Cross-Platform Builds

DDJCrossPlatformBuilds.pdf

http://www.electric-cloud.com/downloads/DDJCrossPlatformBuilds.pdf

ddj-cross-platform.tar.gz

Cross-Platform Builds
All it takes is five
rules and 42 lines
JOHN GRAHAM-CUMMING

Programmers often find themselves
producing cross-platform software,
which requires writing and building
code that works on Linux, Solaris,
HP-UX, AIX, and Windows. And whether
you’re a professional build manager or
simply a programmer charged with maintaining
the Makefiles, you know that multiple
platforms means multiple Make hassles.
In this article, I present a
cross-platform pattern for Makefiles that
works across Windows and common
UNIX platforms, minimizing platformspecific
code. At the same time, the pattern
completely eliminates recursive use
of Make, another hassle that complicates
a build manager’s life. To simplify the discussion,
I’ve stuck to compiling C code,
but there’s nothing in the technique that
excludes languages such as C++, C#, or
Java.