[Coco] Re: Re: Re: make and friends was Re: CCASM for Linux

[Rodney V Hamilton]

In article <e3.8df18fc.2ef2191e at aol.com>, KnudsenMJ at aol.com said...
>
>In a message dated 12/14/04 7:48:29 PM Eastern Standard Time,  
>Rodney_Hamilton at GBRonline.com writes:
>
>It's  possible that I was thinking of xmkmf, the X Window System's  makefile
>generator instead but it's been a few years now and my manuals are  long gone
>
>
>Makefile generator?  Is this something that goes thru your *.c files  and 
>looks for
>#include "head.h" 
>and makes up a dependency of that c file on head.h?
> 
>While I'd love a utility that checks and verifies my existing Makefile for  
>all the required dependencies, I think anyone who needs to generate a Makefile  
>*after* designing his project and writing the C files, is engaging in sloppy  
>practice.  
> 
>But then, if I were stuck with maintaining X, I might take all the  
>questionable help I could get :-)  --Mike K.

No, it processes makefile templates called Imakefiles to produce Makefiles
that are customized to your specific code development environment (or in
X parlance, your "World") with all file, command and directory paths and
environment variables set correctly in the Makefile's preamble.  Sort of a
makefile equivalent of Larry Wall's old configure.sh project script.

Considering the many different platforms and environments that were being
used for X development, you really needed something like the Imake system
to avoid tripping over your own and everyone else's feet.  Of course you
still had to write and maintain the Imakefiles.   :^)

-Rodney