{"id":6295,"date":"2020-06-08T09:46:29","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T16:46:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/visualgdb.com\/w\/?p=6295"},"modified":"2020-10-26T17:20:29","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T00:20:29","slug":"visualgdb-makefiles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/visualgdb.com\/documentation\/makefiles\/","title":{"rendered":"VisualGDB Makefiles"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you create a Makefile-based project using VisualGDB, it generates a Makefile<\/strong> (and a separate .mak<\/strong> file for each configuration). That will be used to build the project.<\/p>\n

Note that we do not recommend using Makefiles for new projects. For greater reliability, build speed, and a much better integration with Visual Studio GUI, please use MSBuild projects<\/a> instead. If you would like to build the projects outside Visual Studio, please use the Advanced CMake Project Subsystem<\/a> together with Ninja.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Typical Structure<\/h1>\n

A VisualGDB-generated Makefile normally has the following structure:<\/p>\n

#VisualGDB: AutoSourceFiles\r\n\r\nTARGETNAME := ProjectName.elf\r\nTARGETTYPE := APP\r\nCONFIG ?= DEBUG\r\n\r\n<...>\r\n\r\ninclude $(CONFIGURATION_FLAGS_FILE)\r\ninclude $(ADDITIONAL_MAKE_FILES)\r\n\r\nSOURCEFILES := <...>\r\n\r\n#VisualGDB: FileSpecificTemplates\r\n$(BINARYDIR)\/%.o : %.cpp $(all_make_files) |$(BINARYDIR)\r\n\t$(CXX) $(CXXFLAGS) -c $< -o $@ $(CC_DEPENDENCY_FILE_SPECIFIER) $(@:.o=.dep)\r\n\r\n<...>\r\n\r\n#VisualGDB: GeneratedRules\r\n\r\n$(BINARYDIR)\/startup_stm32f407xx.o : $(BSP_ROOT)\/STM32F4xxxx\/StartupFiles\/startup_stm32f407xx.c $(all_make_files) |$(BINARYDIR)\r\n\t$(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c $< -o $@ $(CC_DEPENDENCY_FILE_SPECIFIER) $(@:.o=.dep)\r\n<...><\/pre>\n
The SOURCEFILES line lists all source files used in the project. VisualGDB will automatically update this line when you add new files to the project. The “%.cpp” and “%.c” lines define generic rules to build .o files from the C\/C++ source files.<\/p>\n
The configuration-specific .mak file (e.g. debug.mak<\/strong>) contains various configuration-specific parameters:<\/p>\n
PREPROCESSOR_MACROS := DEBUG=1\r\nINCLUDE_DIRS := \r\n\r\n<...>\r\n\r\nCFLAGS := -ggdb -ffunction-sections -O0\r\nCXXFLAGS := -ggdb -ffunction-sections -fno-exceptions -fno-rtti -O0\r\n\r\n<...>\r\n\r\nADDITIONAL_MAKE_FILES := stm32.mak\r\nGENERATE_BIN_FILE := 1\r\nGENERATE_IHEX_FILE := 0<\/pre>\n
The following table summarizes all variables defined in flags.mak:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Variable<\/th>\nMeaning<\/th>\nExample<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
CC<\/td>\nLocation of the GCC compiler<\/td>\nc:\/gcc\/gcc.exe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CXX<\/td>\nLocation of the C++ compiler<\/td>\nc:\/gcc\/g++.exe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LD<\/td>\nLocation of the linker (typically GCC\/G++ is used for linking)<\/td>\nc:\/gcc\/g++.exe<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
COMMON_MACROS<\/td>\nPreprocessor definitions to be defined in all configurations.<\/td>\n_WIN32 _CONSOLE<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DEBUG_MACROS<\/td>\nPreprocessor definitions to be defined in DEBUG configuration only<\/td>\n_DEBUG DEBUG<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RELEASE_MACROS<\/td>\nPreprocessor definitions to be defined in RELEASE configuration only<\/td>\n_NDEBUG _RELEASE<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MCUFLAGS<\/td>\nAdditional flags specifying microcontroller type<\/td>\n-mmcu=msp430f2013<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
INCLUDE_DIRS<\/td>\nAdditional include directories relative to the project location<\/td>\n..\/lib1 ..\/lib2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LIBRARY_DIRS<\/td>\nAdditional library directories<\/td>\n..\/lib1\/bin ..\/lib2\/bin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LIBRARY_NAMES<\/td>\nAdditional libraries to link with (no “lib” prefix)<\/td>\n1 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CFLAGS<\/td>\nAdditional GCC flags for all configurations<\/td>\n-ggdb -ffunction-sections<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DEBUG_CFLAGS<\/td>\nAdditional GCC flags for DEBUG configuration<\/td>\n-O0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RELEASE_CFLAGS<\/td>\nAdditional GCC flags for RELEASE configuration<\/td>\n-O3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CXXFLAGS<\/td>\nAdditional C++ flags for all configurations<\/td>\n-fno-exceptions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DEBUG_CXXFLAGS<\/td>\nAdditional C++ flags for DEBUG configuration<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RELEASE_CXXFLAGS<\/td>\nAdditional C++ flags for RELEASE configuration<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
MACOS_FRAMEWORKS<\/td>\nAdditional framework names (MacOS only)<\/td>\niokit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
LDFLAGS<\/td>\nAdditional flags to the linker (with -Wl, prefix when GCC is used for linking)<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DEBUG_LDFLAGS<\/td>\nAdditional linker flags for DEBUG configuration<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
RELEASE_LDFLAGS<\/td>\nAdditional linker flags for RELEASE configuration<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
START_GROUP<\/td>\nEither an empty string, or “-Wl,–start-group”<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
END_GROUP<\/td>\nEither an empty string, or “-Wl,–end-group”<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
The START_GROUP\/END_GROUP flags surround the library\/object file list and allow specifying them in an arbitrary order (otherwise the object file list has to be sorted manually). You can set those variables to empty strings if your linker (e.g. MacOS linker) does not require those flags.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Makefile Lifecycle<\/h1>\n
Once the Makefile is created, VisualGDB will not regenerate the Makefile anymore. Instead, when you build the project, it will edit the following statements each time you build the project:<\/p>\n