Makefiles

If you absolutely have to use gnu make and can’t use something else like Boost.Build or you don’t want to invest in the infrastructure for a small project here’s some useful macros:

exec = output=$$($(1) 2>&1) || (ret=$$?; echo -e "$(1)\n$${output}"; exit $$ret);

configure = echo "configure in $(1)"; $(call exec,cd $(1) && ./configure)
make = echo "make in $(1) $(2)"; $(call exec,make -C $(1) $(2))

compile-cxx = echo "compile-c++ $(2) -> $$(basename $(1))"; \
$(call exec,g++ -fPIC -o $(1) -c $(2) -Wall ${INCS} ${CXXFLAGS})

link-shared = echo "link-shared $$(basename $(1))"; \
$(call exec,g++ -fPIC -shared -o $(1) $(2) $(3))

%.o: %.cpp Makefile
@$(call compile-cxx,$@,$<)