configuration.
1311 * You can now use blanks as well as colons to separate the directories in a
1312 search path for the `vpath' directive or the `VPATH' variable.
1314 * You can now use variables and functions in the left hand side of a
1315 variable assignment, as in "$(foo)bar = value".
1317 * The `MAKE' variable is always defined as `$(MAKE_COMMAND) $(MAKEOVERRIDES)'.
1318 The `MAKE_COMMAND' variable is now defined to the name with which make
1321 * The built-in rules for C++ compilation now use the variables `$(CXX)' and
1322 `$(CXXFLAGS)' instead of `$(C++)' and `$(C++FLAGS)'. The old names had
1323 problems with shells that cannot have `+' in environment variable names.
1325 * The value of a recursively expanded variable is now expanded when putting
1326 it into the environment for child processes. This change was made for
1327 compatibility with Unix make.
1329 * A rule with no targets before the `:' is now accepted and ignored.
1330 This change was made for compatibility with SunOS 4 make.
1331 We do not recommend that you write your makefiles to take advantage of this.
1333 * The `-I' switch can now be used in MAKEFLAGS, and are put there
1334 automatically just like other switches.
1338 * Built-in rules for C++ source files with the `.C' suffix.
1339 We still recommend that you use `.cc' instead.
1341 * If a recipe is given too many times for a single target, the last one
1342 given is used, and a warning message is printed.
1344 * Error messages about makefiles are in standard GNU error format,
1345 so C-x ` in Emacs works on them.
1347 * Dependencies of pattern rules which contain no % need not actually exist
1348 if they can be created (just like dependencies which do have a %).
1352 * A message is always printed when Make decides there is nothing to be done.
1353 It used to be that no message was printed for top-level phony targets
1354 (because "`phony' is up to date" isn't quite right). Now a different
1355 message "Nothing to be done for `phony'" is printed in that case.
1357 * Archives on AIX now supposedly work.
1359 * When the recipes specified for .DEFAULT are used to update a target,
1360 the $< automatic variable is given the same value as $@ for that target.
1361 This is how Unix make behaves, and this behavior is mandated by POSIX.2.
1365 * The -n, -q, and -t options are not put in the `MAKEFLAGS' and `MFLAG'
1366 variables while remaking makefiles, so recursive makes done while remaking
1367 makefiles will behave properly.
1369 * If the special target `.NOEXPORT' is specified in a makefile,
1370 only variables that came from the environment and variables
1371 defined on the command line are exported.
1375 * Suffix rules may have dependencies (which are ignored).
1379 * Dependencies of the form `-lLIB' are searched for as /usr/local/lib/libLIB.a
1380 as well as libLIB.a in /usr/lib, /lib, the current directory, and VPATH.
1384 * There is now a Unix man page for GNU Make. It is certainly not a
1385 replacement for the Texinfo manual, but it documents the basic
1386 functionality and the switches. For full documentation, you should
1387 still read the Texinfo manual. Thanks to Dennis Morse of Stanford
1388 University for contributing the initial version of this.
1390 * Variables which are defined by default (e.g., `CC') will no longer be
1391 put into the environment for child processes. (If these variables are
1392 reset by the environment, makefiles, or the command line, they will
1393 still go into the environment.)
1395 * Makefiles which have recipes but no dependencies (and thus are always
1396 considered out of date and in need of remaking), will not be remade (if they
1397 were being remade only because they were makefiles). This means that GNU
1398 Make will no longer go into an infinite loop when fed the makefiles that
1399 `imake' (necessary to build X Windows) produces.
1401 * There is no longer a warning for using the `vpath' directive with an explicit
1402 pathname (instead of a `%' pattern).
1406 * When removing intermediate files, only one `rm' command line is printed,
1407 listing all file names.
1409 * There are now automatic variables `$(^D)', `$(^F)', `$(?D)', and `$(?F)'.
1410 These are the directory-only and file-only versions of `$^' and `$?'.
1412 * Library dependencies given as `-lNAME' will use "libNAME.a" in the current
1413 directory if it exists.
1415 * The automatic variable `$($/)' is no longer defined.
1417 * Leading `+' characters on a recipe line make that line be executed even
1418 under -n, -t, or -q (as if the line contained `$(MAKE)').
1420 * For recipe lines containing `$(MAKE)', `${MAKE}', or leading `+' characters,
1421 only those lines are executed, not the entire recipe.
1422 (This is how Unix make behaves for lines containing `$(MAKE)' or `${MAKE}'.)
1426 * Filenames in rules will now have ~ and ~USER expanded.
1428 * The `-p' output has been changed so it can be used as a makefile.
1429 (All information that isn't specified by makefiles is prefaced with comment
1434 * The % character can be quoted with backslash in implicit pattern rules,
1435 static pattern rules, `vpath' directives, and `patsubst', `filter', and
1436 `filter-out' functions. A warning is issued if a `vpath' directive's
1437 pattern contains no %.
1439 * The `wildcard' variable expansion function now expands ~ and ~USER.
1441 * Messages indicating failed recipe lines now contain the target name:
1442 make: *** [target] Error 1
1444 * The `-p' output format has been changed somewhat to look more like
1445 makefile rules and to give all information that Make has about files.
1451 * The `-l' switch with no argument removes any previous load-average limit.
1453 * When the `-w' switch is in effect, and Make has updated makefiles,
1454 it will write a `Leaving directory' message before re-executing itself.
1455 This makes the `directory change tracking' changes to Emacs's compilation
1456 commands work properly.
1460 * The automatic variable `$*' is now defined for explicit rules,
1461 as it is in Unix make.
1465 * The `-j' switch is now put in the MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS variables when
1466 specified without an argument (indicating infinite jobs).
1467 The `-l' switch is not always put in the MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS variables.
1469 * Make no longer checks hashed directories after running recipes.
1470 The behavior implemented in 3.41 caused too much slowdown.
1474 * A dependency is NOT considered newer than its dependent if
1475 they have the same modification time. The behavior implemented
1476 in 3.43 conflicts with RCS.
1480 * Dependency loops are no longer fatal errors.
1482 * A dependency is considered newer than its dependent if
1483 they have the same modification time.
1487 * The variables F77 and F77FLAGS are now set by default to $(FC) and
1488 $(FFLAGS). Makefiles designed for System V make may use these variables in
1489 explicit rules and expect them to be set. Unfortunately, there is no way to
1490 make setting these affect the Fortran implicit rules unless FC and FFLAGS
1491 are not used (and these are used by BSD make).
1495 * Make now checks to see if its hashed directories are changed by recipes.
1496 Other makes that hash directories (Sun, 4.3 BSD) don't do this.
1500 * The `shell' function no longer captures standard error output.
1504 * A file beginning with a dot can be the default target if it also contains
1505 a slash (e.g., `../bin/foo'). (Unix make allows this as well.)
1509 * Archive member names are truncated to 15 characters.
1511 * Yet more USG stuff.
1513 * Minimal support for Microport System V (a 16-bit machine and a
1514 brain-damaged compiler). This has even lower priority than other USG
1515 support, so if it gets beyond trivial, I will take it out completely.
1517 * Revamped default implicit rules (not much visible change).
1519 * The -d and -p options can come from the environment.
1523 * Improved support for USG and HPUX (hopefully).
1525 * A variable reference like `$(foo:a=b)', if `a' contains a `%', is
1526 equivalent to `$(patsubst a,b,$(foo))'.
1528 * Defining .DEFAULT with no deps or recipe clears its recipe.
1530 * New default implicit rules for .S (cpp, then as), and .sh (copy and
1531 make executable). All default implicit rules that use cpp (even
1532 indirectly), use $(CPPFLAGS).
1536 * Giving the -j option with no arguments gives you infinite jobs.
1540 * New option: "-l LOAD" says not to start any new jobs while others are
1541 running if the load average is not below LOAD (a floating-point number).
1543 * There is support in place for implementations of remote command execution
1544 in Make. See the file remote.c.
1548 * No more than 10 directories will be kept open at once.
1549 (This number can be changed by redefining MAX_OPEN_DIRECTORIES in dir.c.)
1553 * Archive files will have their modification times recorded before doing
1554 anything that might change their modification times by updating an archive
1559 * The `MAKELEVEL' variable is defined for use by makefiles.
1563 * The recursion level indications in error messages are much shorter than
1564 they were in version 3.14.
1568 * Leading spaces before directives are ignored (as documented).
1570 * Included makefiles can determine the default goal target.
1571 (System V Make does it this way, so we are being compatible).
1575 * Variables that are defaults built into Make will not be put in the
1576 environment for children. This just saves some environment space and,
1577 except under -e, will be transparent to sub-makes.
1579 * Error messages from sub-makes will indicate the level of recursion.
1581 * Hopefully some speed-up for large directories due to a change in the
1582 directory hashing scheme.
1584 * One child will always get a standard input that is usable.
1586 * Default makefiles that don't exist will be remade and read in.
1590 * Count parentheses inside expansion function calls so you can
1591 have nested calls: `$(sort $(foreach x,a b,$(x)))'.
1595 * Several bug fixes, including USG and Sun386i support.
1597 * `shell' function to expand shell commands a la `
1599 * If the `-d' flag is given, version information will be printed.
1601 * The `-c' option has been renamed to `-C' for compatibility with tar.
1603 * The `-p' option no longer inhibits other normal operation.
1605 * Makefiles will be updated and re-read if necessary.
1607 * Can now run several recipes at once (parallelism), -j option.
1609 * Error messages will contain the level of Make recursion, if any.
1611 * The `MAKEFLAGS' and `MFLAGS' variables will be scanned for options after
1614 * A double-colon rule with no dependencies will always have its recipe run.
1615 (This is how both the BSD and System V versions of Make do it.)
1619 (Changes from versions 1 through 3.05 were never recorded. Sorry.)
1621 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1622 Copyright (C) 1988-2020 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
1623 This file is part of GNU Make.
1625 GNU Make is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the
1626 terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software
1627 Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later
1630 GNU Make is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY
1631 WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR
1632 A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.
1634 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
1635 this program. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.