@end iftex
describes conventions for writing the Makefiles for GNU programs.
Using Automake will help you write a Makefile that follows these
-conventions.
+conventions. For more information on portable Makefiles, see
+@sc{posix} and @ref{Portable Make, Portable Make Programming,, autoconf,
+Autoconf}.
+
@menu
* Makefile Basics:: General conventions for Makefiles.
@section Utilities in Makefiles
Write the Makefile commands (and any shell scripts, such as
-@code{configure}) to run in @code{sh}, not in @code{csh}. Don't use any
-special features of @code{ksh} or @code{bash}.
+@code{configure}) to run under @code{sh} (both the traditional Bourne
+shell and the @sc{posix} shell), not @code{csh}. Don't use any
+special features of @code{ksh} or @code{bash}, or @sc{posix} features
+not widely supported in traditional Bourne @code{sh}.
The @code{configure} script and the Makefile rules for building and
installation should not use any utilities directly except these:
Compression programs such as @code{gzip} can be used in the
@code{dist} rule.
-Stick to the generally supported options for these programs. For
-example, don't use @samp{mkdir -p}, convenient as it may be, because
-most systems don't support it.
+Generally, stick to the widely-supported (usually
+@sc{posix}-specified) options and features of these programs. For
+example, don't use @samp{mkdir -p}, convenient as it may be, because a
+few systems don't support it at all and with others, it is not safe
+for parallel execution. For a list of known incompatibilities, see
+@ref{Portable Shell, Portable Shell Programming,, autoconf, Autoconf}.
+
It is a good idea to avoid creating symbolic links in makefiles, since a
-few systems don't support them.
+few file systems don't support them.
The Makefile rules for building and installation can also use compilers
and related programs, but should do so via @code{make} variables so that the
projects / gnulib.git / blobdiff