Re: make and package manager

On Wed, May 27, 2026 at 12:49:39PM -0400, Jeffrey Walton wrote:
> On Wed, May 27, 2026 at 12:40 PM Roy J. Tellason, Sr. <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > On Wednesday 27 May 2026 08:29:09 am Greg Wooledge wrote:
> > > "make" is a tool used in software development.  It has a man page:
> > > <https://manpages.debian.org/make>
> >
> > Looked that over,  then tried "info make" which had a bit more in it,  but not as much as I'd like.  I have tried to read makefiles and find it difficult to get a handle on just what's going on there.  Do you know of any other resources that might help with this?
> 
> Make and makefiles are definitely an acquired taste.
> 
> POSIX's make is anemic.  To get useful things done, you want to use
> GNU make (or equivalent).
> 
> I prefer handwritten makefiles over those produced by generators like
> Automake or Cmake.  Or that has been my experience.

If I can get away with it, then I prefer those, too. Where Autotools
shine is on architecture portability and cross-build.

> The best way to master makefiles is to work with them -- write them by
> hand and debug other people's makefiles.  Or that has been my
> experience.

Absolutely. As with any language, actually.

Cheers
-- 
t

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