How can I configure my makefile for debug and release builds? - makefile

Question

I have the following makefile for my project, and I'd like to configure it for release and debug builds. In my code, I have lots of #ifdef DEBUG macros in place, so it's simply a matter of setting this macro and adding the -g3 -gdwarf2 flags to the compilers. How can I do this?
$(CC) = g++ -g3 -gdwarf2
$(cc) = gcc -g3 -gdwarf2
all: executable
executable: CommandParser.tab.o CommandParser.yy.o Command.o
g++ -g -o output CommandParser.yy.o CommandParser.tab.o Command.o -lfl
CommandParser.yy.o: CommandParser.l
flex -o CommandParser.yy.c CommandParser.l
gcc -g -c CommandParser.yy.c
CommandParser.tab.o: CommandParser.y
bison -d CommandParser.y
g++ -g -c CommandParser.tab.c
Command.o: Command.cpp
g++ -g -c Command.cpp
clean:
rm -f CommandParser.tab.* CommandParser.yy.* output *.o
Just to clarify, when I say release/debug builds, I want to be able to just type make and get a release build or make debug and get a debug build, without manually commenting out things in the makefile.

Answer 1

You can use Target-specific Variable Values. Example:
CXXFLAGS = -g3 -gdwarf2
CCFLAGS = -g3 -gdwarf2
all: executable
debug: CXXFLAGS += -DDEBUG -g
debug: CCFLAGS += -DDEBUG -g
debug: executable
executable: CommandParser.tab.o CommandParser.yy.o Command.o
$(CXX) -o output CommandParser.yy.o CommandParser.tab.o Command.o -lfl
CommandParser.yy.o: CommandParser.l
flex -o CommandParser.yy.c CommandParser.l
$(CC) -c CommandParser.yy.c
Remember to use $(CXX) or $(CC) in all your compile commands.
Then, 'make debug' will have extra flags like -DDEBUG and -g where as 'make' will not.
On a side note, you can make your Makefile a lot more concise like other posts had suggested.

Answer 2

This question has appeared often when searching for a similar problem, so I feel a fully implemented solution is warranted. Especially since I (and I would assume others) have struggled piecing all the various answers together.
Below is a sample Makefile which supports multiple build types in separate directories. The example illustrated shows debug and release builds.
Supports ...
separate project directories for specific builds
easy selection of a default target build
silent prep target to create directories needed for building the project
build-specific compiler configuration flags
GNU Make's natural method of determining if project requires a rebuild
pattern rules rather than the obsolete suffix rules
#
# Compiler flags
#
CC = gcc
CFLAGS = -Wall -Werror -Wextra
#
# Project files
#
SRCS = file1.c file2.c file3.c file4.c
OBJS = $(SRCS:.c=.o)
EXE = exefile
#
# Debug build settings
#
DBGDIR = debug
DBGEXE = $(DBGDIR)/$(EXE)
DBGOBJS = $(addprefix $(DBGDIR)/, $(OBJS))
DBGCFLAGS = -g -O0 -DDEBUG
#
# Release build settings
#
RELDIR = release
RELEXE = $(RELDIR)/$(EXE)
RELOBJS = $(addprefix $(RELDIR)/, $(OBJS))
RELCFLAGS = -O3 -DNDEBUG
.PHONY: all clean debug prep release remake
# Default build
all: prep release
#
# Debug rules
#
debug: $(DBGEXE)
$(DBGEXE): $(DBGOBJS)
$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(DBGCFLAGS) -o $(DBGEXE) $^
$(DBGDIR)/%.o: %.c
$(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $(DBGCFLAGS) -o $# $<
#
# Release rules
#
release: $(RELEXE)
$(RELEXE): $(RELOBJS)
$(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(RELCFLAGS) -o $(RELEXE) $^
$(RELDIR)/%.o: %.c
$(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $(RELCFLAGS) -o $# $<
#
# Other rules
#
prep:
#mkdir -p $(DBGDIR) $(RELDIR)
remake: clean all
clean:
rm -f $(RELEXE) $(RELOBJS) $(DBGEXE) $(DBGOBJS)

Answer 3

If by configure release/build, you mean you only need one config per makefile, then it is simply a matter and decoupling CC and CFLAGS:
CFLAGS=-DDEBUG
#CFLAGS=-O2 -DNDEBUG
CC=g++ -g3 -gdwarf2 $(CFLAGS)
Depending on whether you can use gnu makefile, you can use conditional to make this a bit fancier, and control it from the command line:
DEBUG ?= 1
ifeq ($(DEBUG), 1)
CFLAGS =-DDEBUG
else
CFLAGS=-DNDEBUG
endif
.o: .c
$(CC) -c $< -o $# $(CFLAGS)
and then use:
make DEBUG=0
make DEBUG=1
If you need to control both configurations at the same time, I think it is better to have build directories, and one build directory / config.

Answer 4

Note that you can also make your Makefile simpler, at the same time:
DEBUG ?= 1
ifeq (DEBUG, 1)
CFLAGS =-g3 -gdwarf2 -DDEBUG
else
CFLAGS=-DNDEBUG
endif
CXX = g++ $(CFLAGS)
CC = gcc $(CFLAGS)
EXECUTABLE = output
OBJECTS = CommandParser.tab.o CommandParser.yy.o Command.o
LIBRARIES = -lfl
all: $(EXECUTABLE)
$(EXECUTABLE): $(OBJECTS)
$(CXX) -o $# $^ $(LIBRARIES)
%.yy.o: %.l
flex -o $*.yy.c $<
$(CC) -c $*.yy.c
%.tab.o: %.y
bison -d $<
$(CXX) -c $*.tab.c
%.o: %.cpp
$(CXX) -c $<
clean:
rm -f $(EXECUTABLE) $(OBJECTS) *.yy.c *.tab.c
Now you don't have to repeat filenames all over the place. Any .l files will get passed through flex and gcc, any .y files will get passed through bison and g++, and any .cpp files through just g++.
Just list the .o files you expect to end up with, and Make will do the work of figuring out which rules can satisfy the needs...
for the record:
$# The name of the target file (the one before the colon)
$< The name of the first (or only) prerequisite file (the first one after the colon)
$^ The names of all the prerequisite files (space separated)
$* The stem (the bit which matches the % wildcard in the rule definition.

Answer 5

you can have a variable
DEBUG = 0
then you can use a conditional statement
ifeq ($(DEBUG),1)
else
endif

Answer 6

Completing the answers from earlier... You need to reference the variables you define info in your commands...
DEBUG ?= 1
ifeq (DEBUG, 1)
CFLAGS =-g3 -gdwarf2 -DDEBUG
else
CFLAGS=-DNDEBUG
endif
CXX = g++ $(CFLAGS)
CC = gcc $(CFLAGS)
all: executable
executable: CommandParser.tab.o CommandParser.yy.o Command.o
$(CXX) -o output CommandParser.yy.o CommandParser.tab.o Command.o -lfl
CommandParser.yy.o: CommandParser.l
flex -o CommandParser.yy.c CommandParser.l
$(CC) -c CommandParser.yy.c
CommandParser.tab.o: CommandParser.y
bison -d CommandParser.y
$(CXX) -c CommandParser.tab.c
Command.o: Command.cpp
$(CXX) -c Command.cpp
clean:
rm -f CommandParser.tab.* CommandParser.yy.* output *.o

Answer 7

You could also add something simple to your Makefile such as
ifeq ($(DEBUG),1)
OPTS = -g
endif
Then compile it for debugging
make DEBUG=1