Generate a list of files/objects dynamically from within makefile - makefile

I am trying to do this:
From a directory, pick all the C (.c) files, generate .o and add it to
my final target executable. The C files can be added or removed at anytime, so when I
run make for my target, the available C files from the directory has to be picked
to compile and link with my target.
So far, I have the following:
define test_tgt =
DIR = full/path/to/dir
FILES = $(wildcard $(DIR)/*.c)
OBJS = <rule-to-convert-C-to-O>
endef
get_new_files:
$(eval $(test_tgt))
final-target: get_new_files
$(CC) <other-objs> $(OBJS)
Somehow this doesn't seem to work. I see a lot of similar examples, but not sure what
is wrong here. If this approach is not correct, can anyone suggest a better way to
accomplish this.
TIA.

You are trying to program a check that make does by itself.
Just list $(OBJS) as dependencies of final-target.
Something like this should work under GNU make:
DIR = full/path/to/dir
FILES = $(wildcard $(DIR)/*.c)
OBJS = $(subst .c,.o,$(FILES))
final-target: $(OBJS)
$(LD) -o $# $+ # or similar
Full documentation is here: https://www.gnu.org/software/make/manual/html_node/Text-Functions.html

Related

How do I read source files from a directory and create object files into another folder in a makefile?

I have the following source files:
% ls
data_lexicon.c data_lexicon.h lex.l makefile
And the following makefile:
% cat makefile
CC = cc
CFLAGS = -Wall -std=c89
LDFLAGS = -ll
OBJFILES = lex.o data_lexicon.o
TARGET = lexical_analyzer_1
all: $(TARGET) lex.c
lex.c: lex.l data_lexicon.h
lex -olex.c lex.l
$(TARGET): $(OBJFILES)
$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -o $(TARGET) $(OBJFILES) $(LDFLAGS)
clean:
rm -f $(OBJFILES) lex.c $(TARGET)
If I do make all I get:
% ls
data_lexicon.c data_lexicon.o lex.l
lexical_analyzer_1 data_lexicon.h lex.c
lex.o makefile
So far so good.
However, I would like to move the source files (data_lexicon.c, data_lexicon.h, lex.l) to a folder src and generate the intermediate files (data_lexicon.o lex.c, lex.o) into a obj folder.
I create both folders but I do not understand how the makefile file shall be configured.
I am using FreeBSD make, so the more portable the solution given the better.
However, I would like to move the source files (data_lexicon.c,
data_lexicon.h, lex.l) to a folder src and generate the intermediate
files (data_lexicon.o lex.c, lex.o) into a obj folder.
It never ceases to amaze me how people insist on making extra work for themselves. You can certainly do what you describe, but it will require writing explicit rules for the object files.
First of all, however, you need to understand that make itself doesn't really know anything about directories. (Traditional make doesn't, anyway. GNU make and perhaps others know a little about them.) That is, it doesn't have any sense of varying directories against which it resolves file names. Rather, every target name is resolved against make's working directory. If you want to refer to something in a subdirectory, then you must say so. To begin with:
OBJFILES = obj/lex.o obj/data_lexicon.o
Similar goes for target and prerequisite names in rules:
obj/lex.c: src/lex.l src/data_lexicon.h
lex -o$# src/lex.l
That's also one reason to favor make's automatic variables, such as the $# in the above rule representing the name of the target being built.
Your makefile presently relies on make's built-in rule for building object files from corresponding C source files, but "corresponding" means target and prerequisite names are identical, including any path components, except for the suffixes (.c vs .o). You will no longer have that correspondence for data_lexicon.o, so you will need to write an explicit rule for it building it. This part is left as an exercise.

Makefile: order of adding prefix affects how a list of targets is built from a common dependency

Motivation:
I have a C project in which multiple .o files are to be generated from a common file. This main file uses preprocessor directives to conditionally include other .h files as needed, depending on target-specific variables defined in the makefile.
I've written this rule below, but depending on the order in which I apply my variable references I get different outcomes.
One small(ish) change, two different outputs
Consider two versions of code from my Makefile. In version A we have the following snippets:
MAIN_OBJ:= $(MAIN_1) $(MAIN_2) $(MAIN_3) $(MAIN_4)
... omitted non-relevant rules (including an all: rule)
$(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MAIN_1): MFLAG = $(METHOD_1_FLAG)
$(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MAIN_2): MFLAG = $(METHOD_2_FLAG)
$(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MAIN_3): MFLAG = $(METHOD_3_FLAG)
$(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MAIN_4): MFLAG = $(METHOD_4_FLAG)
$(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MAIN_OBJ): $(SOURCE_DIR)/$(DEPENDENT_MAIN)
$(CC) -DUSE_$(MFLAG) $(CFLAGS) -o $# $<
This only successfully builds the first target, $(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MAIN_1). The remaining three never get compiled and make stops there.
Now in version B we redefine MAIN_OBJ so that the directory prefix is included within the target list itself:
MAIN_OBJ:= $(MAIN_1) $(MAIN_2) $(MAIN_3) $(MAIN_4)
MAIN_OBJ:= $(addprefix $(OBJECT_DIR)/,$(MAIN_OBJ)
... omitted non-relevant rules (again)
$(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MAIN_1): MFLAG = $(METHOD_1_FLAG)
$(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MAIN_2): MFLAG = $(METHOD_2_FLAG)
$(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MAIN_3): MFLAG = $(METHOD_3_FLAG)
$(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MAIN_4): MFLAG = $(METHOD_4_FLAG)
$(MAIN_OBJ): $(SOURCE_DIR)/$(DEPENDENT_MAIN)
$(CC) -DUSE_$(MFLAG) $(CFLAGS) -o $# $<
This solution works, and compiles all 4 .o files, each with the proper $(MFLAG) value.
What's happening here?
This is probably a dumb question, but why does Version A only compile one .o file? I recognize version B is a generally better way to write rules.
Let me provide one more example that will perhaps illustrate my confusion.
Say we want to write a much more common type of rule: compiling targets from a list with a pattern rule for finding dependencies.
Doing something similar to Version A wouldn't result in a single .o being successfully generated:
MY_FILES:= $(wildcard $(SOURCE_DIR)/*.c))
MY_OBJ:= $(patsubst $(SOURCE_DIR)/%.c, %.o, $(MY_FILES))
...
$(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MY_OBJ): $(OBJECT_DIR)/%.o: $(SOURCE_DIR)/%.c
$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -o $# $<
Clearly the above is a bad idea, and you should write something like this instead:
MY_FILES:= $(wildcard $(SOURCE_DIR)/*.c))
MY_OBJ:= $(patsubst $(SOURCE_DIR)/%.c, $(OBJECT_DIR)/%.o, $(MY_FILES))
...
$(MY_OBJ): $(OBJECT_DIR)/%.o: $(SOURCE_DIR)/%.c
$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -o $# $<
But my question is this:
Why in this case does adding the directory prefix in the rule itself result in nothing being built, while in version A of my makefile the first target was successfully made?
"Version A" fails because make is just expanding things like you asked it to. A variable reference like this:
$(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MAIN_OBJ): ...
says "expand the variable OBJECT_DIR, then add a "/", then expand the variable MAIN_OBJ". So you get:
$(OBJECT_DIR)/$(MAIN_1) $(MAIN_2) $(MAIN_3) $(MAIN_4): ...
So, only the first one is actually prefixed by the OBJECT_DIR value, not all of them (since you didn't show what the values were for all these variables I didn't complete the expansion).
Secondly, make always builds just the first target that it finds in the makefile (unless you override that with the command line or .DEFAULT). You don't say what the "non-relevant rules" are that you omitted, but unless one of them was an all target or similar that depends on all the MAIN_* targets, make will only build the first one which is the behavior you saw.
ETA Prepending to all words is trivial using various methods; see the GNU make manual.
One option:
$(addprefix $(OBJECT_DIR)/,$(MAIN_OBJ)): ...
Another option:
$(MAIN_OBJ:%=$(OBJECT_DIR)/%): ...
Another option:
$(patsubst %,$(OBJECT_DIR)/%,$(MAIN_OBJ)): ...

Compile multiple executables from multiple source directories to single bin directory using makefile

I'm trying to create a makefile for a suite of programs that I am working on. The programs are all written in fortran and the source files are contained in different directories. I can't seem how to figure out how to get things to work. My current sumfile is
#Compiler and compiler flag variables
FCOMP=/usr/local/bin/gfortran
F_FLAGS=-O2 -fbounds-check -Wall
F_FLAGSDB=-g -fbounds-check -Wall
#paths to libraries
COMMON_LIB=/usr/local/lib/libspc_common.a
SPICE_LIB=/usr/local/lib/spicelib.a
# Paths to directories
BIN_DIR=BIN
# Get file names of component source files
#get names of files in src1
FORT_FILES=$(wildcard ./SRC1/*.f)
#get names of files in src2
FORTFILES+=$(wildcard ./SRC2/*.f)
#get names of files in src3
FORTFILES+=$(wildcard ./SRC3/*.f)
#get file names for output
EXE_FILES=$(addprefix $(BIN_DIR),$(notdir $(patsubst %.f, % , $(FORTFILES))))
# make commands
# Set the default option to compile the library with optimization
default: all
# create all command
all: $(EXE_FILES)
#echo toolkit has been built with optimization
#If compiling for debugging replace the compiler flags to remove optimization and add debugging
debug: F_FLAGS=$(F_FLAGSDB)
#Run compiler with debugging flags
debug: $(EXE_FILES)
#echo toolkit has been built with debugging
# Compile all of the source files into executables
$(EXE_FILES): % : %.f
$(FCOMP) $(F_FLAGS) $^ $(COMMON_LIB) $(SPICE_LIB) -o $(BIN_DIR)/$#
# install the library in /usr/local/lib
install:
cp -p $(BIN_DIR)* /usr/local/bin/toolkit/
# remove executable files for a clean build
clean:
rm $(BIN_DIR)*
The problem I am running into is that I get the following error when I try to run make:
make: *** No rule to make target `Display.f', needed by `Display'. Stop.
which I am assuming is because I have lost the directory that the source file comes from. Can someone help me here? I am totally stuck and don't know how to proceed.
In addition (this is more a general question about make), is there a way to tell make to recompile everything if the COMMON_LIB changes?
Thanks for your help!
Suppose your source files are
SRC1/alpha.f
SRC1/beta.f
SRC2/gamma.f
SRC3/delta.f
1) There is a flaw here:
EXE_FILES=$(addprefix $(BIN_DIR),$(notdir $(patsubst %.f, % , $(FORTFILES))))
This will produce
BINalpha BINbeta BINgamma BINdelta
when I think you intended
BIN/alpha BIN/beta BIN/gamma BIN/delta
A simple fix:
EXE_FILES=$(addprefix $(BIN_DIR)/,$(notdir $(patsubst %.f, % , $(FORTFILES))))
2) Now look at the static pattern rule:
$(EXE_FILES): % : %.f
...
So to build BIN/alpha, Make must first find BIN/alpha.f, which doesn't exist. To make it look for alpha.f, do this:
$(EXE_FILES): $(BIN_DIR)/% : %.f
...
3) How to find the sources?
You could do some delicate coding to help Make remember where it found alpha.f, but there's no need when we can use the vpath directive:
vpath %.f SRC1 SRC2 SRC3
4) One last look at that rule:
This command:
$(FCOMP) $(F_FLAGS) $^ $(COMMON_LIB) $(SPICE_LIB) -o $(BIN_DIR)/$#
Will produce e.g. BIN/BIN/alpha, which is silly. A non-PHONY Make rule should produce a file whose name is the target of the rule. It prevents a lot of trouble.
$(FCOMP) $(F_FLAGS) $^ $(COMMON_LIB) $(SPICE_LIB) -o $#
A few further refinements may be possible, once you have this working perfectly.

GNU Make: Using the filter function in prerequisites

I want to compile some C++ files and I absolutely have to put all object files in a separate build directory, but stored completely flat, i.e., without any further subdirectories. I know the common solution using VPATH, which goes something like this:
SOURCES = foo/one.cpp \
foo/bar/two.cpp \
foo/bar/sub/three.cpp
OBJDIR = obj
VPATH=$(dir $(SOURCES))
OBJECTS = $(addprefix $(OBJDIR)/, $(notdir $(SOURCES:%.cpp=%.o)))
$(OBJDIR)/%.o : %.cpp
#echo Should compile: $(filter %/$*.cpp, $(SOURCES))
#echo Compiling $<
all: $(OBJECTS)
This example pretty much works: I get three object files one.o, two.o, three.o in the 'obj' subdirectory (you can assume it just exists).
Now here's the catch when using VPATH: If there happens to be a file 'foo/three.cpp', then this will be compiled instead of the 'foo/bar/sub/three.cpp' which is named in the SOURCES variable. And no, I cannot rename either file; this name clash simply exists and I cannot do anything about that.
So my question is: How can I tell Make to only use '.cpp' files which appear in the SOURCES variable? I think the best solution would be to use that 'filter' statement in the target's prerequisite. I think this should be possible using secondary expansion, but I don't know what to do with the '%'. For example, I tried
.SECONDEXPANSION:
$(OBJDIR)/%.o : $$(filter %/$$*.cpp, $(SOURCES))
but that doesn't work.
UPDATE: With the help of tripleee, I managed to get this working using the following:
define make-deps
$(OBJDIR)/$(notdir $(1:%.cpp=%.o)): $1
endef
$(foreach d, $(SOURCES), $(eval $(call make-deps,$d)))
%.o :
#echo Should compile $^ into $#
#echo Compiling $^
I suspect the easiest solution to your problem would be to get rid of VPATH and document each dependency explicitly. This can easily be obtained from your SOURCES definition; perhaps you want to define a function, but it really boils down to this:
obj/one.o: foo/one.cpp
obj/two.o: foo/bar/two.cpp
obj/three.o: foo/bar/sub/three.cpp
The actual rule can remain, only it should no longer contain the dependencies in-line, and you can skip the obj/ subdirectory, because it's declared explicitly in each dependency:
%.o : # Dependencies declared above
#echo Should compile $^ into $#
#echo Compiling $^
I changed the rule to use $^ instead of $< in case you ever have more than a single dependency. This may be right or wrong for your circumstances; revert the change if it's not what you need.
In order to not need to maintain the dependencies by hand, you might want to generate %.d for each %.cpp file. See the GNU Make manual. (I tried to do this by using a define, but it seems you cannot declare dependencies with a foreach loop.)
In response to the question in the comment, this should not affect parallel builds in any way; it merely disambiguates the dependencies where your original Makefile was ambiguous when there were multiple biuld candidates with the same name in the VPATH. There are no new dependencies and no new rules.

GNU make substitution command for automatic list of object files

A common type of makefile has a line like this:
OBJS=something.o other.o third.o progname.o
progname: $(OBJS)
Then you would run make progname. But GNU Make can also generate the list of o-files itself from all the c-files it sees in the current directory. How is this done?
Basically, I want to be able to add C files to the directory without having to change the makefile.
(Is it for instance through some shell-magic, or is there is a built-in function for this?)
It can also be done like this:
SRCS = $(wildcard *.c)
OBJS = $(SRCS:.c=.o)
progname: $(OBJS)
Which works just fine if the object file with main() in it is "progname.o".
To view all the defined rules (include the implicit ones), issue make -p.
However the fact that make knows how to generate object files from source files, does not mean that it should do this. Make will try to do the bare minimum in order to satisfy the target you ask it to build.
If you want make to compile all the sources into object in the current directory you will need a rule that will depend on all the objects, e.g.:
all: $(patsubst %.c,%.o,$(wildcard *.c))
You can expand a shell command to give you a list of files. You can also use implicit rules.
It can be done like this:
$(ODIR)/%.o: %.cpp
$(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) -o $# $<
make generates .o file names from .cpp file names it found in the current directory.

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