IMAKE(1) USER COMMANDS IMAKE(1)
NAME
imake - C preprocessor interface to the make utility
SYNOPSIS
imake [-Ddefine] [-Idir] [-Ttemplate] [-f filename] [-s
filename] [-e] [-v]
DESCRIPTION
Imake is used to generate Makefiles from a template, a set
of cpp macro functions, and a per-directory input file
called an Imakefile. This allows machine dependencies (such
has compiler options, alternate command names, and special
make rules) to be kept separate from the descriptions of the
various items to be built.
OPTIONS
The following command line options may be passed to imake:
-Ddefine
This option is passed directly to cpp. It is typi-
cally used to set directory-specific variables. For
example, the X Window System uses this flag to set
TOPDIR to the name of the directory containing the
top of the core distribution and CURDIR to the name
of the current directory, relative to the top.
-Idirectory
This option is passed directly to cpp. It is typi-
cally used to indicate the directory in which the
imake template and configuration files may be found.
-Ttemplate
This option specifies the name of the master tem-
plate file (which is usually located in the direc-
tory specified with -I) used by cpp. The default is
Imake.tmpl.
-f filename
This option specifies the name of the per-directory
input file. The default is Imakefile.
-s filename
This option specifies the name of the make descrip-
tion file to be generated but make should not be
invoked. If the filename is a dash (-), the output
is written to stdout. The default is to generate,
but not execute, a Makefile.
-e This option indicates the imake should execute the
generated Makefile. The default is to leave this to
the user.
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-v This option indicates that imake should print the
cpp command line that it is using to generate the
Makefile.
HOW IT WORKS
Imake invokes cpp with any -I or -D flags passed on the com-
mand line and passes it the following 3 lines:
#define IMAKE_TEMPLATE "Imake.tmpl"
#define INCLUDE_IMAKEFILE "Imakefile"
#include IMAKE_TEMPLATE
where Imake.tmpl and Imakefile may be overridden by the -T
and -f command options, respectively. If the Imakefile con-
tains any lines beginning with a '#' character that is not
followed by a cpp directive (#include, #define, #undef,
#ifdef, #else, #endif, or #if), imake will make a temporary
makefile in which the '#' lines are prepended with the
string ``/**/'' (so that cpp will copy the line into the
Makefile as a comment).
The Imakefile reads in file containing machine-dependent
parameters (specified as cpp symbols), a site-specific
parameters file, a file containing cpp macro functions for
generating make rules, and finally the Imakefile (specified
by INCLUDE_IMAKEFILE) in the current directory. The
Imakefile uses the macro functions to indicate what targets
should be built; imake takes care of generating the
appropriate rules.
The rules file (usually named Imake.rules in the configura-
tion directory) contains a variety of cpp macro functions
that are configured according to the current platform.
Imake replaces any occurrences of the string ``@@'' with a
newline to allow macros that generate more than one line of
make rules. For example, the macro
#define program_target(program, objlist) @@\
program: objlist @@\
$(CC) -o $@ objlist $(LDFLAGS)
when called with program_target(foo, foo1.o foo2.o) will
expand to
foo: foo1.o foo2.o
$(CC) -o $@ foo1.o foo2.o $(LDFLAGS)
On systems whose cpp reduces multiple tabs and spaces to a
single space, imake attempts to put back any necessary tabs
(make is very picky about the difference between tabs and
spaces). For this reason, colons (:) in command lines must
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be preceded by a backslash (\).
USE WITH THE X WINDOW SYSTEM
The X Window System uses imake extensively, for both full
builds within the source tree and external software. As
mentioned above, two special variables, TOPDIR and CURDIR
set to make referencing files using relative path names
easier. For example, the following command is generated
automatically to build the Makefile in the directory lib/X/
(relative to the top of the sources):
% ../.././config/imake -I../.././config \
-DTOPDIR=../../. -DCURDIR=./lib/X
When building X programs outside the source tree, a special
symbol UseInstalled is defined and TOPDIR and CURDIR are
omitted. If the configuration files have been properly
installed, the script xmkmf(1) may be used to specify the
proper options:
% xmkmf
The command make Makefiles can then be used to generate
Makefiles in any subdirectories.
FILES
/usr/tmp/tmp-imake.nnnnnn temporary input file for cpp
/usr/tmp/tmp-make.nnnnnn temporary input file for make
/lib/cpp default C preprocessor
SEE ALSO
make(1)
S. I. Feldman Make - A Program for Maintaining Computer Pro-
grams
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
The following environment variables may be set, however
their use is not recommended as they introduce dependencies
that are not readily apparent when imake is run:
IMAKEINCLUDE
If defined, this should be a valid include argument for
the C preprocessor. E.g. ``-I/usr/include/local''.
Actually, any valid cpp argument will work here.
IMAKECPP
If defined, this should be a valid path to a preproces-
sor program. E.g. ``/usr/local/cpp''. By default,
imake will use /lib/cpp.
IMAKEMAKE
If defined, this should be a valid path to a make
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program. E.g. ``/usr/local/make''. By default, imake
will use whatever make program is found using
execvp(3).
BUGS
Comments should be preceded by ``/**/#'' to protect them
from cpp.
AUTHOR
Todd Brunhoff, Tektronix and MIT Project Athena; Jim Fulton,
MIT X Consortium
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