Thursday, July 28, 2022

[SOLVED] What are makefiles, 'make install', etc.?

Issue

I see the following things in Linux, but what are they?

./configure
make
make install

etc etc.


Solution

make is part of the build system commonly used in Unix-type systems - binutils.

It looks at make files which hold configuration information and build targets.

Specifically -

  • ./configure - this is a script that sets up the environment for the build
  • make - calls make with the default build target. Normally builds the application.
  • make install - calls make with the install build target. Normally installs the application.


Answered By - Oded
Answer Checked By - Dawn Plyler (WPSolving Volunteer)