imake
(1)
Name
imake - C preprocessor interface to the make utility
Synopsis
/usr/bin/imake [ -Ddefine ] [ -Idir ] [ -Udefine ] [ -Ttem-
plate ] [ -f filename ] [ -C filename ] [ -s filename ] [ -e
] [ -v ]
Description
User Commands IMAKE(1)
NAME
imake - C preprocessor interface to the make utility
SYNOPSIS
/usr/bin/imake [ -Ddefine ] [ -Idir ] [ -Udefine ] [ -Ttem-
plate ] [ -f filename ] [ -C 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
as 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 used 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.
-Udefine
This option is passed directly to cpp. It is typi-
cally used to unset variables when debugging imake
configuration files.
-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.
-C filename
This option specifies the name of the .c file that
is constructed in the current directory. The
default is Imakefile.c.
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User Commands IMAKE(1)
-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.
-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 the name of a file containing the fol-
lowing 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.
The IMAKE_TEMPLATE typically reads in a file containing
machine-dependent parameters (specified as cpp symbols), a
site-specific parameters file, a file defining variables, 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.
Imake configuration files contain two types of variables,
imake variables and make variables. The imake variables are
interpreted by cpp when imake is run. By convention they
are mixed case. The make variables are written into the
Makefile for later interpretation by make. By convention
make variables are upper case.
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 @@\
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User Commands IMAKE(1)
$(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)
Imake also replaces any occurrences of the word ``XCOMM''
with the character ``#'' to permit placing comments in the
Makefile without causing ``invalid directive'' errors from
the preprocessor.
Some complex imake macros require generated make variables
local to each invocation of the macro, often because their
value depends on parameters passed to the macro. Such vari-
ables can be created by using an imake variable of the form
XVARdefn, where n is a single digit. A unique make variable
will be substituted. Later occurrences of the variable
XVARusen will be replaced by the variable created by the
corresponding XVARdefn.
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
be preceded by a backslash (\).
USE WITH THE X WINDOW SYSTEM
The X Window System used imake extensively up through the
X11R6.9 release, for both full builds within the source tree
and external software. X has since moved to GNU autoconf
and automake for its build system in X11R7.0 and later
releases, but still maintains imake for building existing
external software programs that have not yet converted.
As mentioned above, two special variables, TOPDIR and CUR-
DIR, are set to make referencing files using relative path
names easier. For example, the following command is gener-
ated 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.
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User Commands IMAKE(1)
INPUT FILES
Here is a summary of the files read by imake as used by X.
The indentation shows what files include what other files.
Imake.tmpl generic variables
site.def site-specific, BeforeVendorCF defined
*.cf machine-specific
*Lib.rules shared library rules
site.def site-specific, AfterVendorCF defined
Imake.rules rules
Project.tmpl X-specific variables
*Lib.tmpl shared library variables
Imakefile
Library.tmpl library rules
Server.tmpl server rules
Threads.tmpl multi-threaded rules
Note that site.def gets included twice, once before the *.cf
file and once after. Although most site customizations
should be specified after the *.cf file, some, such as the
choice of compiler, need to be specified before, because
other variable settings may depend on them.
The first time site.def is included, the variable BeforeVen-
dorCF is defined, and the second time, the variable After-
VendorCF is defined. All code in site.def should be inside
an #ifdef for one of these symbols.
FILES
Imakefile.c
temporary input file for cpp
/tmp/Imf.XXXXXX
temporary Makefile for -s
/tmp/IIf.XXXXXX
temporary Imakefile if specified Imakefile uses # com-
ments
/usr/lib/cpp
default C preprocessor
SEE ALSO
make(1), xmkmf(1)
Paul DuBois
imake-Related Software and Documentation,
http://www.snake.net/software/imake-stuff/
Paul DuBois
Software Portability with imake, Second Edition,
O'Reilly & Associates, 1996.
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User Commands IMAKE(1)
S. I. Feldman,
Make -- A Program for Maintaining Computer Programs
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 specifies a ``-I'' include argument to
pass to the C preprocessor. E.g., ``-I/usr/X11/con-
fig''.
IMAKECPP
If defined, this should be a valid path to a preproces-
sor program. E.g., ``/usr/local/cpp''. By default,
imake will use cc -E or /usr/lib/cpp, depending on the
OS specific configuration.
IMAKEMAKE
If defined, this should be a valid path to a make pro-
gram, such as ``/usr/local/make''. By default, imake
will use whatever make program is found using
execvp(3). This variable is only used if the ``-e''
option is specified.
AUTHOR
Todd Brunhoff, Tektronix and MIT Project Athena; Jim Fulton,
MIT X Consortium
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following
attributes:
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
|Availability |developer/build/imake |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
|Interface Stability |Uncommitted |
+-----------------------------+-----------------------------+
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