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Software Portability with imake, Second Edition

By Paul DuBois
September 1996
Pages: 400
ISBN 10: 1-56592-226-3 | ISBN 13: 9781565922266

Description

This handbook is ideal for X and UNIX programmers who want their software to be portable. The second edition covers version X11R6.1 of the X Window System, using imake for non-UNIX systems such as Windows NT, and some of the quirks about using imake under OpenWindows/Solaris.
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Media reviews "I don't recall encountering a more readable book on any technical subject. Dubois manages to explain beautifully what this often misunderstood configuration and portability tool does and why it is bnenficial regardless of whether or not you deal with X. Using the book configuration files he presents, I converted production of a book I'm writing from make to imake in less than an hour, resulting in much easier maintenance. This may be the perfect technical book -- it's certainly the definitive book on imake." --Mick O'Neal, Unix Review, April 1995

"UNIX is *the* open system. Software is portable between UNIX systems (and, indeed, to other platforms) generally because of distribution via C source code. Development and tuning of C language programs is assisted by the "make" utility which automates the building, or making, of the actual executable programs from the incremental versions of the source. Makefiles specify the compiler, files, directories, installation, and so forth. "Makefiles are often used in the distribution of software. The level of detail, though, which renders them particularly helpful in the development process, is very machine-specific and, therefore, is unsuitable for distribution. Enter
imake. "imake is not a replacement for imake. Along with a series of templates, configuration files, and rules, imake produces Makefiles specific to the target machine. Thus, it can play a pivotal role in software portability and distribution which currently takes time and trouble across platforms. "imake is currently an inelegant, forceful, demanding system, the only saving grace being that it works. DuBois does not negate the difficulties of working with imake. He does, however, work slowly, carefully and steadily to give the reader a full understanding of the imake system and the structure of the files necessary to it. "imake is often seen as merely an adjunct to the X system (an error made more understandable, as the originator of imake later worked on X11). DuBois uses X examples, but points out the more general uses of imake as well. Portability is a major strength of UNIX--but a major problem for non-programmers. imake could play a part in changing that situation. Hey, it worked for X." --Copyright 1995, Robert M. Slade, author Robert Slade's Guide to Computer Viruses

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