Linux in a Nutshell, Third Edition

Name

imake

Synopsis

imake options

Description

C preprocessor (cpp) interface to the make utility. imake (for include make) solves the portability problem of make by allowing machine dependencies to be kept in a central set of configuration files, separate from the descriptions of the various items to be built. The targets are contained in the Imakefile, a machine-independent description of the targets to be built, written as cpp macros. imake uses cpp to process the configuration files and the Imakefile, and to generate machine-specific Makefiles, which can then be used by make.

One of the configuration files is a template file, a master file for imake. This template file (default is Imake.tmpl) #includes the other configuration files that contain machine dependencies such as variable assignments, site definitions, and cpp macros, and directs the order in which the files are processed. Each file affects the interpretation of later files and sections of Imake.tmpl. Comments may be included in imake configuration files, but the initial # needs to be preceded with an empty C comment:

/**/#

For more information, see cpp and make. Also check out the Nutshell Handbook Software Portability with imake, by Paul DuBois.

Options

-D define

Set directory-specific variables. This option is passed directly to cpp.

-e

Execute the generated Makefile. Default is to leave this to the user.

-f filename

Name of per-directory input file. Default is Imakefile.

-I directory

Directory in which imake template ...