5 This document describes the Linux kernel Makefiles.
11 === 3 The kbuild files
12 --- 3.1 Goal definitions
13 --- 3.2 Built-in object goals - obj-y
14 --- 3.3 Loadable module goals - obj-m
15 --- 3.4 Objects which export symbols
16 --- 3.5 Library file goals - lib-y
17 --- 3.6 Descending down in directories
18 --- 3.7 Non-builtin vmlinux targets - extra-y
19 --- 3.8 Always built goals - always-y
20 --- 3.9 Compilation flags
21 --- 3.10 Dependency tracking
23 --- 3.12 Command change detection
24 --- 3.13 $(CC) support functions
25 --- 3.14 $(LD) support functions
26 --- 3.15 Script Invocation
28 === 4 Host Program support
29 --- 4.1 Simple Host Program
30 --- 4.2 Composite Host Programs
31 --- 4.3 Using C++ for host programs
32 --- 4.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
33 --- 4.5 When host programs are actually built
35 === 5 Userspace Program support
36 --- 5.1 Simple Userspace Program
37 --- 5.2 Composite Userspace Programs
38 --- 5.3 Controlling compiler options for userspace programs
39 --- 5.4 When userspace programs are actually built
41 === 6 Kbuild clean infrastructure
43 === 7 Architecture Makefiles
44 --- 7.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
45 --- 7.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders
46 --- 7.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare
47 --- 7.4 List directories to visit when descending
48 --- 7.5 Architecture-specific boot images
49 --- 7.6 Building non-kbuild targets
50 --- 7.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
52 --- 7.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
53 --- 7.10 Generic header files
54 --- 7.11 Post-link pass
56 === 8 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
57 --- 8.1 no-export-headers
62 === 9 Kbuild Variables
63 === 10 Makefile language
70 The Makefiles have five parts::
72 Makefile the top Makefile.
73 .config the kernel configuration file.
74 arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile the arch Makefile.
75 scripts/Makefile.* common rules etc. for all kbuild Makefiles.
76 kbuild Makefiles exist in every subdirectory
78 The top Makefile reads the .config file, which comes from the kernel
79 configuration process.
81 The top Makefile is responsible for building two major products: vmlinux
82 (the resident kernel image) and modules (any module files).
83 It builds these goals by recursively descending into the subdirectories of
84 the kernel source tree.
85 The list of subdirectories which are visited depends upon the kernel
86 configuration. The top Makefile textually includes an arch Makefile
87 with the name arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile. The arch Makefile supplies
88 architecture-specific information to the top Makefile.
90 Each subdirectory has a kbuild Makefile which carries out the commands
91 passed down from above. The kbuild Makefile uses information from the
92 .config file to construct various file lists used by kbuild to build
93 any built-in or modular targets.
95 scripts/Makefile.* contains all the definitions/rules etc. that
96 are used to build the kernel based on the kbuild makefiles.
102 People have four different relationships with the kernel Makefiles.
104 *Users* are people who build kernels. These people type commands such as
105 "make menuconfig" or "make". They usually do not read or edit
106 any kernel Makefiles (or any other source files).
108 *Normal developers* are people who work on features such as device
109 drivers, file systems, and network protocols. These people need to
110 maintain the kbuild Makefiles for the subsystem they are
111 working on. In order to do this effectively, they need some overall
112 knowledge about the kernel Makefiles, plus detailed knowledge about the
113 public interface for kbuild.
115 *Arch developers* are people who work on an entire architecture, such
116 as sparc or ia64. Arch developers need to know about the arch Makefile
117 as well as kbuild Makefiles.
119 *Kbuild developers* are people who work on the kernel build system itself.
120 These people need to know about all aspects of the kernel Makefiles.
122 This document is aimed towards normal developers and arch developers.
128 Most Makefiles within the kernel are kbuild Makefiles that use the
129 kbuild infrastructure. This chapter introduces the syntax used in the
131 The preferred name for the kbuild files are 'Makefile' but 'Kbuild' can
132 be used and if both a 'Makefile' and a 'Kbuild' file exists, then the 'Kbuild'
135 Section 3.1 "Goal definitions" is a quick intro; further chapters provide
136 more details, with real examples.
141 Goal definitions are the main part (heart) of the kbuild Makefile.
142 These lines define the files to be built, any special compilation
143 options, and any subdirectories to be entered recursively.
145 The most simple kbuild makefile contains one line:
151 This tells kbuild that there is one object in that directory, named
152 foo.o. foo.o will be built from foo.c or foo.S.
154 If foo.o shall be built as a module, the variable obj-m is used.
155 Therefore the following pattern is often used:
159 obj-$(CONFIG_FOO) += foo.o
161 $(CONFIG_FOO) evaluates to either y (for built-in) or m (for module).
162 If CONFIG_FOO is neither y nor m, then the file will not be compiled
165 3.2 Built-in object goals - obj-y
166 ---------------------------------
168 The kbuild Makefile specifies object files for vmlinux
169 in the $(obj-y) lists. These lists depend on the kernel
172 Kbuild compiles all the $(obj-y) files. It then calls
173 "$(AR) rcSTP" to merge these files into one built-in.a file.
174 This is a thin archive without a symbol table. It will be later
175 linked into vmlinux by scripts/link-vmlinux.sh
177 The order of files in $(obj-y) is significant. Duplicates in
178 the lists are allowed: the first instance will be linked into
179 built-in.a and succeeding instances will be ignored.
181 Link order is significant, because certain functions
182 (module_init() / __initcall) will be called during boot in the
183 order they appear. So keep in mind that changing the link
184 order may e.g. change the order in which your SCSI
185 controllers are detected, and thus your disks are renumbered.
189 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
190 # Makefile for the kernel ISDN subsystem and device drivers.
191 # Each configuration option enables a list of files.
192 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_I4L) += isdn.o
193 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
195 3.3 Loadable module goals - obj-m
196 ---------------------------------
198 $(obj-m) specifies object files which are built as loadable
201 A module may be built from one source file or several source
202 files. In the case of one source file, the kbuild makefile
203 simply adds the file to $(obj-m).
207 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
208 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
210 Note: In this example $(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) evaluates to 'm'
212 If a kernel module is built from several source files, you specify
213 that you want to build a module in the same way as above; however,
214 kbuild needs to know which object files you want to build your
215 module from, so you have to tell it by setting a $(<module_name>-y)
220 #drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
221 obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_I4L) += isdn.o
222 isdn-y := isdn_net_lib.o isdn_v110.o isdn_common.o
224 In this example, the module name will be isdn.o. Kbuild will
225 compile the objects listed in $(isdn-y) and then run
226 "$(LD) -r" on the list of these files to generate isdn.o.
228 Due to kbuild recognizing $(<module_name>-y) for composite objects,
229 you can use the value of a `CONFIG_` symbol to optionally include an
230 object file as part of a composite object.
235 obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2.o
236 ext2-y := balloc.o dir.o file.o ialloc.o inode.o ioctl.o \
237 namei.o super.o symlink.o
238 ext2-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR) += xattr.o xattr_user.o \
241 In this example, xattr.o, xattr_user.o and xattr_trusted.o are only
242 part of the composite object ext2.o if $(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR)
245 Note: Of course, when you are building objects into the kernel,
246 the syntax above will also work. So, if you have CONFIG_EXT2_FS=y,
247 kbuild will build an ext2.o file for you out of the individual
248 parts and then link this into built-in.a, as you would expect.
250 3.4 Objects which export symbols
251 --------------------------------
253 No special notation is required in the makefiles for
254 modules exporting symbols.
256 3.5 Library file goals - lib-y
257 ------------------------------
259 Objects listed with obj-* are used for modules, or
260 combined in a built-in.a for that specific directory.
261 There is also the possibility to list objects that will
262 be included in a library, lib.a.
263 All objects listed with lib-y are combined in a single
264 library for that directory.
265 Objects that are listed in obj-y and additionally listed in
266 lib-y will not be included in the library, since they will
267 be accessible anyway.
268 For consistency, objects listed in lib-m will be included in lib.a.
270 Note that the same kbuild makefile may list files to be built-in
271 and to be part of a library. Therefore the same directory
272 may contain both a built-in.a and a lib.a file.
276 #arch/x86/lib/Makefile
279 This will create a library lib.a based on delay.o. For kbuild to
280 actually recognize that there is a lib.a being built, the directory
281 shall be listed in libs-y.
283 See also "7.4 List directories to visit when descending".
285 Use of lib-y is normally restricted to `lib/` and `arch/*/lib`.
287 3.6 Descending down in directories
288 ----------------------------------
290 A Makefile is only responsible for building objects in its own
291 directory. Files in subdirectories should be taken care of by
292 Makefiles in these subdirs. The build system will automatically
293 invoke make recursively in subdirectories, provided you let it know of
296 To do so, obj-y and obj-m are used.
297 ext2 lives in a separate directory, and the Makefile present in fs/
298 tells kbuild to descend down using the following assignment.
303 obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2/
305 If CONFIG_EXT2_FS is set to either 'y' (built-in) or 'm' (modular)
306 the corresponding obj- variable will be set, and kbuild will descend
307 down in the ext2 directory.
309 Kbuild uses this information not only to decide that it needs to visit
310 the directory, but also to decide whether or not to link objects from
311 the directory into vmlinux.
313 When Kbuild descends into the directory with 'y', all built-in objects
314 from that directory are combined into the built-in.a, which will be
315 eventually linked into vmlinux.
317 When Kbuild descends into the directory with 'm', in contrast, nothing
318 from that directory will be linked into vmlinux. If the Makefile in
319 that directory specifies obj-y, those objects will be left orphan.
320 It is very likely a bug of the Makefile or of dependencies in Kconfig.
322 Kbuild also supports dedicated syntax, subdir-y and subdir-m, for
323 descending into subdirectories. It is a good fit when you know they
324 do not contain kernel-space objects at all. A typical usage is to let
325 Kbuild descend into subdirectories to build tools.
330 subdir-$(CONFIG_GCC_PLUGINS) += gcc-plugins
331 subdir-$(CONFIG_MODVERSIONS) += genksyms
332 subdir-$(CONFIG_SECURITY_SELINUX) += selinux
334 Unlike obj-y/m, subdir-y/m does not need the trailing slash since this
335 syntax is always used for directories.
337 It is good practice to use a `CONFIG_` variable when assigning directory
338 names. This allows kbuild to totally skip the directory if the
339 corresponding `CONFIG_` option is neither 'y' nor 'm'.
341 3.7 Non-builtin vmlinux targets - extra-y
342 -----------------------------------------
344 extra-y specifies targets which are needed for building vmlinux,
345 but not combined into built-in.a.
351 Some objects must be placed at the head of vmlinux. They are
352 directly linked to vmlinux without going through built-in.a
353 A typical use-case is an object that contains the entry point.
355 arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile should specify such objects as head-y.
358 Given that we can control the section order in the linker script,
359 why do we need head-y?
361 2) vmlinux linker script
363 The linker script for vmlinux is located at
364 arch/$(SRCARCH)/kernel/vmlinux.lds
368 # arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
369 extra-y := head_$(BITS).o
370 extra-y += head$(BITS).o
372 extra-y += platform-quirks.o
373 extra-y += vmlinux.lds
375 $(extra-y) should only contain targets needed for vmlinux.
377 Kbuild skips extra-y when vmlinux is apparently not a final goal.
378 (e.g. 'make modules', or building external modules)
380 If you intend to build targets unconditionally, always-y (explained
381 in the next section) is the correct syntax to use.
383 3.8 Always built goals - always-y
384 ---------------------------------
386 always-y specifies targets which are literally always built when
387 Kbuild visits the Makefile.
391 offsets-file := include/generated/asm-offsets.h
392 always-y += $(offsets-file)
394 3.9 Compilation flags
395 ---------------------
397 ccflags-y, asflags-y and ldflags-y
398 These three flags apply only to the kbuild makefile in which they
399 are assigned. They are used for all the normal cc, as and ld
400 invocations happening during a recursive build.
401 Note: Flags with the same behaviour were previously named:
402 EXTRA_CFLAGS, EXTRA_AFLAGS and EXTRA_LDFLAGS.
403 They are still supported but their usage is deprecated.
405 ccflags-y specifies options for compiling with $(CC).
409 # drivers/acpi/acpica/Makefile
410 ccflags-y := -Os -D_LINUX -DBUILDING_ACPICA
411 ccflags-$(CONFIG_ACPI_DEBUG) += -DACPI_DEBUG_OUTPUT
413 This variable is necessary because the top Makefile owns the
414 variable $(KBUILD_CFLAGS) and uses it for compilation flags for the
417 asflags-y specifies assembler options.
421 #arch/sparc/kernel/Makefile
424 ldflags-y specifies options for linking with $(LD).
428 #arch/cris/boot/compressed/Makefile
429 ldflags-y += -T $(srctree)/$(src)/decompress_$(arch-y).lds
431 subdir-ccflags-y, subdir-asflags-y
432 The two flags listed above are similar to ccflags-y and asflags-y.
433 The difference is that the subdir- variants have effect for the kbuild
434 file where they are present and all subdirectories.
435 Options specified using subdir-* are added to the commandline before
436 the options specified using the non-subdir variants.
440 subdir-ccflags-y := -Werror
442 ccflags-remove-y, asflags-remove-y
443 These flags are used to remove particular flags for the compiler,
444 assembler invocations.
448 ccflags-remove-$(CONFIG_MCOUNT) += -pg
451 CFLAGS_$@ and AFLAGS_$@ only apply to commands in current
454 $(CFLAGS_$@) specifies per-file options for $(CC). The $@
455 part has a literal value which specifies the file that it is for.
457 CFLAGS_$@ has the higher priority than ccflags-remove-y; CFLAGS_$@
458 can re-add compiler flags that were removed by ccflags-remove-y.
462 # drivers/scsi/Makefile
463 CFLAGS_aha152x.o = -DAHA152X_STAT -DAUTOCONF
464 CFLAGS_gdth.o = # -DDEBUG_GDTH=2 -D__SERIAL__ -D__COM2__ \
467 These two lines specify compilation flags for aha152x.o and gdth.o.
469 $(AFLAGS_$@) is a similar feature for source files in assembly
472 AFLAGS_$@ has the higher priority than asflags-remove-y; AFLAGS_$@
473 can re-add assembler flags that were removed by asflags-remove-y.
477 # arch/arm/kernel/Makefile
478 AFLAGS_head.o := -DTEXT_OFFSET=$(TEXT_OFFSET)
479 AFLAGS_crunch-bits.o := -Wa,-mcpu=ep9312
480 AFLAGS_iwmmxt.o := -Wa,-mcpu=iwmmxt
483 3.10 Dependency tracking
484 ------------------------
486 Kbuild tracks dependencies on the following:
488 1) All prerequisite files (both `*.c` and `*.h`)
489 2) `CONFIG_` options used in all prerequisite files
490 3) Command-line used to compile target
492 Thus, if you change an option to $(CC) all affected files will
498 Custom rules are used when the kbuild infrastructure does
499 not provide the required support. A typical example is
500 header files generated during the build process.
501 Another example are the architecture-specific Makefiles which
502 need custom rules to prepare boot images etc.
504 Custom rules are written as normal Make rules.
505 Kbuild is not executing in the directory where the Makefile is
506 located, so all custom rules shall use a relative
507 path to prerequisite files and target files.
509 Two variables are used when defining custom rules:
512 $(src) is a relative path which points to the directory
513 where the Makefile is located. Always use $(src) when
514 referring to files located in the src tree.
517 $(obj) is a relative path which points to the directory
518 where the target is saved. Always use $(obj) when
519 referring to generated files.
523 #drivers/scsi/Makefile
524 $(obj)/53c8xx_d.h: $(src)/53c7,8xx.scr $(src)/script_asm.pl
525 $(CPP) -DCHIP=810 - < $< | ... $(src)/script_asm.pl
527 This is a custom rule, following the normal syntax
530 The target file depends on two prerequisite files. References
531 to the target file are prefixed with $(obj), references
532 to prerequisites are referenced with $(src) (because they are not
536 echoing information to user in a rule is often a good practice
537 but when execution "make -s" one does not expect to see any output
538 except for warnings/errors.
539 To support this kbuild defines $(kecho) which will echo out the
540 text following $(kecho) to stdout except if "make -s" is used.
545 $(BOOT_TARGETS): vmlinux
546 $(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=$(boot) MACHINE=$(MACHINE) $(boot)/$@
547 @$(kecho) ' Kernel: $(boot)/$@ is ready'
549 When kbuild is executing with KBUILD_VERBOSE=0, then only a shorthand
550 of a command is normally displayed.
551 To enable this behaviour for custom commands kbuild requires
552 two variables to be set::
554 quiet_cmd_<command> - what shall be echoed
555 cmd_<command> - the command to execute
560 quiet_cmd_crc32 = GEN $@
563 $(obj)/crc32table.h: $(obj)/gen_crc32table
566 When updating the $(obj)/crc32table.h target, the line:
570 will be displayed with "make KBUILD_VERBOSE=0".
572 3.12 Command change detection
573 -----------------------------
575 When the rule is evaluated, timestamps are compared between the target
576 and its prerequisite files. GNU Make updates the target when any of the
577 prerequisites is newer than that.
579 The target should be rebuilt also when the command line has changed
580 since the last invocation. This is not supported by Make itself, so
581 Kbuild achieves this by a kind of meta-programming.
583 if_changed is the macro used for this purpose, in the following form::
585 quiet_cmd_<command> = ...
588 <target>: <source(s)> FORCE
589 $(call if_changed,<command>)
591 Any target that utilizes if_changed must be listed in $(targets),
592 otherwise the command line check will fail, and the target will
595 If the target is already listed in the recognized syntax such as
596 obj-y/m, lib-y/m, extra-y/m, always-y/m, hostprogs, userprogs, Kbuild
597 automatically adds it to $(targets). Otherwise, the target must be
598 explicitly added to $(targets).
600 Assignments to $(targets) are without $(obj)/ prefix. if_changed may be
601 used in conjunction with custom rules as defined in "3.11 Custom Rules".
603 Note: It is a typical mistake to forget the FORCE prerequisite.
604 Another common pitfall is that whitespace is sometimes significant; for
605 instance, the below will fail (note the extra space after the comma)::
607 target: source(s) FORCE
609 **WRONG!** $(call if_changed, objcopy)
612 if_changed should not be used more than once per target.
613 It stores the executed command in a corresponding .cmd
614 file and multiple calls would result in overwrites and
615 unwanted results when the target is up to date and only the
616 tests on changed commands trigger execution of commands.
618 3.13 $(CC) support functions
619 ----------------------------
621 The kernel may be built with several different versions of
622 $(CC), each supporting a unique set of features and options.
623 kbuild provides basic support to check for valid options for $(CC).
624 $(CC) is usually the gcc compiler, but other alternatives are
628 as-option is used to check if $(CC) -- when used to compile
629 assembler (`*.S`) files -- supports the given option. An optional
630 second option may be specified if the first option is not supported.
635 cflags-y += $(call as-option,-Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y),)
637 In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
638 -Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y) if it is supported by $(CC).
639 The second argument is optional, and if supplied will be used
640 if first argument is not supported.
643 as-instr checks if the assembler reports a specific instruction
644 and then outputs either option1 or option2
645 C escapes are supported in the test instruction
646 Note: as-instr-option uses KBUILD_AFLAGS for assembler options
649 cc-option is used to check if $(CC) supports a given option, and if
650 not supported to use an optional second option.
655 cflags-y += $(call cc-option,-march=pentium-mmx,-march=i586)
657 In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
658 -march=pentium-mmx if supported by $(CC), otherwise -march=i586.
659 The second argument to cc-option is optional, and if omitted,
660 cflags-y will be assigned no value if first option is not supported.
661 Note: cc-option uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
664 cc-option-yn is used to check if gcc supports a given option
665 and return 'y' if supported, otherwise 'n'.
670 biarch := $(call cc-option-yn, -m32)
671 aflags-$(biarch) += -a32
672 cflags-$(biarch) += -m32
674 In the above example, $(biarch) is set to y if $(CC) supports the -m32
675 option. When $(biarch) equals 'y', the expanded variables $(aflags-y)
676 and $(cflags-y) will be assigned the values -a32 and -m32,
678 Note: cc-option-yn uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
681 cc-disable-warning checks if gcc supports a given warning and returns
682 the commandline switch to disable it. This special function is needed,
683 because gcc 4.4 and later accept any unknown -Wno-* option and only
684 warn about it if there is another warning in the source file.
688 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-disable-warning, unused-but-set-variable)
690 In the above example, -Wno-unused-but-set-variable will be added to
691 KBUILD_CFLAGS only if gcc really accepts it.
694 cc-ifversion tests the version of $(CC) and equals the fourth parameter
695 if version expression is true, or the fifth (if given) if the version
700 #fs/reiserfs/Makefile
701 ccflags-y := $(call cc-ifversion, -lt, 0402, -O1)
703 In this example, ccflags-y will be assigned the value -O1 if the
704 $(CC) version is less than 4.2.
705 cc-ifversion takes all the shell operators:
706 -eq, -ne, -lt, -le, -gt, and -ge
707 The third parameter may be a text as in this example, but it may also
708 be an expanded variable or a macro.
711 cc-cross-prefix is used to check if there exists a $(CC) in path with
712 one of the listed prefixes. The first prefix where there exist a
713 prefix$(CC) in the PATH is returned - and if no prefix$(CC) is found
714 then nothing is returned.
715 Additional prefixes are separated by a single space in the
716 call of cc-cross-prefix.
717 This functionality is useful for architecture Makefiles that try
718 to set CROSS_COMPILE to well-known values but may have several
719 values to select between.
720 It is recommended only to try to set CROSS_COMPILE if it is a cross
721 build (host arch is different from target arch). And if CROSS_COMPILE
722 is already set then leave it with the old value.
727 ifneq ($(SUBARCH),$(ARCH))
728 ifeq ($(CROSS_COMPILE),)
729 CROSS_COMPILE := $(call cc-cross-prefix, m68k-linux-gnu-)
733 3.14 $(LD) support functions
734 ----------------------------
737 ld-option is used to check if $(LD) supports the supplied option.
738 ld-option takes two options as arguments.
739 The second argument is an optional option that can be used if the
740 first option is not supported by $(LD).
745 LDFLAGS_vmlinux += $(call ld-option, -X)
747 3.15 Script invocation
748 ----------------------
750 Make rules may invoke scripts to build the kernel. The rules shall
751 always provide the appropriate interpreter to execute the script. They
752 shall not rely on the execute bits being set, and shall not invoke the
753 script directly. For the convenience of manual script invocation, such
754 as invoking ./scripts/checkpatch.pl, it is recommended to set execute
755 bits on the scripts nonetheless.
757 Kbuild provides variables $(CONFIG_SHELL), $(AWK), $(PERL),
758 $(PYTHON) and $(PYTHON3) to refer to interpreters for the respective
764 cmd_depmod = $(CONFIG_SHELL) $(srctree)/scripts/depmod.sh $(DEPMOD) \
767 4 Host Program support
768 ======================
770 Kbuild supports building executables on the host for use during the
772 Two steps are required in order to use a host executable.
774 The first step is to tell kbuild that a host program exists. This is
775 done utilising the variable "hostprogs".
777 The second step is to add an explicit dependency to the executable.
778 This can be done in two ways. Either add the dependency in a rule,
779 or utilise the variable "always-y".
780 Both possibilities are described in the following.
782 4.1 Simple Host Program
783 -----------------------
785 In some cases there is a need to compile and run a program on the
786 computer where the build is running.
787 The following line tells kbuild that the program bin2hex shall be
788 built on the build host.
794 Kbuild assumes in the above example that bin2hex is made from a single
795 c-source file named bin2hex.c located in the same directory as
798 4.2 Composite Host Programs
799 ---------------------------
801 Host programs can be made up based on composite objects.
802 The syntax used to define composite objects for host programs is
803 similar to the syntax used for kernel objects.
804 $(<executable>-objs) lists all objects used to link the final
809 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
810 hostprogs := lxdialog
811 lxdialog-objs := checklist.o lxdialog.o
813 Objects with extension .o are compiled from the corresponding .c
814 files. In the above example, checklist.c is compiled to checklist.o
815 and lxdialog.c is compiled to lxdialog.o.
817 Finally, the two .o files are linked to the executable, lxdialog.
818 Note: The syntax <executable>-y is not permitted for host-programs.
820 4.3 Using C++ for host programs
821 -------------------------------
823 kbuild offers support for host programs written in C++. This was
824 introduced solely to support kconfig, and is not recommended
829 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
831 qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
833 In the example above the executable is composed of the C++ file
834 qconf.cc - identified by $(qconf-cxxobjs).
836 If qconf is composed of a mixture of .c and .cc files, then an
837 additional line can be used to identify this.
841 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
843 qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
844 qconf-objs := check.o
846 4.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
847 --------------------------------------------------
849 When compiling host programs, it is possible to set specific flags.
850 The programs will always be compiled utilising $(HOSTCC) passed
851 the options specified in $(KBUILD_HOSTCFLAGS).
852 To set flags that will take effect for all host programs created
853 in that Makefile, use the variable HOST_EXTRACFLAGS.
857 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
858 HOST_EXTRACFLAGS += -I/usr/include/ncurses
860 To set specific flags for a single file the following construction
865 #arch/ppc64/boot/Makefile
866 HOSTCFLAGS_piggyback.o := -DKERNELBASE=$(KERNELBASE)
868 It is also possible to specify additional options to the linker.
872 #scripts/kconfig/Makefile
873 HOSTLDLIBS_qconf := -L$(QTDIR)/lib
875 When linking qconf, it will be passed the extra option
878 4.5 When host programs are actually built
879 -----------------------------------------
881 Kbuild will only build host-programs when they are referenced
883 This is possible in two ways:
885 (1) List the prerequisite explicitly in a custom rule.
889 #drivers/pci/Makefile
890 hostprogs := gen-devlist
891 $(obj)/devlist.h: $(src)/pci.ids $(obj)/gen-devlist
892 ( cd $(obj); ./gen-devlist ) < $<
894 The target $(obj)/devlist.h will not be built before
895 $(obj)/gen-devlist is updated. Note that references to
896 the host programs in custom rules must be prefixed with $(obj).
900 When there is no suitable custom rule, and the host program
901 shall be built when a makefile is entered, the always-y
902 variable shall be used.
906 #scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
907 hostprogs := lxdialog
908 always-y := $(hostprogs)
910 Kbuild provides the following shorthand for this:
912 hostprogs-always-y := lxdialog
914 This will tell kbuild to build lxdialog even if not referenced in
917 5 Userspace Program support
918 ===========================
920 Just like host programs, Kbuild also supports building userspace executables
921 for the target architecture (i.e. the same architecture as you are building
924 The syntax is quite similar. The difference is to use "userprogs" instead of
927 5.1 Simple Userspace Program
928 ----------------------------
930 The following line tells kbuild that the program bpf-direct shall be
931 built for the target architecture.
935 userprogs := bpf-direct
937 Kbuild assumes in the above example that bpf-direct is made from a
938 single C source file named bpf-direct.c located in the same directory
941 5.2 Composite Userspace Programs
942 --------------------------------
944 Userspace programs can be made up based on composite objects.
945 The syntax used to define composite objects for userspace programs is
946 similar to the syntax used for kernel objects.
947 $(<executable>-objs) lists all objects used to link the final
952 #samples/seccomp/Makefile
953 userprogs := bpf-fancy
954 bpf-fancy-objs := bpf-fancy.o bpf-helper.o
956 Objects with extension .o are compiled from the corresponding .c
957 files. In the above example, bpf-fancy.c is compiled to bpf-fancy.o
958 and bpf-helper.c is compiled to bpf-helper.o.
960 Finally, the two .o files are linked to the executable, bpf-fancy.
961 Note: The syntax <executable>-y is not permitted for userspace programs.
963 5.3 Controlling compiler options for userspace programs
964 -------------------------------------------------------
966 When compiling userspace programs, it is possible to set specific flags.
967 The programs will always be compiled utilising $(CC) passed
968 the options specified in $(KBUILD_USERCFLAGS).
969 To set flags that will take effect for all userspace programs created
970 in that Makefile, use the variable userccflags.
974 # samples/seccomp/Makefile
975 userccflags += -I usr/include
977 To set specific flags for a single file the following construction
982 bpf-helper-userccflags += -I user/include
984 It is also possible to specify additional options to the linker.
988 # net/bpfilter/Makefile
989 bpfilter_umh-userldflags += -static
991 When linking bpfilter_umh, it will be passed the extra option -static.
993 5.4 When userspace programs are actually built
994 ----------------------------------------------
996 Kbuild builds userspace programs only when told to do so.
997 There are two ways to do this.
999 (1) Add it as the prerequisite of another file
1003 #net/bpfilter/Makefile
1004 userprogs := bpfilter_umh
1005 $(obj)/bpfilter_umh_blob.o: $(obj)/bpfilter_umh
1007 $(obj)/bpfilter_umh is built before $(obj)/bpfilter_umh_blob.o
1013 userprogs := binderfs_example
1014 always-y := $(userprogs)
1016 Kbuild provides the following shorthand for this:
1018 userprogs-always-y := binderfs_example
1020 This will tell Kbuild to build binderfs_example when it visits this
1023 6 Kbuild clean infrastructure
1024 =============================
1026 "make clean" deletes most generated files in the obj tree where the kernel
1027 is compiled. This includes generated files such as host programs.
1028 Kbuild knows targets listed in $(hostprogs), $(always-y), $(always-m),
1029 $(always-), $(extra-y), $(extra-) and $(targets). They are all deleted
1030 during "make clean". Files matching the patterns "*.[oas]", "*.ko", plus
1031 some additional files generated by kbuild are deleted all over the kernel
1032 source tree when "make clean" is executed.
1034 Additional files or directories can be specified in kbuild makefiles by use of
1040 clean-files := crc32table.h
1042 When executing "make clean", the file "crc32table.h" will be deleted.
1043 Kbuild will assume files to be in the same relative directory as the
1044 Makefile, except if prefixed with $(objtree).
1046 To exclude certain files or directories from make clean, use the
1047 $(no-clean-files) variable.
1049 Usually kbuild descends down in subdirectories due to "obj-* := dir/",
1050 but in the architecture makefiles where the kbuild infrastructure
1051 is not sufficient this sometimes needs to be explicit.
1055 #arch/x86/boot/Makefile
1056 subdir- := compressed
1058 The above assignment instructs kbuild to descend down in the
1059 directory compressed/ when "make clean" is executed.
1061 To support the clean infrastructure in the Makefiles that build the
1062 final bootimage there is an optional target named archclean:
1068 $(Q)$(MAKE) $(clean)=arch/x86/boot
1070 When "make clean" is executed, make will descend down in arch/x86/boot,
1071 and clean as usual. The Makefile located in arch/x86/boot/ may use
1072 the subdir- trick to descend further down.
1074 Note 1: arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile cannot use "subdir-", because that file is
1075 included in the top level makefile, and the kbuild infrastructure
1076 is not operational at that point.
1078 Note 2: All directories listed in core-y, libs-y, drivers-y and net-y will
1079 be visited during "make clean".
1081 7 Architecture Makefiles
1082 ========================
1084 The top level Makefile sets up the environment and does the preparation,
1085 before starting to descend down in the individual directories.
1086 The top level makefile contains the generic part, whereas
1087 arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile contains what is required to set up kbuild
1088 for said architecture.
1089 To do so, arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile sets up a number of variables and defines
1092 When kbuild executes, the following steps are followed (roughly):
1094 1) Configuration of the kernel => produce .config
1095 2) Store kernel version in include/linux/version.h
1096 3) Updating all other prerequisites to the target prepare:
1097 - Additional prerequisites are specified in arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile
1098 4) Recursively descend down in all directories listed in
1099 init-* core* drivers-* net-* libs-* and build all targets.
1100 - The values of the above variables are expanded in arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile.
1101 5) All object files are then linked and the resulting file vmlinux is
1102 located at the root of the obj tree.
1103 The very first objects linked are listed in head-y, assigned by
1104 arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile.
1105 6) Finally, the architecture-specific part does any required post processing
1106 and builds the final bootimage.
1107 - This includes building boot records
1108 - Preparing initrd images and the like
1111 7.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
1112 --------------------------------------------------------
1115 Generic $(LD) options
1117 Flags used for all invocations of the linker.
1118 Often specifying the emulation is sufficient.
1123 KBUILD_LDFLAGS := -m elf_s390
1125 Note: ldflags-y can be used to further customise
1126 the flags used. See section 3.7.
1129 Options for $(LD) when linking vmlinux
1131 LDFLAGS_vmlinux is used to specify additional flags to pass to
1132 the linker when linking the final vmlinux image.
1133 LDFLAGS_vmlinux uses the LDFLAGS_$@ support.
1138 LDFLAGS_vmlinux := -e stext
1143 When $(call if_changed,objcopy) is used to translate a .o file,
1144 the flags specified in OBJCOPYFLAGS will be used.
1145 $(call if_changed,objcopy) is often used to generate raw binaries on
1151 OBJCOPYFLAGS := -O binary
1153 #arch/s390/boot/Makefile
1154 $(obj)/image: vmlinux FORCE
1155 $(call if_changed,objcopy)
1157 In this example, the binary $(obj)/image is a binary version of
1158 vmlinux. The usage of $(call if_changed,xxx) will be described later.
1163 Default value - see top level Makefile
1164 Append or modify as required per architecture.
1168 #arch/sparc64/Makefile
1169 KBUILD_AFLAGS += -m64 -mcpu=ultrasparc
1172 $(CC) compiler flags
1174 Default value - see top level Makefile
1175 Append or modify as required per architecture.
1177 Often, the KBUILD_CFLAGS variable depends on the configuration.
1181 #arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
1182 cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_32) := -march=i386
1183 cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_64) := -mcmodel=small
1184 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(cflags-y)
1186 Many arch Makefiles dynamically run the target C compiler to
1187 probe supported options::
1192 cflags-$(CONFIG_MPENTIUMII) += $(call cc-option,\
1193 -march=pentium2,-march=i686)
1195 # Disable unit-at-a-time mode ...
1196 KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-option,-fno-unit-at-a-time)
1200 The first example utilises the trick that a config option expands
1201 to 'y' when selected.
1203 KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL
1204 Assembler options specific for built-in
1206 $(KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
1207 resident kernel code.
1209 KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE
1210 Assembler options specific for modules
1212 $(KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
1213 are used for assembler.
1215 From commandline AFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.rst).
1217 KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL
1218 $(CC) options specific for built-in
1220 $(KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
1221 resident kernel code.
1223 KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE
1224 Options for $(CC) when building modules
1226 $(KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
1228 From commandline CFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.rst).
1230 KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE
1231 Options for $(LD) when linking modules
1233 $(KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options
1234 used when linking modules. This is often a linker script.
1236 From commandline LDFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.rst).
1240 The linker script with full path. Assigned by the top-level Makefile.
1244 The module linker script with full path. Assigned by the top-level
1245 Makefile and additionally by the arch Makefile.
1249 All object files for vmlinux. They are linked to vmlinux in the same
1250 order as listed in KBUILD_VMLINUX_OBJS.
1254 All .a "lib" files for vmlinux. KBUILD_VMLINUX_OBJS and
1255 KBUILD_VMLINUX_LIBS together specify all the object files used to
1258 7.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders
1259 ------------------------------------
1261 The archheaders: rule is used to generate header files that
1262 may be installed into user space by "make header_install".
1264 It is run before "make archprepare" when run on the
1265 architecture itself.
1268 7.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare
1269 ------------------------------------
1271 The archprepare: rule is used to list prerequisites that need to be
1272 built before starting to descend down in the subdirectories.
1273 This is usually used for header files containing assembler constants.
1278 archprepare: maketools
1280 In this example, the file target maketools will be processed
1281 before descending down in the subdirectories.
1282 See also chapter XXX-TODO that describes how kbuild supports
1283 generating offset header files.
1286 7.4 List directories to visit when descending
1287 ---------------------------------------------
1289 An arch Makefile cooperates with the top Makefile to define variables
1290 which specify how to build the vmlinux file. Note that there is no
1291 corresponding arch-specific section for modules; the module-building
1292 machinery is all architecture-independent.
1295 head-y, core-y, libs-y, drivers-y
1296 $(head-y) lists objects to be linked first in vmlinux.
1298 $(libs-y) lists directories where a lib.a archive can be located.
1300 The rest list directories where a built-in.a object file can be
1303 Then the rest follows in this order:
1305 $(core-y), $(libs-y), $(drivers-y)
1307 The top level Makefile defines values for all generic directories,
1308 and arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile only adds architecture-specific
1313 # arch/sparc/Makefile
1314 core-y += arch/sparc/
1316 libs-y += arch/sparc/prom/
1317 libs-y += arch/sparc/lib/
1319 drivers-$(CONFIG_PM) += arch/sparc/power/
1320 drivers-$(CONFIG_OPROFILE) += arch/sparc/oprofile/
1322 7.5 Architecture-specific boot images
1323 -------------------------------------
1325 An arch Makefile specifies goals that take the vmlinux file, compress
1326 it, wrap it in bootstrapping code, and copy the resulting files
1327 somewhere. This includes various kinds of installation commands.
1328 The actual goals are not standardized across architectures.
1330 It is common to locate any additional processing in a boot/
1331 directory below arch/$(SRCARCH)/.
1333 Kbuild does not provide any smart way to support building a
1334 target specified in boot/. Therefore arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile shall
1335 call make manually to build a target in boot/.
1337 The recommended approach is to include shortcuts in
1338 arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile, and use the full path when calling down
1339 into the arch/$(SRCARCH)/boot/Makefile.
1344 boot := arch/x86/boot
1346 $(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=$(boot) $(boot)/$@
1348 "$(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=<dir>" is the recommended way to invoke
1349 make in a subdirectory.
1351 There are no rules for naming architecture-specific targets,
1352 but executing "make help" will list all relevant targets.
1353 To support this, $(archhelp) must be defined.
1359 echo '* bzImage - Compressed kernel image (arch/x86/boot/bzImage)'
1362 When make is executed without arguments, the first goal encountered
1363 will be built. In the top level Makefile the first goal present
1365 An architecture shall always, per default, build a bootable image.
1366 In "make help", the default goal is highlighted with a '*'.
1367 Add a new prerequisite to all: to select a default goal different
1375 When "make" is executed without arguments, bzImage will be built.
1377 7.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
1378 ---------------------------------------------
1380 Kbuild provides a few macros that are useful when building a
1384 Link target. Often, LDFLAGS_$@ is used to set specific options to ld.
1388 #arch/x86/boot/Makefile
1389 LDFLAGS_bootsect := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary
1390 LDFLAGS_setup := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary -e begtext
1392 targets += setup setup.o bootsect bootsect.o
1393 $(obj)/setup $(obj)/bootsect: %: %.o FORCE
1394 $(call if_changed,ld)
1396 In this example, there are two possible targets, requiring different
1397 options to the linker. The linker options are specified using the
1398 LDFLAGS_$@ syntax - one for each potential target.
1399 $(targets) are assigned all potential targets, by which kbuild knows
1400 the targets and will:
1402 1) check for commandline changes
1403 2) delete target during make clean
1405 The ": %: %.o" part of the prerequisite is a shorthand that
1406 frees us from listing the setup.o and bootsect.o files.
1409 It is a common mistake to forget the "targets :=" assignment,
1410 resulting in the target file being recompiled for no
1414 Copy binary. Uses OBJCOPYFLAGS usually specified in
1415 arch/$(SRCARCH)/Makefile.
1416 OBJCOPYFLAGS_$@ may be used to set additional options.
1419 Compress target. Use maximum compression to compress target.
1423 #arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
1424 $(obj)/vmlinux.bin.gz: $(vmlinux.bin.all-y) FORCE
1425 $(call if_changed,gzip)
1428 Create flattened device tree blob object suitable for linking
1429 into vmlinux. Device tree blobs linked into vmlinux are placed
1430 in an init section in the image. Platform code *must* copy the
1431 blob to non-init memory prior to calling unflatten_device_tree().
1433 To use this command, simply add `*.dtb` into obj-y or targets, or make
1434 some other target depend on `%.dtb`
1436 A central rule exists to create `$(obj)/%.dtb` from `$(src)/%.dts`;
1437 architecture Makefiles do no need to explicitly write out that rule.
1442 DTC_FLAGS ?= -p 1024
1444 7.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
1445 --------------------------------
1447 When the vmlinux image is built, the linker script
1448 arch/$(SRCARCH)/kernel/vmlinux.lds is used.
1449 The script is a preprocessed variant of the file vmlinux.lds.S
1450 located in the same directory.
1451 kbuild knows .lds files and includes a rule `*lds.S` -> `*lds`.
1455 #arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
1456 extra-y := vmlinux.lds
1458 The assignment to extra-y is used to tell kbuild to build the
1460 The assignment to $(CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds) tells kbuild to use the
1461 specified options when building the target vmlinux.lds.
1463 When building the `*.lds` target, kbuild uses the variables::
1465 KBUILD_CPPFLAGS : Set in top-level Makefile
1466 cppflags-y : May be set in the kbuild makefile
1467 CPPFLAGS_$(@F) : Target-specific flags.
1468 Note that the full filename is used in this
1471 The kbuild infrastructure for `*lds` files is used in several
1472 architecture-specific files.
1474 7.10 Generic header files
1475 -------------------------
1477 The directory include/asm-generic contains the header files
1478 that may be shared between individual architectures.
1479 The recommended approach how to use a generic header file is
1480 to list the file in the Kbuild file.
1481 See "8.2 generic-y" for further info on syntax etc.
1486 If the file arch/xxx/Makefile.postlink exists, this makefile
1487 will be invoked for post-link objects (vmlinux and modules.ko)
1488 for architectures to run post-link passes on. Must also handle
1491 This pass runs after kallsyms generation. If the architecture
1492 needs to modify symbol locations, rather than manipulate the
1493 kallsyms, it may be easier to add another postlink target for
1494 .tmp_vmlinux? targets to be called from link-vmlinux.sh.
1496 For example, powerpc uses this to check relocation sanity of
1497 the linked vmlinux file.
1499 8 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
1500 ------------------------------------
1502 The kernel includes a set of headers that is exported to userspace.
1503 Many headers can be exported as-is but other headers require a
1504 minimal pre-processing before they are ready for user-space.
1505 The pre-processing does:
1507 - drop kernel-specific annotations
1508 - drop include of compiler.h
1509 - drop all sections that are kernel internal (guarded by `ifdef __KERNEL__`)
1511 All headers under include/uapi/, include/generated/uapi/,
1512 arch/<arch>/include/uapi/ and arch/<arch>/include/generated/uapi/
1515 A Kbuild file may be defined under arch/<arch>/include/uapi/asm/ and
1516 arch/<arch>/include/asm/ to list asm files coming from asm-generic.
1517 See subsequent chapter for the syntax of the Kbuild file.
1519 8.1 no-export-headers
1520 ---------------------
1522 no-export-headers is essentially used by include/uapi/linux/Kbuild to
1523 avoid exporting specific headers (e.g. kvm.h) on architectures that do
1524 not support it. It should be avoided as much as possible.
1529 If an architecture uses a verbatim copy of a header from
1530 include/asm-generic then this is listed in the file
1531 arch/$(SRCARCH)/include/asm/Kbuild like this:
1535 #arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1536 generic-y += termios.h
1539 During the prepare phase of the build a wrapper include
1540 file is generated in the directory::
1542 arch/$(SRCARCH)/include/generated/asm
1544 When a header is exported where the architecture uses
1545 the generic header a similar wrapper is generated as part
1546 of the set of exported headers in the directory::
1550 The generated wrapper will in both cases look like the following:
1552 Example: termios.h::
1554 #include <asm-generic/termios.h>
1559 If an architecture generates other header files alongside generic-y
1560 wrappers, generated-y specifies them.
1562 This prevents them being treated as stale asm-generic wrappers and
1567 #arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1568 generated-y += syscalls_32.h
1573 mandatory-y is essentially used by include/(uapi/)asm-generic/Kbuild
1574 to define the minimum set of ASM headers that all architectures must have.
1576 This works like optional generic-y. If a mandatory header is missing
1577 in arch/$(SRCARCH)/include/(uapi/)/asm, Kbuild will automatically
1578 generate a wrapper of the asm-generic one.
1583 The top Makefile exports the following variables:
1585 VERSION, PATCHLEVEL, SUBLEVEL, EXTRAVERSION
1586 These variables define the current kernel version. A few arch
1587 Makefiles actually use these values directly; they should use
1588 $(KERNELRELEASE) instead.
1590 $(VERSION), $(PATCHLEVEL), and $(SUBLEVEL) define the basic
1591 three-part version number, such as "2", "4", and "0". These three
1592 values are always numeric.
1594 $(EXTRAVERSION) defines an even tinier sublevel for pre-patches
1595 or additional patches. It is usually some non-numeric string
1596 such as "-pre4", and is often blank.
1599 $(KERNELRELEASE) is a single string such as "2.4.0-pre4", suitable
1600 for constructing installation directory names or showing in
1601 version strings. Some arch Makefiles use it for this purpose.
1604 This variable defines the target architecture, such as "i386",
1605 "arm", or "sparc". Some kbuild Makefiles test $(ARCH) to
1606 determine which files to compile.
1608 By default, the top Makefile sets $(ARCH) to be the same as the
1609 host system architecture. For a cross build, a user may
1610 override the value of $(ARCH) on the command line::
1615 This variable specifies the directory in arch/ to build.
1617 ARCH and SRCARCH may not necessarily match. A couple of arch
1618 directories are biarch, that is, a single `arch/*/` directory supports
1619 both 32-bit and 64-bit.
1621 For example, you can pass in ARCH=i386, ARCH=x86_64, or ARCH=x86.
1622 For all of them, SRCARCH=x86 because arch/x86/ supports both i386 and
1626 This variable defines a place for the arch Makefiles to install
1627 the resident kernel image and System.map file.
1628 Use this for architecture-specific install targets.
1630 INSTALL_MOD_PATH, MODLIB
1631 $(INSTALL_MOD_PATH) specifies a prefix to $(MODLIB) for module
1632 installation. This variable is not defined in the Makefile but
1633 may be passed in by the user if desired.
1635 $(MODLIB) specifies the directory for module installation.
1636 The top Makefile defines $(MODLIB) to
1637 $(INSTALL_MOD_PATH)/lib/modules/$(KERNELRELEASE). The user may
1638 override this value on the command line if desired.
1641 If this variable is specified, it will cause modules to be stripped
1642 after they are installed. If INSTALL_MOD_STRIP is '1', then the
1643 default option --strip-debug will be used. Otherwise, the
1644 INSTALL_MOD_STRIP value will be used as the option(s) to the strip
1648 10 Makefile language
1649 ====================
1651 The kernel Makefiles are designed to be run with GNU Make. The Makefiles
1652 use only the documented features of GNU Make, but they do use many
1655 GNU Make supports elementary list-processing functions. The kernel
1656 Makefiles use a novel style of list building and manipulation with few
1659 GNU Make has two assignment operators, ":=" and "=". ":=" performs
1660 immediate evaluation of the right-hand side and stores an actual string
1661 into the left-hand side. "=" is like a formula definition; it stores the
1662 right-hand side in an unevaluated form and then evaluates this form each
1663 time the left-hand side is used.
1665 There are some cases where "=" is appropriate. Usually, though, ":="
1666 is the right choice.
1671 - Original version made by Michael Elizabeth Chastain, <mailto:mec@shout.net>
1672 - Updates by Kai Germaschewski <kai@tp1.ruhr-uni-bochum.de>
1673 - Updates by Sam Ravnborg <sam@ravnborg.org>
1674 - Language QA by Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@gmx.de>
1679 - Describe how kbuild supports shipped files with _shipped.
1680 - Generating offset header files.
1681 - Add more variables to chapters 7 or 9?