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1GNU make NEWS -*-indented-text-*-
2 History of user-visible changes.
3 17 April 2003
4
5Copyright (C) 2002,2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
6See the end for copying conditions.
7
8All changes mentioned here are more fully described in the GNU make
9manual, which is contained in this distribution as the file doc/make.texi.
10
11Please send GNU make bug reports to <bug-make@gnu.org>.
12See the README file and the GNU make manual for details on sending bug
13reports.
14
15
16Version 3.81rc1
17
18* GNU make is ported to OS/2.
19 Port provided by Andreas Buening <andreas.buening@nexgo.de>.
20
21* All pattern-specific variables that match a given target are now used
22 (previously only the first match was used).
23
24* Target-specific variables can be marked as exportable using the
25 "export" keyword.
26
27* In a recursive $(call ...) context, any extra arguments from the outer
28 call are now masked in the context of the inner call.
29
30* Enhancements for POSIX compatibility:
31 - Only touch targets (under -t) if they have at least one command.
32
33* Updated to autoconf 2.57, automake 1.7.6, and gettext 0.12.1. Users
34 should not be impacted.
35
36
37
38Version 3.80
39
40* A new feature exists: order-only prerequisites. These prerequisites
41 affect the order in which targets are built, but they do not impact
42 the rebuild/no-rebuild decision of their dependents. That is to say,
43 they allow you to require target B be built before target A, without
44 requiring that target A will always be rebuilt if target B is updated.
45 Patch for this feature provided by Greg McGary <greg@mcgary.org>.
46
47* For compatibility with SysV make, GNU make now supports the peculiar
48 syntax $$@, $$(@D), and $$(@F) in the prerequisites list of a rule.
49 This syntax is only valid within explicit and static pattern rules: it
50 cannot be used in implicit (suffix or pattern) rules. Edouard G. Parmelan
51 <egp@free.fr> provided a patch implementing this feature; however, I
52 decided to implement it in a different way.
53
54* The argument to the "ifdef" conditional is now expanded before it's
55 tested, so it can be a constructed variable name.
56
57 Similarly, the arguments to "export" (when not used in a variable
58 definition context) and "unexport" are also now expanded.
59
60* A new function is defined: $(value ...). The argument to this
61 function is the _name_ of a variable. The result of the function is
62 the value of the variable, without having been expanded.
63
64* A new function is defined: $(eval ...). The arguments to this
65 function should expand to makefile commands, which will then be
66 evaluated as if they had appeared in the makefile. In combination
67 with define/endef multiline variable definitions this is an extremely
68 powerful capability. The $(value ...) function is also sometimes
69 useful here.
70
71* A new built-in variable is defined, $(MAKEFILE_LIST). It contains a
72 list of each makefile GNU make has read, or started to read, in the
73 order in which they were encountered. So, the last filename in the
74 list when a makefile is just being read (before any includes) is the
75 name of the current makefile.
76
77* A new built-in variable is defined: $(.VARIABLES). When it is
78 expanded it returns a complete list of variable names defined by all
79 makefiles at that moment.
80
81* A new command-line option is defined, -B or --always-make. If
82 specified GNU make will consider all targets out-of-date even if they
83 would otherwise not be.
84
85* The arguments to $(call ...) functions were being stored in $1, $2,
86 etc. as recursive variables, even though they are fully expanded
87 before assignment. This means that escaped dollar signs ($$ etc.)
88 were not behaving properly. Now the arguments are stored as simple
89 variables. This may mean that if you added extra escaping to your
90 $(call ...) function arguments you will need to undo it now.
91
92* The variable invoked by $(call ...) can now be recursive: unlike other
93 variables it can reference itself and this will not produce an error
94 when it is used as the first argument to $(call ...) (but only then).
95
96* New pseudo-target .LOW_RESOLUTION_TIME, superseding the configure
97 option --disable-nsec-timestamps. You might need this if your build
98 process depends on tools like "cp -p" preserving time stamps, since
99 "cp -p" (right now) doesn't preserve the subsecond portion of a time
100 stamp.
101
102* Updated translations for French, Galician, German, Japanese, Korean,
103 and Russian. New translations for Croatian, Danish, Hebrew, and
104 Turkish.
105
106* Updated internationalization support to Gettext 0.11.5.
107 GNU make now uses Gettext's "external" feature, and does not include
108 any internationalization code itself. Configure will search your
109 system for an existing implementation of GNU Gettext (only GNU Gettext
110 is acceptable) and use it if it exists. If not, NLS will be disabled.
111 See ABOUT-NLS for more information.
112
113* Updated to autoconf 2.54 and automake 1.7. Users should not be impacted.
114
115
116Version 3.79.1
117
118* .SECONDARY with no prerequisites now prevents any target from being
119 removed because make thinks it's an intermediate file, not just those
120 listed in the makefile.
121
122* New configure option --disable-nsec-timestamps, but this was
123 superseded in later versions by the .LOW_RESOLUTION_TIME pseudo-target.
124
125
126Version 3.79
127
128* GNU make optionally supports internationalization and locales via the
129 GNU gettext (or local gettext if suitable) package. See the ABOUT-NLS
130 file for more information on configuring GNU make for NLS.
131
132* Previously, GNU make quoted variables such as MAKEFLAGS and
133 MAKEOVERRIDES for proper parsing by the shell. This allowed them to
134 be used within make build scripts. However, using them there is not
135 proper behavior: they are meant to be passed to subshells via the
136 environment. Unfortunately the values were not quoted properly to be
137 passed through the environment. This meant that make didn't properly
138 pass some types of command line values to submakes.
139
140 With this version we change that behavior: now these variables are
141 quoted properly for passing through the environment, which is the
142 correct way to do it. If you previously used these variables
143 explicitly within a make rule you may need to re-examine your use for
144 correctness given this change.
145
146* A new pseudo-target .NOTPARALLEL is available. If defined, the
147 current makefile is run serially regardless of the value of -j.
148 However, submakes are still eligible for parallel execution.
149
150* The --debug option has changed: it now allows optional flags
151 controlling the amount and type of debugging output. By default only
152 a minimal amount information is generated, displaying the names of
153 "normal" targets (not makefiles) that were deemed out of date and in
154 need of being rebuilt.
155
156 Note that the -d option behaves as before: it takes no arguments and
157 all debugging information is generated.
158
159* The `-p' (print database) output now includes filename and linenumber
160 information for variable definitions, to aid debugging.
161
162* The wordlist function no longer reverses its arguments if the "start"
163 value is greater than the "end" value. If that's true, nothing is
164 returned.
165
166* Hartmut Becker provided many updates for the VMS port of GNU make.
167 See the readme.vms file for more details.
168
169
170Version 3.78
171
172* Two new functions, $(error ...) and $(warning ...) are available. The
173 former will cause make to fail and exit immediately upon expansion of
174 the function, with the text provided as the error message. The latter
175 causes the text provided to be printed as a warning message, but make
176 proceeds normally.
177
178* A new function $(call ...) is available. This allows users to create
179 their own parameterized macros and invoke them later. Original
180 implementation of this function was provided by Han-Wen Nienhuys
181 <hanwen@cs.uu.nl>.
182
183* A new function $(if ...) is available. It provides if-then-else
184 capabilities in a builtin function. Original implementation of this
185 function was provided by Han-Wen Nienhuys <hanwen@cs.uu.nl>.
186
187* Make defines a new variable, .LIBPATTERNS. This variable controls how
188 library dependency expansion (dependencies like ``-lfoo'') is performed.
189
190* Make accepts CRLF sequences as well as traditional LF, for
191 compatibility with makefiles created on other operating systems.
192
193* Make accepts a new option: -R, or --no-builtin-variables. This option
194 disables the definition of the rule-specific builtin variables (CC,
195 LD, AR, etc.). Specifying this option forces -r (--no-builtin-rules)
196 as well.
197
198* A "job server" feature, suggested by Howard Chu <hyc@highlandsun.com>.
199
200 On systems that support POSIX pipe(2) semantics, GNU make can now pass
201 -jN options to submakes rather than forcing them all to use -j1. The
202 top make and all its sub-make processes use a pipe to communicate with
203 each other to ensure that no more than N jobs are started across all
204 makes. To get the old behavior of -j back, you can configure make
205 with the --disable-job-server option.
206
207* The confusing term "dependency" has been replaced by the more accurate
208 and standard term "prerequisite", both in the manual and in all GNU make
209 output.
210
211* GNU make supports the "big archive" library format introduced in AIX 4.3.
212
213* GNU make supports large files on AIX, HP-UX, and IRIX. These changes
214 were provided by Paul Eggert <eggert@twinsun.com>. (Large file
215 support for Solaris and Linux was introduced in 3.77, but the
216 configuration had issues: these have also been resolved).
217
218* The Windows 95/98/NT (W32) version of GNU make now has native support
219 for the Cygnus Cygwin release B20.1 shell (bash).
220
221* The GNU make regression test suite, long available separately "under
222 the table", has been integrated into the release. You can invoke it
223 by running "make check" in the distribution. Note that it requires
224 Perl (either Perl 4 or Perl 5) to run.
225
226
227Version 3.77
228
229* Implement BSD make's "?=" variable assignment operator. The variable
230 is assigned the specified value only if that variable is not already
231 defined.
232
233* Make defines a new variable, "CURDIR", to contain the current working
234 directory (after the -C option, if any, has been processed).
235 Modifying this variable has no effect on the operation of make.
236
237* Make defines a new default RCS rule, for new-style master file
238 storage: ``% :: RCS/%'' (note no ``,v'' suffix).
239
240 Make defines new default rules for DOS-style C++ file naming
241 conventions, with ``.cpp'' suffixes. All the same rules as for
242 ``.cc'' and ``.C'' suffixes are provided, along with LINK.cpp and
243 COMPILE.cpp macros (which default to the same value as LINK.cc and
244 COMPILE.cc). Note CPPFLAGS is still C preprocessor flags! You should
245 use CXXFLAGS to change C++ compiler flags.
246
247* A new feature, "target-specific variable values", has been added.
248 This is a large change so please see the appropriate sections of the
249 manual for full details. Briefly, syntax like this:
250
251 TARGET: VARIABLE = VALUE
252
253 defines VARIABLE as VALUE within the context of TARGET. This is
254 similar to SunOS make's "TARGET := VARIABLE = VALUE" feature. Note
255 that the assignment may be of any type, not just recursive, and that
256 the override keyword is available.
257
258 COMPATIBILITY: This new syntax means that if you have any rules where
259 the first or second dependency has an equal sign (=) in its name,
260 you'll have to escape them with a backslash: "foo : bar\=baz".
261 Further, if you have any dependencies which already contain "\=",
262 you'll have to escape both of them: "foo : bar\\\=baz".
263
264* A new appendix listing the most common error and warning messages
265 generated by GNU make, with some explanation, has been added to the
266 GNU make User's Manual.
267
268* Updates to the GNU make Customs library support (see README.customs).
269
270* Updates to the Windows 95/NT port from Rob Tulloh (see README.W32),
271 and to the DOS port from Eli Zaretski (see README.DOS).
272
273
274Version 3.76.1
275
276* Small (but serious) bug fix. Quick rollout to get into the GNU source CD.
277
278
279Version 3.76
280
281* GNU make now uses automake to control Makefile.in generation. This
282 should make it more consistent with the GNU standards.
283
284* VPATH functionality has been changed to incorporate the VPATH+ patch,
285 previously maintained by Paul Smith <psmith@baynetworks.com>. See the
286 manual.
287
288* Make defines a new variable, `MAKECMDGOALS', to contain the goals that
289 were specified on the command line, if any. Modifying this variable
290 has no effect on the operation of make.
291
292* A new function, `$(wordlist S,E,TEXT)', is available: it returns a
293 list of words from number S to number E (inclusive) of TEXT.
294
295* Instead of an error, detection of future modification times gives a
296 warning and continues. The warning is repeated just before GNU make
297 exits, so it is less likely to be lost.
298
299* Fix the $(basename) and $(suffix) functions so they only operate on
300 the last filename, not the entire string:
301
302 Command Old Result New Result
303 ------- ---------- ----------
304 $(basename a.b) a a
305 $(basename a.b/c) a a.b/c
306 $(suffix a.b) b b
307 $(suffix a.b/c) b/c <empty>
308
309* The $(strip) function now removes newlines as well as TABs and spaces.
310
311* The $(shell) function now changes CRLF (\r\n) pairs to a space as well
312 as newlines (\n).
313
314* Updates to the Windows 95/NT port from Rob Tulloh (see README.W32).
315
316* Eli Zaretskii has updated the port to 32-bit protected mode on MSDOS
317 and MS-Windows, building with the DJGPP v2 port of GNU C/C++ compiler
318 and utilities. See README.DOS for details, and direct all questions
319 concerning this port to Eli Zaretskii <eliz@is.elta.co.il> or DJ
320 Delorie <dj@delorie.com>.
321
322* John W. Eaton has updated the VMS port to support libraries and VPATH.
323
324
325Version 3.75
326
327* The directory messages printed by `-w' and implicitly in sub-makes,
328 are now omitted if Make runs no commands and has no other messages to print.
329
330* Make now detects files that for whatever reason have modification times
331 in the future and gives an error. Files with such impossible timestamps
332 can result from unsynchronized clocks, or archived distributions
333 containing bogus timestamps; they confuse Make's dependency engine
334 thoroughly.
335
336* The new directive `sinclude' is now recognized as another name for
337 `-include', for compatibility with some other Makes.
338
339* Aaron Digulla has contributed a port to AmigaDOS. See README.Amiga for
340 details, and direct all Amiga-related questions to <digulla@fh-konstanz.de>.
341
342* Rob Tulloh of Tivoli Systems has contributed a port to Windows NT or 95.
343 See README.W32 for details, and direct all Windows-related questions to
344 <rob_tulloh@tivoli.com>.
345
346
347Version 3.73
348
349* Converted to use Autoconf version 2, so `configure' has some new options.
350 See INSTALL for details.
351
352* You can now send a SIGUSR1 signal to Make to toggle printing of debugging
353 output enabled by -d, at any time during the run.
354
355
356Version 3.72
357
358* DJ Delorie has ported Make to MS-DOS using the GO32 extender.
359 He is maintaining the DOS port, not the GNU Make maintainer;
360 please direct bugs and questions for DOS to <djgpp@sun.soe.clarkson.edu>.
361 MS-DOS binaries are available for FTP from ftp.simtel.net in
362 /pub/simtelnet/gnu/djgpp/.
363
364* The `MAKEFLAGS' variable (in the environment or in a makefile) can now
365 contain variable definitions itself; these are treated just like
366 command-line variable definitions. Make will automatically insert any
367 variable definitions from the environment value of `MAKEFLAGS' or from
368 the command line, into the `MAKEFLAGS' value exported to children. The
369 `MAKEOVERRIDES' variable previously included in the value of `$(MAKE)'
370 for sub-makes is now included in `MAKEFLAGS' instead. As before, you can
371 reset `MAKEOVERRIDES' in your makefile to avoid putting all the variables
372 in the environment when its size is limited.
373
374* If `.DELETE_ON_ERROR' appears as a target, Make will delete the target of
375 a rule if it has changed when its commands exit with a nonzero status,
376 just as when the commands get a signal.
377
378* The automatic variable `$+' is new. It lists all the dependencies like
379 `$^', but preserves duplicates listed in the makefile. This is useful
380 for linking rules, where library files sometimes need to be listed twice
381 in the link order.
382
383* You can now specify the `.IGNORE' and `.SILENT' special targets with
384 dependencies to limit their effects to those files. If a file appears as
385 a dependency of `.IGNORE', then errors will be ignored while running the
386 commands to update that file. Likewise if a file appears as a dependency
387 of `.SILENT', then the commands to update that file will not be printed
388 before they are run. (This change was made to conform to POSIX.2.)
389
390
391Version 3.71
392
393* The automatic variables `$(@D)', `$(%D)', `$(*D)', `$(<D)', `$(?D)', and
394 `$(^D)' now omit the trailing slash from the directory name. (This change
395 was made to comply with POSIX.2.)
396
397* The source distribution now includes the Info files for the Make manual.
398 There is no longer a separate distribution containing Info and DVI files.
399
400* You can now set the variables `binprefix' and/or `manprefix' in
401 Makefile.in (or on the command line when installing) to install GNU make
402 under a name other than `make' (i.e., ``make binprefix=g install''
403 installs GNU make as `gmake').
404
405* The built-in Texinfo rules use the new variables `TEXI2DVI_FLAGS' for
406 flags to the `texi2dvi' script, and `MAKEINFO_FLAGS' for flags to the
407 Makeinfo program.
408
409* The exit status of Make when it runs into errors is now 2 instead of 1.
410 The exit status is 1 only when using -q and some target is not up to date.
411 (This change was made to comply with POSIX.2.)
412
413
414Version 3.70
415
416* It is no longer a fatal error to have a NUL character in a makefile.
417 You should never put a NUL in a makefile because it can have strange
418 results, but otherwise empty lines full of NULs (such as produced by
419 the `xmkmf' program) will always work fine.
420
421* The error messages for nonexistent included makefiles now refer to the
422 makefile name and line number where the `include' appeared, so Emacs's
423 C-x ` command takes you there (in case it's a typo you need to fix).
424
425
426Version 3.69
427
428* Implicit rule search for archive member references is now done in the
429 opposite order from previous versions: the whole target name `LIB(MEM)'
430 first, and just the member name and parentheses `(MEM)' second.
431
432* Make now gives an error for an unterminated variable or function reference.
433 For example, `$(foo' with no matching `)' or `${bar' with no matching `}'.
434
435* The new default variable `MAKE_VERSION' gives the version number of
436 Make, and a string describing the remote job support compiled in (if any).
437 Thus the value (in this release) is something like `3.69' or `3.69-Customs'.
438
439* Commands in an invocation of the `shell' function are no longer run with
440 a modified environment like target commands are. As in versions before
441 3.68, they now run with the environment that `make' started with. We
442 have reversed the change made in version 3.68 because it turned out to
443 cause a paradoxical situation in cases like:
444
445 export variable = $(shell echo value)
446
447 When Make attempted to put this variable in the environment for a target
448 command, it would try expand the value by running the shell command
449 `echo value'. In version 3.68, because it constructed an environment
450 for that shell command in the same way, Make would begin to go into an
451 infinite loop and then get a fatal error when it detected the loop.
452
453* The commands given for `.DEFAULT' are now used for phony targets with no
454 commands.
455
456
457Version 3.68
458
459* You can list several archive member names inside parenthesis:
460 `lib(mem1 mem2 mem3)' is equivalent to `lib(mem1) lib(mem2) lib(mem3)'.
461
462* You can use wildcards inside archive member references. For example,
463 `lib(*.o)' expands to all existing members of `lib' whose names end in
464 `.o' (e.g. `lib(a.o) lib(b.o)'); `*.a(*.o)' expands to all such members
465 of all existing files whose names end in `.a' (e.g. `foo.a(a.o)
466 foo.a(b.o) bar.a(c.o) bar.a(d.o)'.
467
468* A suffix rule `.X.a' now produces two pattern rules:
469 (%.o): %.X # Previous versions produced only this.
470 %.a: %.X # Now produces this as well, just like other suffixes.
471
472* The new flag `--warn-undefined-variables' says to issue a warning message
473 whenever Make expands a reference to an undefined variable.
474
475* The new `-include' directive is just like `include' except that there is
476 no error (not even a warning) for a nonexistent makefile.
477
478* Commands in an invocation of the `shell' function are now run with a
479 modified environment like target commands are, so you can use `export' et
480 al to set up variables for them. They used to run with the environment
481 that `make' started with.
482
483
484Version 3.66
485
486* `make --version' (or `make -v') now exits immediately after printing
487 the version number.
488
489
490Version 3.65
491
492* Make now supports long-named members in `ar' archive files.
493
494
495Version 3.64
496
497* Make now supports the `+=' syntax for a variable definition which appends
498 to the variable's previous value. See the section `Appending More Text
499 to Variables' in the manual for full details.
500
501* The new option `--no-print-directory' inhibits the `-w' or
502 `--print-directory' feature. Make turns on `--print-directory'
503 automatically if you use `-C' or `--directory', and in sub-makes; some
504 users have found this behavior undesirable.
505
506* The built-in implicit rules now support the alternative extension
507 `.txinfo' for Texinfo files, just like `.texinfo' and `.texi'.
508
509
510Version 3.63
511
512* Make now uses a standard GNU `configure' script. See the new file
513 INSTALL for the new (and much simpler) installation procedure.
514
515* There is now a shell script to build Make the first time, if you have no
516 other `make' program. `build.sh' is created by `configure'; see README.
517
518* GNU Make now completely conforms to the POSIX.2 specification for `make'.
519
520* Elements of the `$^' and `$?' automatic variables that are archive
521 member references now list only the member name, as in Unix and POSIX.2.
522
523* You should no longer ever need to specify the `-w' switch, which prints
524 the current directory before and after Make runs. The `-C' switch to
525 change directory, and recursive use of Make, now set `-w' automatically.
526
527* Multiple double-colon rules for the same target will no longer have their
528 commands run simultaneously under -j, as this could result in the two
529 commands trying to change the file at the same time and interfering with
530 one another.
531
532* The `SHELL' variable is now never taken from the environment.
533 Each makefile that wants a shell other than the default (/bin/sh) must
534 set SHELL itself. SHELL is always exported to child processes.
535 This change was made for compatibility with POSIX.2.
536
537* Make now accepts long options. There is now an informative usage message
538 that tells you what all the options are and what they do. Try `make --help'.
539
540* There are two new directives: `export' and `unexport'. All variables are
541 no longer automatically put into the environments of the commands that
542 Make runs. Instead, only variables specified on the command line or in
543 the environment are exported by default. To export others, use:
544 export VARIABLE
545 or you can define variables with:
546 export VARIABLE = VALUE
547 or:
548 export VARIABLE := VALUE
549 You can use just:
550 export
551 or:
552 .EXPORT_ALL_VARIABLES:
553 to get the old behavior. See the node `Variables/Recursion' in the manual
554 for a full description.
555
556* The commands from the `.DEFAULT' special target are only applied to
557 targets which have no rules at all, not all targets with no commands.
558 This change was made for compatibility with Unix make.
559
560* All fatal error messages now contain `***', so they are easy to find in
561 compilation logs.
562
563* Dependency file names like `-lNAME' are now replaced with the actual file
564 name found, as with files found by normal directory search (VPATH).
565 The library file `libNAME.a' may now be found in the current directory,
566 which is checked before VPATH; the standard set of directories (/lib,
567 /usr/lib, /usr/local/lib) is now checked last.
568 See the node `Libraries/Search' in the manual for full details.
569
570* A single `include' directive can now specify more than one makefile to
571 include, like this:
572 include file1 file2
573 You can also use shell file name patterns in an `include' directive:
574 include *.mk
575
576* The default directories to search for included makefiles, and for
577 libraries specified with `-lNAME', are now set by configuration.
578
579* You can now use blanks as well as colons to separate the directories in a
580 search path for the `vpath' directive or the `VPATH' variable.
581
582* You can now use variables and functions in the left hand side of a
583 variable assignment, as in "$(foo)bar = value".
584
585* The `MAKE' variable is always defined as `$(MAKE_COMMAND) $(MAKEOVERRIDES)'.
586 The `MAKE_COMMAND' variable is now defined to the name with which make
587 was invoked.
588
589* The built-in rules for C++ compilation now use the variables `$(CXX)' and
590 `$(CXXFLAGS)' instead of `$(C++)' and `$(C++FLAGS)'. The old names had
591 problems with shells that cannot have `+' in environment variable names.
592
593* The value of a recursively expanded variable is now expanded when putting
594 it into the environment for child processes. This change was made for
595 compatibility with Unix make.
596
597* A rule with no targets before the `:' is now accepted and ignored.
598 This change was made for compatibility with SunOS 4 make.
599 We do not recommend that you write your makefiles to take advantage of this.
600
601* The `-I' switch can now be used in MAKEFLAGS, and are put there
602 automatically just like other switches.
603
604
605Version 3.61
606
607* Built-in rules for C++ source files with the `.C' suffix.
608 We still recommend that you use `.cc' instead.
609
610* If commands are given too many times for a single target,
611 the last set given is used, and a warning message is printed.
612
613* Error messages about makefiles are in standard GNU error format,
614 so C-x ` in Emacs works on them.
615
616* Dependencies of pattern rules which contain no % need not actually exist
617 if they can be created (just like dependencies which do have a %).
618
619
620Version 3.60
621
622* A message is always printed when Make decides there is nothing to be done.
623 It used to be that no message was printed for top-level phony targets
624 (because "`phony' is up to date" isn't quite right). Now a different
625 message "Nothing to be done for `phony'" is printed in that case.
626
627* Archives on AIX now supposedly work.
628
629* When the commands specified for .DEFAULT are used to update a target,
630 the $< automatic variable is given the same value as $@ for that target.
631 This is how Unix make behaves, and this behavior is mandated by POSIX.2.
632
633
634Version 3.59
635
636* The -n, -q, and -t options are not put in the `MAKEFLAGS' and `MFLAG'
637 variables while remaking makefiles, so recursive makes done while remaking
638 makefiles will behave properly.
639
640* If the special target `.NOEXPORT' is specified in a makefile,
641 only variables that came from the environment and variables
642 defined on the command line are exported.
643
644
645Version 3.58
646
647* Suffix rules may have dependencies (which are ignored).
648
649
650Version 3.57
651
652* Dependencies of the form `-lLIB' are searched for as /usr/local/lib/libLIB.a
653 as well as libLIB.a in /usr/lib, /lib, the current directory, and VPATH.
654
655
656Version 3.55
657
658* There is now a Unix man page for GNU Make. It is certainly not a replacement
659for the Texinfo manual, but it documents the basic functionality and the
660switches. For full documentation, you should still read the Texinfo manual.
661Thanks to Dennis Morse of Stanford University for contributing the initial
662version of this.
663
664* Variables which are defined by default (e.g., `CC') will no longer be put
665into the environment for child processes. (If these variables are reset by the
666environment, makefiles, or the command line, they will still go into the
667environment.)
668
669* Makefiles which have commands but no dependencies (and thus are always
670 considered out of date and in need of remaking), will not be remade (if they
671 were being remade only because they were makefiles). This means that GNU
672 Make will no longer go into an infinite loop when fed the makefiles that
673 `imake' (necessary to build X Windows) produces.
674
675* There is no longer a warning for using the `vpath' directive with an explicit
676pathname (instead of a `%' pattern).
677
678
679Version 3.51
680
681* When removing intermediate files, only one `rm' command line is printed,
682listing all file names.
683
684* There are now automatic variables `$(^D)', `$(^F)', `$(?D)', and `$(?F)'.
685These are the directory-only and file-only versions of `$^' and `$?'.
686
687* Library dependencies given as `-lNAME' will use "libNAME.a" in the current
688directory if it exists.
689
690* The automatic variable `$($/)' is no longer defined.
691
692* Leading `+' characters on a command line make that line be executed even
693under -n, -t, or -q (as if the line contained `$(MAKE)').
694
695* For command lines containing `$(MAKE)', `${MAKE}', or leading `+' characters,
696only those lines are executed, not their entire rules.
697(This is how Unix make behaves for lines containing `$(MAKE)' or `${MAKE}'.)
698
699
700Version 3.50
701
702* Filenames in rules will now have ~ and ~USER expanded.
703
704* The `-p' output has been changed so it can be used as a makefile.
705(All information that isn't specified by makefiles is prefaced with comment
706characters.)
707
708
709Version 3.49
710
711* The % character can be quoted with backslash in implicit pattern rules,
712static pattern rules, `vpath' directives, and `patsubst', `filter', and
713`filter-out' functions. A warning is issued if a `vpath' directive's
714pattern contains no %.
715
716* The `wildcard' variable expansion function now expands ~ and ~USER.
717
718* Messages indicating failed commands now contain the target name:
719 make: *** [target] Error 1
720
721* The `-p' output format has been changed somewhat to look more like
722makefile rules and to give all information that Make has about files.
723
724
725Version 3.48
726
727
728Version 3.47
729
730* The `-l' switch with no argument removes any previous load-average limit.
731
732* When the `-w' switch is in effect, and Make has updated makefiles,
733it will write a `Leaving directory' messagfe before re-executing itself.
734This makes the `directory change tracking' changes to Emacs's compilation
735commands work properly.
736
737
738Version 3.46
739
740* The automatic variable `$*' is now defined for explicit rules,
741as it is in Unix make.
742
743
744Version 3.45
745
746* The `-j' switch is now put in the MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS variables when
747specified without an argument (indicating infinite jobs).
748The `-l' switch is not always put in the MAKEFLAGS and MFLAGS variables.
749
750* Make no longer checks hashed directories after running commands.
751The behavior implemented in 3.41 caused too much slowdown.
752
753
754Version 3.44
755
756* A dependency is NOT considered newer than its dependent if
757they have the same modification time. The behavior implemented
758in 3.43 conflicts with RCS.
759
760
761Version 3.43
762
763* Dependency loops are no longer fatal errors.
764
765* A dependency is considered newer than its dependent if
766they have the same modification time.
767
768
769Version 3.42
770
771* The variables F77 and F77FLAGS are now set by default to $(FC) and
772$(FFLAGS). Makefiles designed for System V make may use these variables in
773explicit rules and expect them to be set. Unfortunately, there is no way to
774make setting these affect the Fortran implicit rules unless FC and FFLAGS
775are not used (and these are used by BSD make).
776
777
778Version 3.41
779
780* Make now checks to see if its hashed directories are changed by commands.
781Other makes that hash directories (Sun, 4.3 BSD) don't do this.
782
783
784Version 3.39
785
786* The `shell' function no longer captures standard error output.
787
788
789Version 3.32
790
791* A file beginning with a dot can be the default target if it also contains
792a slash (e.g., `../bin/foo'). (Unix make allows this as well.)
793
794
795Version 3.31
796
797* Archive member names are truncated to 15 characters.
798
799* Yet more USG stuff.
800
801* Minimal support for Microport System V (a 16-bit machine and a
802brain-damaged compiler). This has even lower priority than other USG
803support, so if it gets beyond trivial, I will take it out completely.
804
805* Revamped default implicit rules (not much visible change).
806
807* The -d and -p options can come from the environment.
808
809
810Version 3.30
811
812* Improved support for USG and HPUX (hopefully).
813
814* A variable reference like `$(foo:a=b)', if `a' contains a `%', is
815equivalent to `$(patsubst a,b,$(foo))'.
816
817* Defining .DEFAULT with no deps or commands clears its commands.
818
819* New default implicit rules for .S (cpp, then as), and .sh (copy and make
820executable). All default implicit rules that use cpp (even indirectly), use
821$(CPPFLAGS).
822
823
824Version 3.29
825
826* Giving the -j option with no arguments gives you infinite jobs.
827
828
829Version 3.28
830
831* New option: "-l LOAD" says not to start any new jobs while others are
832running if the load average is not below LOAD (a floating-point number).
833
834* There is support in place for implementations of remote command execution
835in Make. See the file remote.c.
836
837
838Version 3.26
839
840* No more than 10 directories will be kept open at once.
841(This number can be changed by redefining MAX_OPEN_DIRECTORIES in dir.c.)
842
843
844Version 3.25
845
846* Archive files will have their modification times recorded before doing
847anything that might change their modification times by updating an archive
848member.
849
850
851Version 3.20
852
853* The `MAKELEVEL' variable is defined for use by makefiles.
854
855
856Version 3.19
857
858* The recursion level indications in error messages are much shorter than
859they were in version 3.14.
860
861
862Version 3.18
863
864* Leading spaces before directives are ignored (as documented).
865
866* Included makefiles can determine the default goal target.
867(System V Make does it this way, so we are being compatible).
868
869
870Version 3.14.
871
872* Variables that are defaults built into Make will not be put in the
873environment for children. This just saves some environment space and,
874except under -e, will be transparent to sub-makes.
875
876* Error messages from sub-makes will indicate the level of recursion.
877
878* Hopefully some speed-up for large directories due to a change in the
879directory hashing scheme.
880
881* One child will always get a standard input that is usable.
882
883* Default makefiles that don't exist will be remade and read in.
884
885
886Version 3.13.
887
888* Count parentheses inside expansion function calls so you can
889have nested calls: `$(sort $(foreach x,a b,$(x)))'.
890
891
892Version 3.12.
893
894* Several bug fixes, including USG and Sun386i support.
895
896* `shell' function to expand shell commands a la `
897
898* If the `-d' flag is given, version information will be printed.
899
900* The `-c' option has been renamed to `-C' for compatibility with tar.
901
902* The `-p' option no longer inhibits other normal operation.
903
904* Makefiles will be updated and re-read if necessary.
905
906* Can now run several commands at once (parallelism), -j option.
907
908* Error messages will contain the level of Make recursion, if any.
909
910* The `MAKEFLAGS' and `MFLAGS' variables will be scanned for options after
911makefiles are read.
912
913* A double-colon rule with no dependencies will always have its commands run.
914(This is how both the BSD and System V versions of Make do it.)
915
916
917Version 3.05
918
919(Changes from versions 1 through 3.05 were never recorded. Sorry.)
920
921
922----------------------------------------------------------------------
923Copyright information:
924
925 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
926 of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
927 copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved, thus
928 giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
929
930 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions of this
931 document, or of portions of it, under the above conditions, provided
932 also that they carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.
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