1======================
2Linux Kernel Makefiles
3======================
4
5This document describes the Linux kernel Makefiles.
6
7.. Table of Contents
8
9	=== 1 Overview
10	=== 2 Who does what
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 Compilation flags
19	   --- 3.8 Command line dependency
20	   --- 3.9 Dependency tracking
21	   --- 3.10 Special Rules
22	   --- 3.11 $(CC) support functions
23	   --- 3.12 $(LD) support functions
24
25	=== 4 Host Program support
26	   --- 4.1 Simple Host Program
27	   --- 4.2 Composite Host Programs
28	   --- 4.3 Using C++ for host programs
29	   --- 4.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
30	   --- 4.5 When host programs are actually built
31	   --- 4.6 Using hostprogs-$(CONFIG_FOO)
32
33	=== 5 Kbuild clean infrastructure
34
35	=== 6 Architecture Makefiles
36	   --- 6.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
37	   --- 6.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders:
38	   --- 6.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare:
39	   --- 6.4 List directories to visit when descending
40	   --- 6.5 Architecture-specific boot images
41	   --- 6.6 Building non-kbuild targets
42	   --- 6.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
43	   --- 6.8 Custom kbuild commands
44	   --- 6.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
45	   --- 6.10 Generic header files
46	   --- 6.11 Post-link pass
47
48	=== 7 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
49		--- 7.1 no-export-headers
50		--- 7.2 generic-y
51		--- 7.3 generated-y
52		--- 7.4 mandatory-y
53
54	=== 8 Kbuild Variables
55	=== 9 Makefile language
56	=== 10 Credits
57	=== 11 TODO
58
591 Overview
60==========
61
62The Makefiles have five parts::
63
64	Makefile		the top Makefile.
65	.config			the kernel configuration file.
66	arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile	the arch Makefile.
67	scripts/Makefile.*	common rules etc. for all kbuild Makefiles.
68	kbuild Makefiles	there are about 500 of these.
69
70The top Makefile reads the .config file, which comes from the kernel
71configuration process.
72
73The top Makefile is responsible for building two major products: vmlinux
74(the resident kernel image) and modules (any module files).
75It builds these goals by recursively descending into the subdirectories of
76the kernel source tree.
77The list of subdirectories which are visited depends upon the kernel
78configuration. The top Makefile textually includes an arch Makefile
79with the name arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile. The arch Makefile supplies
80architecture-specific information to the top Makefile.
81
82Each subdirectory has a kbuild Makefile which carries out the commands
83passed down from above. The kbuild Makefile uses information from the
84.config file to construct various file lists used by kbuild to build
85any built-in or modular targets.
86
87scripts/Makefile.* contains all the definitions/rules etc. that
88are used to build the kernel based on the kbuild makefiles.
89
90
912 Who does what
92===============
93
94People have four different relationships with the kernel Makefiles.
95
96*Users* are people who build kernels.  These people type commands such as
97"make menuconfig" or "make".  They usually do not read or edit
98any kernel Makefiles (or any other source files).
99
100*Normal developers* are people who work on features such as device
101drivers, file systems, and network protocols.  These people need to
102maintain the kbuild Makefiles for the subsystem they are
103working on.  In order to do this effectively, they need some overall
104knowledge about the kernel Makefiles, plus detailed knowledge about the
105public interface for kbuild.
106
107*Arch developers* are people who work on an entire architecture, such
108as sparc or ia64.  Arch developers need to know about the arch Makefile
109as well as kbuild Makefiles.
110
111*Kbuild developers* are people who work on the kernel build system itself.
112These people need to know about all aspects of the kernel Makefiles.
113
114This document is aimed towards normal developers and arch developers.
115
116
1173 The kbuild files
118==================
119
120Most Makefiles within the kernel are kbuild Makefiles that use the
121kbuild infrastructure. This chapter introduces the syntax used in the
122kbuild makefiles.
123The preferred name for the kbuild files are 'Makefile' but 'Kbuild' can
124be used and if both a 'Makefile' and a 'Kbuild' file exists, then the 'Kbuild'
125file will be used.
126
127Section 3.1 "Goal definitions" is a quick intro, further chapters provide
128more details, with real examples.
129
1303.1 Goal definitions
131--------------------
132
133	Goal definitions are the main part (heart) of the kbuild Makefile.
134	These lines define the files to be built, any special compilation
135	options, and any subdirectories to be entered recursively.
136
137	The most simple kbuild makefile contains one line:
138
139	Example::
140
141		obj-y += foo.o
142
143	This tells kbuild that there is one object in that directory, named
144	foo.o. foo.o will be built from foo.c or foo.S.
145
146	If foo.o shall be built as a module, the variable obj-m is used.
147	Therefore the following pattern is often used:
148
149	Example::
150
151		obj-$(CONFIG_FOO) += foo.o
152
153	$(CONFIG_FOO) evaluates to either y (for built-in) or m (for module).
154	If CONFIG_FOO is neither y nor m, then the file will not be compiled
155	nor linked.
156
1573.2 Built-in object goals - obj-y
158---------------------------------
159
160	The kbuild Makefile specifies object files for vmlinux
161	in the $(obj-y) lists.  These lists depend on the kernel
162	configuration.
163
164	Kbuild compiles all the $(obj-y) files.  It then calls
165	"$(AR) rcSTP" to merge these files into one built-in.a file.
166	This is a thin archive without a symbol table. It will be later
167	linked into vmlinux by scripts/link-vmlinux.sh
168
169	The order of files in $(obj-y) is significant.  Duplicates in
170	the lists are allowed: the first instance will be linked into
171	built-in.a and succeeding instances will be ignored.
172
173	Link order is significant, because certain functions
174	(module_init() / __initcall) will be called during boot in the
175	order they appear. So keep in mind that changing the link
176	order may e.g. change the order in which your SCSI
177	controllers are detected, and thus your disks are renumbered.
178
179	Example::
180
181		#drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
182		# Makefile for the kernel ISDN subsystem and device drivers.
183		# Each configuration option enables a list of files.
184		obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_I4L)         += isdn.o
185		obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
186
1873.3 Loadable module goals - obj-m
188---------------------------------
189
190	$(obj-m) specifies object files which are built as loadable
191	kernel modules.
192
193	A module may be built from one source file or several source
194	files. In the case of one source file, the kbuild makefile
195	simply adds the file to $(obj-m).
196
197	Example::
198
199		#drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
200		obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
201
202	Note: In this example $(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) evaluates to 'm'
203
204	If a kernel module is built from several source files, you specify
205	that you want to build a module in the same way as above; however,
206	kbuild needs to know which object files you want to build your
207	module from, so you have to tell it by setting a $(<module_name>-y)
208	variable.
209
210	Example::
211
212		#drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
213		obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_I4L) += isdn.o
214		isdn-y := isdn_net_lib.o isdn_v110.o isdn_common.o
215
216	In this example, the module name will be isdn.o. Kbuild will
217	compile the objects listed in $(isdn-y) and then run
218	"$(LD) -r" on the list of these files to generate isdn.o.
219
220	Due to kbuild recognizing $(<module_name>-y) for composite objects,
221	you can use the value of a `CONFIG_` symbol to optionally include an
222	object file as part of a composite object.
223
224	Example::
225
226		#fs/ext2/Makefile
227	        obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2.o
228		ext2-y := balloc.o dir.o file.o ialloc.o inode.o ioctl.o \
229			  namei.o super.o symlink.o
230	        ext2-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR) += xattr.o xattr_user.o \
231						xattr_trusted.o
232
233	In this example, xattr.o, xattr_user.o and xattr_trusted.o are only
234	part of the composite object ext2.o if $(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR)
235	evaluates to 'y'.
236
237	Note: Of course, when you are building objects into the kernel,
238	the syntax above will also work. So, if you have CONFIG_EXT2_FS=y,
239	kbuild will build an ext2.o file for you out of the individual
240	parts and then link this into built-in.a, as you would expect.
241
2423.4 Objects which export symbols
243--------------------------------
244
245	No special notation is required in the makefiles for
246	modules exporting symbols.
247
2483.5 Library file goals - lib-y
249------------------------------
250
251	Objects listed with obj-* are used for modules, or
252	combined in a built-in.a for that specific directory.
253	There is also the possibility to list objects that will
254	be included in a library, lib.a.
255	All objects listed with lib-y are combined in a single
256	library for that directory.
257	Objects that are listed in obj-y and additionally listed in
258	lib-y will not be included in the library, since they will
259	be accessible anyway.
260	For consistency, objects listed in lib-m will be included in lib.a.
261
262	Note that the same kbuild makefile may list files to be built-in
263	and to be part of a library. Therefore the same directory
264	may contain both a built-in.a and a lib.a file.
265
266	Example::
267
268		#arch/x86/lib/Makefile
269		lib-y    := delay.o
270
271	This will create a library lib.a based on delay.o. For kbuild to
272	actually recognize that there is a lib.a being built, the directory
273	shall be listed in libs-y.
274
275	See also "6.4 List directories to visit when descending".
276
277	Use of lib-y is normally restricted to `lib/` and `arch/*/lib`.
278
2793.6 Descending down in directories
280----------------------------------
281
282	A Makefile is only responsible for building objects in its own
283	directory. Files in subdirectories should be taken care of by
284	Makefiles in these subdirs. The build system will automatically
285	invoke make recursively in subdirectories, provided you let it know of
286	them.
287
288	To do so, obj-y and obj-m are used.
289	ext2 lives in a separate directory, and the Makefile present in fs/
290	tells kbuild to descend down using the following assignment.
291
292	Example::
293
294		#fs/Makefile
295		obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2/
296
297	If CONFIG_EXT2_FS is set to either 'y' (built-in) or 'm' (modular)
298	the corresponding obj- variable will be set, and kbuild will descend
299	down in the ext2 directory.
300	Kbuild only uses this information to decide that it needs to visit
301	the directory, it is the Makefile in the subdirectory that
302	specifies what is modular and what is built-in.
303
304	It is good practice to use a `CONFIG_` variable when assigning directory
305	names. This allows kbuild to totally skip the directory if the
306	corresponding `CONFIG_` option is neither 'y' nor 'm'.
307
3083.7 Compilation flags
309---------------------
310
311    ccflags-y, asflags-y and ldflags-y
312	These three flags apply only to the kbuild makefile in which they
313	are assigned. They are used for all the normal cc, as and ld
314	invocations happening during a recursive build.
315	Note: Flags with the same behaviour were previously named:
316	EXTRA_CFLAGS, EXTRA_AFLAGS and EXTRA_LDFLAGS.
317	They are still supported but their usage is deprecated.
318
319	ccflags-y specifies options for compiling with $(CC).
320
321	Example::
322
323		# drivers/acpi/acpica/Makefile
324		ccflags-y			:= -Os -D_LINUX -DBUILDING_ACPICA
325		ccflags-$(CONFIG_ACPI_DEBUG)	+= -DACPI_DEBUG_OUTPUT
326
327	This variable is necessary because the top Makefile owns the
328	variable $(KBUILD_CFLAGS) and uses it for compilation flags for the
329	entire tree.
330
331	asflags-y specifies options for assembling with $(AS).
332
333	Example::
334
335		#arch/sparc/kernel/Makefile
336		asflags-y := -ansi
337
338	ldflags-y specifies options for linking with $(LD).
339
340	Example::
341
342		#arch/cris/boot/compressed/Makefile
343		ldflags-y += -T $(srctree)/$(src)/decompress_$(arch-y).lds
344
345    subdir-ccflags-y, subdir-asflags-y
346	The two flags listed above are similar to ccflags-y and asflags-y.
347	The difference is that the subdir- variants have effect for the kbuild
348	file where they are present and all subdirectories.
349	Options specified using subdir-* are added to the commandline before
350	the options specified using the non-subdir variants.
351
352	Example::
353
354		subdir-ccflags-y := -Werror
355
356    CFLAGS_$@, AFLAGS_$@
357	CFLAGS_$@ and AFLAGS_$@ only apply to commands in current
358	kbuild makefile.
359
360	$(CFLAGS_$@) specifies per-file options for $(CC).  The $@
361	part has a literal value which specifies the file that it is for.
362
363	Example::
364
365		# drivers/scsi/Makefile
366		CFLAGS_aha152x.o =   -DAHA152X_STAT -DAUTOCONF
367		CFLAGS_gdth.o    = # -DDEBUG_GDTH=2 -D__SERIAL__ -D__COM2__ \
368				     -DGDTH_STATISTICS
369
370	These two lines specify compilation flags for aha152x.o and gdth.o.
371
372	$(AFLAGS_$@) is a similar feature for source files in assembly
373	languages.
374
375	Example::
376
377		# arch/arm/kernel/Makefile
378		AFLAGS_head.o        := -DTEXT_OFFSET=$(TEXT_OFFSET)
379		AFLAGS_crunch-bits.o := -Wa,-mcpu=ep9312
380		AFLAGS_iwmmxt.o      := -Wa,-mcpu=iwmmxt
381
382
3833.9 Dependency tracking
384-----------------------
385
386	Kbuild tracks dependencies on the following:
387	1) All prerequisite files (both `*.c` and `*.h`)
388	2) `CONFIG_` options used in all prerequisite files
389	3) Command-line used to compile target
390
391	Thus, if you change an option to $(CC) all affected files will
392	be re-compiled.
393
3943.10 Special Rules
395------------------
396
397	Special rules are used when the kbuild infrastructure does
398	not provide the required support. A typical example is
399	header files generated during the build process.
400	Another example are the architecture-specific Makefiles which
401	need special rules to prepare boot images etc.
402
403	Special rules are written as normal Make rules.
404	Kbuild is not executing in the directory where the Makefile is
405	located, so all special rules shall provide a relative
406	path to prerequisite files and target files.
407
408	Two variables are used when defining special rules:
409
410	$(src)
411	    $(src) is a relative path which points to the directory
412	    where the Makefile is located. Always use $(src) when
413	    referring to files located in the src tree.
414
415	$(obj)
416	    $(obj) is a relative path which points to the directory
417	    where the target is saved. Always use $(obj) when
418	    referring to generated files.
419
420	    Example::
421
422		#drivers/scsi/Makefile
423		$(obj)/53c8xx_d.h: $(src)/53c7,8xx.scr $(src)/script_asm.pl
424			$(CPP) -DCHIP=810 - < $< | ... $(src)/script_asm.pl
425
426	    This is a special rule, following the normal syntax
427	    required by make.
428
429	    The target file depends on two prerequisite files. References
430	    to the target file are prefixed with $(obj), references
431	    to prerequisites are referenced with $(src) (because they are not
432	    generated files).
433
434	$(kecho)
435	    echoing information to user in a rule is often a good practice
436	    but when execution "make -s" one does not expect to see any output
437	    except for warnings/errors.
438	    To support this kbuild defines $(kecho) which will echo out the
439	    text following $(kecho) to stdout except if "make -s" is used.
440
441	Example::
442
443		#arch/blackfin/boot/Makefile
444		$(obj)/vmImage: $(obj)/vmlinux.gz
445			$(call if_changed,uimage)
446			@$(kecho) 'Kernel: $@ is ready'
447
448
4493.11 $(CC) support functions
450----------------------------
451
452	The kernel may be built with several different versions of
453	$(CC), each supporting a unique set of features and options.
454	kbuild provides basic support to check for valid options for $(CC).
455	$(CC) is usually the gcc compiler, but other alternatives are
456	available.
457
458    as-option
459	as-option is used to check if $(CC) -- when used to compile
460	assembler (`*.S`) files -- supports the given option. An optional
461	second option may be specified if the first option is not supported.
462
463	Example::
464
465		#arch/sh/Makefile
466		cflags-y += $(call as-option,-Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y),)
467
468	In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
469	-Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y) if it is supported by $(CC).
470	The second argument is optional, and if supplied will be used
471	if first argument is not supported.
472
473    cc-ldoption
474	cc-ldoption is used to check if $(CC) when used to link object files
475	supports the given option.  An optional second option may be
476	specified if first option are not supported.
477
478	Example::
479
480		#arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
481		vsyscall-flags += $(call cc-ldoption, -Wl$(comma)--hash-style=sysv)
482
483	In the above example, vsyscall-flags will be assigned the option
484	-Wl$(comma)--hash-style=sysv if it is supported by $(CC).
485	The second argument is optional, and if supplied will be used
486	if first argument is not supported.
487
488    as-instr
489	as-instr checks if the assembler reports a specific instruction
490	and then outputs either option1 or option2
491	C escapes are supported in the test instruction
492	Note: as-instr-option uses KBUILD_AFLAGS for $(AS) options
493
494    cc-option
495	cc-option is used to check if $(CC) supports a given option, and if
496	not supported to use an optional second option.
497
498	Example::
499
500		#arch/x86/Makefile
501		cflags-y += $(call cc-option,-march=pentium-mmx,-march=i586)
502
503	In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
504	-march=pentium-mmx if supported by $(CC), otherwise -march=i586.
505	The second argument to cc-option is optional, and if omitted,
506	cflags-y will be assigned no value if first option is not supported.
507	Note: cc-option uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
508
509   cc-option-yn
510	cc-option-yn is used to check if gcc supports a given option
511	and return 'y' if supported, otherwise 'n'.
512
513	Example::
514
515		#arch/ppc/Makefile
516		biarch := $(call cc-option-yn, -m32)
517		aflags-$(biarch) += -a32
518		cflags-$(biarch) += -m32
519
520	In the above example, $(biarch) is set to y if $(CC) supports the -m32
521	option. When $(biarch) equals 'y', the expanded variables $(aflags-y)
522	and $(cflags-y) will be assigned the values -a32 and -m32,
523	respectively.
524	Note: cc-option-yn uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
525
526    cc-disable-warning
527	cc-disable-warning checks if gcc supports a given warning and returns
528	the commandline switch to disable it. This special function is needed,
529	because gcc 4.4 and later accept any unknown -Wno-* option and only
530	warn about it if there is another warning in the source file.
531
532	Example::
533
534		KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-disable-warning, unused-but-set-variable)
535
536	In the above example, -Wno-unused-but-set-variable will be added to
537	KBUILD_CFLAGS only if gcc really accepts it.
538
539    cc-ifversion
540	cc-ifversion tests the version of $(CC) and equals the fourth parameter
541	if version expression is true, or the fifth (if given) if the version
542	expression is false.
543
544	Example::
545
546		#fs/reiserfs/Makefile
547		ccflags-y := $(call cc-ifversion, -lt, 0402, -O1)
548
549	In this example, ccflags-y will be assigned the value -O1 if the
550	$(CC) version is less than 4.2.
551	cc-ifversion takes all the shell operators:
552	-eq, -ne, -lt, -le, -gt, and -ge
553	The third parameter may be a text as in this example, but it may also
554	be an expanded variable or a macro.
555
556    cc-cross-prefix
557	cc-cross-prefix is used to check if there exists a $(CC) in path with
558	one of the listed prefixes. The first prefix where there exist a
559	prefix$(CC) in the PATH is returned - and if no prefix$(CC) is found
560	then nothing is returned.
561	Additional prefixes are separated by a single space in the
562	call of cc-cross-prefix.
563	This functionality is useful for architecture Makefiles that try
564	to set CROSS_COMPILE to well-known values but may have several
565	values to select between.
566	It is recommended only to try to set CROSS_COMPILE if it is a cross
567	build (host arch is different from target arch). And if CROSS_COMPILE
568	is already set then leave it with the old value.
569
570	Example::
571
572		#arch/m68k/Makefile
573		ifneq ($(SUBARCH),$(ARCH))
574		        ifeq ($(CROSS_COMPILE),)
575		               CROSS_COMPILE := $(call cc-cross-prefix, m68k-linux-gnu-)
576			endif
577		endif
578
5793.12 $(LD) support functions
580----------------------------
581
582    ld-option
583	ld-option is used to check if $(LD) supports the supplied option.
584	ld-option takes two options as arguments.
585	The second argument is an optional option that can be used if the
586	first option is not supported by $(LD).
587
588	Example::
589
590		#Makefile
591		LDFLAGS_vmlinux += $(call ld-option, -X)
592
593
5944 Host Program support
595======================
596
597Kbuild supports building executables on the host for use during the
598compilation stage.
599Two steps are required in order to use a host executable.
600
601The first step is to tell kbuild that a host program exists. This is
602done utilising the variable hostprogs-y.
603
604The second step is to add an explicit dependency to the executable.
605This can be done in two ways. Either add the dependency in a rule,
606or utilise the variable $(always).
607Both possibilities are described in the following.
608
6094.1 Simple Host Program
610-----------------------
611
612	In some cases there is a need to compile and run a program on the
613	computer where the build is running.
614	The following line tells kbuild that the program bin2hex shall be
615	built on the build host.
616
617	Example::
618
619		hostprogs-y := bin2hex
620
621	Kbuild assumes in the above example that bin2hex is made from a single
622	c-source file named bin2hex.c located in the same directory as
623	the Makefile.
624
6254.2 Composite Host Programs
626---------------------------
627
628	Host programs can be made up based on composite objects.
629	The syntax used to define composite objects for host programs is
630	similar to the syntax used for kernel objects.
631	$(<executable>-objs) lists all objects used to link the final
632	executable.
633
634	Example::
635
636		#scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
637		hostprogs-y   := lxdialog
638		lxdialog-objs := checklist.o lxdialog.o
639
640	Objects with extension .o are compiled from the corresponding .c
641	files. In the above example, checklist.c is compiled to checklist.o
642	and lxdialog.c is compiled to lxdialog.o.
643
644	Finally, the two .o files are linked to the executable, lxdialog.
645	Note: The syntax <executable>-y is not permitted for host-programs.
646
6474.3 Using C++ for host programs
648-------------------------------
649
650	kbuild offers support for host programs written in C++. This was
651	introduced solely to support kconfig, and is not recommended
652	for general use.
653
654	Example::
655
656		#scripts/kconfig/Makefile
657		hostprogs-y   := qconf
658		qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
659
660	In the example above the executable is composed of the C++ file
661	qconf.cc - identified by $(qconf-cxxobjs).
662
663	If qconf is composed of a mixture of .c and .cc files, then an
664	additional line can be used to identify this.
665
666	Example::
667
668		#scripts/kconfig/Makefile
669		hostprogs-y   := qconf
670		qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
671		qconf-objs    := check.o
672
6734.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
674--------------------------------------------------
675
676	When compiling host programs, it is possible to set specific flags.
677	The programs will always be compiled utilising $(HOSTCC) passed
678	the options specified in $(KBUILD_HOSTCFLAGS).
679	To set flags that will take effect for all host programs created
680	in that Makefile, use the variable HOST_EXTRACFLAGS.
681
682	Example::
683
684		#scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
685		HOST_EXTRACFLAGS += -I/usr/include/ncurses
686
687	To set specific flags for a single file the following construction
688	is used:
689
690	Example::
691
692		#arch/ppc64/boot/Makefile
693		HOSTCFLAGS_piggyback.o := -DKERNELBASE=$(KERNELBASE)
694
695	It is also possible to specify additional options to the linker.
696
697	Example::
698
699		#scripts/kconfig/Makefile
700		HOSTLDLIBS_qconf := -L$(QTDIR)/lib
701
702	When linking qconf, it will be passed the extra option
703	"-L$(QTDIR)/lib".
704
7054.5 When host programs are actually built
706-----------------------------------------
707
708	Kbuild will only build host-programs when they are referenced
709	as a prerequisite.
710	This is possible in two ways:
711
712	(1) List the prerequisite explicitly in a special rule.
713
714	Example::
715
716		#drivers/pci/Makefile
717		hostprogs-y := gen-devlist
718		$(obj)/devlist.h: $(src)/pci.ids $(obj)/gen-devlist
719			( cd $(obj); ./gen-devlist ) < $<
720
721	The target $(obj)/devlist.h will not be built before
722	$(obj)/gen-devlist is updated. Note that references to
723	the host programs in special rules must be prefixed with $(obj).
724
725	(2) Use $(always)
726
727	When there is no suitable special rule, and the host program
728	shall be built when a makefile is entered, the $(always)
729	variable shall be used.
730
731	Example::
732
733		#scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
734		hostprogs-y   := lxdialog
735		always        := $(hostprogs-y)
736
737	This will tell kbuild to build lxdialog even if not referenced in
738	any rule.
739
7404.6 Using hostprogs-$(CONFIG_FOO)
741---------------------------------
742
743	A typical pattern in a Kbuild file looks like this:
744
745	Example::
746
747		#scripts/Makefile
748		hostprogs-$(CONFIG_KALLSYMS) += kallsyms
749
750	Kbuild knows about both 'y' for built-in and 'm' for module.
751	So if a config symbol evaluates to 'm', kbuild will still build
752	the binary. In other words, Kbuild handles hostprogs-m exactly
753	like hostprogs-y. But only hostprogs-y is recommended to be used
754	when no CONFIG symbols are involved.
755
7565 Kbuild clean infrastructure
757=============================
758
759"make clean" deletes most generated files in the obj tree where the kernel
760is compiled. This includes generated files such as host programs.
761Kbuild knows targets listed in $(hostprogs-y), $(hostprogs-m), $(always),
762$(extra-y) and $(targets). They are all deleted during "make clean".
763Files matching the patterns "*.[oas]", "*.ko", plus some additional files
764generated by kbuild are deleted all over the kernel src tree when
765"make clean" is executed.
766
767Additional files can be specified in kbuild makefiles by use of $(clean-files).
768
769	Example::
770
771		#lib/Makefile
772		clean-files := crc32table.h
773
774When executing "make clean", the file "crc32table.h" will be deleted.
775Kbuild will assume files to be in the same relative directory as the
776Makefile, except if prefixed with $(objtree).
777
778To delete a directory hierarchy use:
779
780	Example::
781
782		#scripts/package/Makefile
783		clean-dirs := $(objtree)/debian/
784
785This will delete the directory debian in the toplevel directory, including all
786subdirectories.
787
788To exclude certain files from make clean, use the $(no-clean-files) variable.
789This is only a special case used in the top level Kbuild file:
790
791	Example::
792
793		#Kbuild
794		no-clean-files := $(bounds-file) $(offsets-file)
795
796Usually kbuild descends down in subdirectories due to "obj-* := dir/",
797but in the architecture makefiles where the kbuild infrastructure
798is not sufficient this sometimes needs to be explicit.
799
800	Example::
801
802		#arch/x86/boot/Makefile
803		subdir- := compressed/
804
805The above assignment instructs kbuild to descend down in the
806directory compressed/ when "make clean" is executed.
807
808To support the clean infrastructure in the Makefiles that build the
809final bootimage there is an optional target named archclean:
810
811	Example::
812
813		#arch/x86/Makefile
814		archclean:
815			$(Q)$(MAKE) $(clean)=arch/x86/boot
816
817When "make clean" is executed, make will descend down in arch/x86/boot,
818and clean as usual. The Makefile located in arch/x86/boot/ may use
819the subdir- trick to descend further down.
820
821Note 1: arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile cannot use "subdir-", because that file is
822included in the top level makefile, and the kbuild infrastructure
823is not operational at that point.
824
825Note 2: All directories listed in core-y, libs-y, drivers-y and net-y will
826be visited during "make clean".
827
8286 Architecture Makefiles
829========================
830
831The top level Makefile sets up the environment and does the preparation,
832before starting to descend down in the individual directories.
833The top level makefile contains the generic part, whereas
834arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile contains what is required to set up kbuild
835for said architecture.
836To do so, arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile sets up a number of variables and defines
837a few targets.
838
839When kbuild executes, the following steps are followed (roughly):
840
8411) Configuration of the kernel => produce .config
8422) Store kernel version in include/linux/version.h
8433) Updating all other prerequisites to the target prepare:
844   - Additional prerequisites are specified in arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile
8454) Recursively descend down in all directories listed in
846   init-* core* drivers-* net-* libs-* and build all targets.
847   - The values of the above variables are expanded in arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
8485) All object files are then linked and the resulting file vmlinux is
849   located at the root of the obj tree.
850   The very first objects linked are listed in head-y, assigned by
851   arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
8526) Finally, the architecture-specific part does any required post processing
853   and builds the final bootimage.
854   - This includes building boot records
855   - Preparing initrd images and the like
856
857
8586.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
859--------------------------------------------------------
860
861    LDFLAGS
862	Generic $(LD) options
863
864	Flags used for all invocations of the linker.
865	Often specifying the emulation is sufficient.
866
867	Example::
868
869		#arch/s390/Makefile
870		LDFLAGS         := -m elf_s390
871
872	Note: ldflags-y can be used to further customise
873	the flags used. See chapter 3.7.
874
875    LDFLAGS_vmlinux
876	Options for $(LD) when linking vmlinux
877
878	LDFLAGS_vmlinux is used to specify additional flags to pass to
879	the linker when linking the final vmlinux image.
880	LDFLAGS_vmlinux uses the LDFLAGS_$@ support.
881
882	Example::
883
884		#arch/x86/Makefile
885		LDFLAGS_vmlinux := -e stext
886
887    OBJCOPYFLAGS
888	objcopy flags
889
890	When $(call if_changed,objcopy) is used to translate a .o file,
891	the flags specified in OBJCOPYFLAGS will be used.
892	$(call if_changed,objcopy) is often used to generate raw binaries on
893	vmlinux.
894
895	Example::
896
897		#arch/s390/Makefile
898		OBJCOPYFLAGS := -O binary
899
900		#arch/s390/boot/Makefile
901		$(obj)/image: vmlinux FORCE
902			$(call if_changed,objcopy)
903
904	In this example, the binary $(obj)/image is a binary version of
905	vmlinux. The usage of $(call if_changed,xxx) will be described later.
906
907    KBUILD_AFLAGS
908	$(AS) assembler flags
909
910	Default value - see top level Makefile
911	Append or modify as required per architecture.
912
913	Example::
914
915		#arch/sparc64/Makefile
916		KBUILD_AFLAGS += -m64 -mcpu=ultrasparc
917
918    KBUILD_CFLAGS
919	$(CC) compiler flags
920
921	Default value - see top level Makefile
922	Append or modify as required per architecture.
923
924	Often, the KBUILD_CFLAGS variable depends on the configuration.
925
926	Example::
927
928		#arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
929		cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_32) := -march=i386
930		cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_64) := -mcmodel=small
931		KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(cflags-y)
932
933	Many arch Makefiles dynamically run the target C compiler to
934	probe supported options::
935
936		#arch/x86/Makefile
937
938		...
939		cflags-$(CONFIG_MPENTIUMII)     += $(call cc-option,\
940						-march=pentium2,-march=i686)
941		...
942		# Disable unit-at-a-time mode ...
943		KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-option,-fno-unit-at-a-time)
944		...
945
946
947	The first example utilises the trick that a config option expands
948	to 'y' when selected.
949
950    KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL
951	$(AS) options specific for built-in
952
953	$(KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
954	resident kernel code.
955
956    KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE
957	Options for $(AS) when building modules
958
959	$(KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
960	are used for $(AS).
961
962	From commandline AFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.txt).
963
964    KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL
965	$(CC) options specific for built-in
966
967	$(KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
968	resident kernel code.
969
970    KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE
971	Options for $(CC) when building modules
972
973	$(KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
974	are used for $(CC).
975	From commandline CFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.txt).
976
977    KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE
978	Options for $(LD) when linking modules
979
980	$(KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options
981	used when linking modules. This is often a linker script.
982
983	From commandline LDFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.txt).
984
985    KBUILD_ARFLAGS   Options for $(AR) when creating archives
986
987	$(KBUILD_ARFLAGS) set by the top level Makefile to "D" (deterministic
988	mode) if this option is supported by $(AR).
989
990    ARCH_CPPFLAGS, ARCH_AFLAGS, ARCH_CFLAGS   Overrides the kbuild defaults
991
992	These variables are appended to the KBUILD_CPPFLAGS,
993	KBUILD_AFLAGS, and KBUILD_CFLAGS, respectively, after the
994	top-level Makefile has set any other flags. This provides a
995	means for an architecture to override the defaults.
996
997
9986.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders
999------------------------------------
1000
1001	The archheaders: rule is used to generate header files that
1002	may be installed into user space by "make header_install".
1003
1004	It is run before "make archprepare" when run on the
1005	architecture itself.
1006
1007
10086.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare
1009------------------------------------
1010
1011	The archprepare: rule is used to list prerequisites that need to be
1012	built before starting to descend down in the subdirectories.
1013	This is usually used for header files containing assembler constants.
1014
1015	Example::
1016
1017		#arch/arm/Makefile
1018		archprepare: maketools
1019
1020	In this example, the file target maketools will be processed
1021	before descending down in the subdirectories.
1022	See also chapter XXX-TODO that describe how kbuild supports
1023	generating offset header files.
1024
1025
10266.4 List directories to visit when descending
1027---------------------------------------------
1028
1029	An arch Makefile cooperates with the top Makefile to define variables
1030	which specify how to build the vmlinux file.  Note that there is no
1031	corresponding arch-specific section for modules; the module-building
1032	machinery is all architecture-independent.
1033
1034
1035	head-y, init-y, core-y, libs-y, drivers-y, net-y
1036	    $(head-y) lists objects to be linked first in vmlinux.
1037
1038	    $(libs-y) lists directories where a lib.a archive can be located.
1039
1040	    The rest list directories where a built-in.a object file can be
1041	    located.
1042
1043	    $(init-y) objects will be located after $(head-y).
1044
1045	    Then the rest follows in this order:
1046
1047		$(core-y), $(libs-y), $(drivers-y) and $(net-y).
1048
1049	    The top level Makefile defines values for all generic directories,
1050	    and arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile only adds architecture-specific
1051	    directories.
1052
1053	    Example::
1054
1055		#arch/sparc64/Makefile
1056		core-y += arch/sparc64/kernel/
1057		libs-y += arch/sparc64/prom/ arch/sparc64/lib/
1058		drivers-$(CONFIG_OPROFILE)  += arch/sparc64/oprofile/
1059
1060
10616.5 Architecture-specific boot images
1062-------------------------------------
1063
1064	An arch Makefile specifies goals that take the vmlinux file, compress
1065	it, wrap it in bootstrapping code, and copy the resulting files
1066	somewhere. This includes various kinds of installation commands.
1067	The actual goals are not standardized across architectures.
1068
1069	It is common to locate any additional processing in a boot/
1070	directory below arch/$(ARCH)/.
1071
1072	Kbuild does not provide any smart way to support building a
1073	target specified in boot/. Therefore arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile shall
1074	call make manually to build a target in boot/.
1075
1076	The recommended approach is to include shortcuts in
1077	arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile, and use the full path when calling down
1078	into the arch/$(ARCH)/boot/Makefile.
1079
1080	Example::
1081
1082		#arch/x86/Makefile
1083		boot := arch/x86/boot
1084		bzImage: vmlinux
1085			$(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=$(boot) $(boot)/$@
1086
1087	"$(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=<dir>" is the recommended way to invoke
1088	make in a subdirectory.
1089
1090	There are no rules for naming architecture-specific targets,
1091	but executing "make help" will list all relevant targets.
1092	To support this, $(archhelp) must be defined.
1093
1094	Example::
1095
1096		#arch/x86/Makefile
1097		define archhelp
1098		  echo  '* bzImage      - Image (arch/$(ARCH)/boot/bzImage)'
1099		endif
1100
1101	When make is executed without arguments, the first goal encountered
1102	will be built. In the top level Makefile the first goal present
1103	is all:.
1104	An architecture shall always, per default, build a bootable image.
1105	In "make help", the default goal is highlighted with a '*'.
1106	Add a new prerequisite to all: to select a default goal different
1107	from vmlinux.
1108
1109	Example::
1110
1111		#arch/x86/Makefile
1112		all: bzImage
1113
1114	When "make" is executed without arguments, bzImage will be built.
1115
11166.6 Building non-kbuild targets
1117-------------------------------
1118
1119    extra-y
1120	extra-y specifies additional targets created in the current
1121	directory, in addition to any targets specified by `obj-*`.
1122
1123	Listing all targets in extra-y is required for two purposes:
1124
1125	1) Enable kbuild to check changes in command lines
1126
1127	   - When $(call if_changed,xxx) is used
1128
1129	2) kbuild knows what files to delete during "make clean"
1130
1131	Example::
1132
1133		#arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
1134		extra-y := head.o init_task.o
1135
1136	In this example, extra-y is used to list object files that
1137	shall be built, but shall not be linked as part of built-in.a.
1138
1139    header-test-y
1140
1141	header-test-y specifies headers (*.h) in the current directory that
1142	should be compile tested to ensure they are self-contained,
1143	i.e. compilable as standalone units. If CONFIG_HEADER_TEST is enabled,
1144	this builds them as part of extra-y.
1145
1146    header-test-pattern-y
1147
1148	This works as a weaker version of header-test-y, and accepts wildcard
1149	patterns. The typical usage is:
1150
1151		  header-test-pattern-y += *.h
1152
1153	This specifies all the files that matches to '*.h' in the current
1154	directory, but the files in 'header-test-' are excluded.
1155
11566.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
1157---------------------------------------------
1158
1159    Kbuild provides a few macros that are useful when building a
1160    boot image.
1161
1162    if_changed
1163	if_changed is the infrastructure used for the following commands.
1164
1165	Usage::
1166
1167		target: source(s) FORCE
1168			$(call if_changed,ld/objcopy/gzip/...)
1169
1170	When the rule is evaluated, it is checked to see if any files
1171	need an update, or the command line has changed since the last
1172	invocation. The latter will force a rebuild if any options
1173	to the executable have changed.
1174	Any target that utilises if_changed must be listed in $(targets),
1175	otherwise the command line check will fail, and the target will
1176	always be built.
1177	Assignments to $(targets) are without $(obj)/ prefix.
1178	if_changed may be used in conjunction with custom commands as
1179	defined in 6.8 "Custom kbuild commands".
1180
1181	Note: It is a typical mistake to forget the FORCE prerequisite.
1182	Another common pitfall is that whitespace is sometimes
1183	significant; for instance, the below will fail (note the extra space
1184	after the comma)::
1185
1186		target: source(s) FORCE
1187
1188	**WRONG!**	$(call if_changed, ld/objcopy/gzip/...)
1189
1190        Note:
1191	      if_changed should not be used more than once per target.
1192              It stores the executed command in a corresponding .cmd
1193
1194        file and multiple calls would result in overwrites and
1195        unwanted results when the target is up to date and only the
1196        tests on changed commands trigger execution of commands.
1197
1198    ld
1199	Link target. Often, LDFLAGS_$@ is used to set specific options to ld.
1200
1201	Example::
1202
1203		#arch/x86/boot/Makefile
1204		LDFLAGS_bootsect := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary
1205		LDFLAGS_setup    := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary -e begtext
1206
1207		targets += setup setup.o bootsect bootsect.o
1208		$(obj)/setup $(obj)/bootsect: %: %.o FORCE
1209			$(call if_changed,ld)
1210
1211	In this example, there are two possible targets, requiring different
1212	options to the linker. The linker options are specified using the
1213	LDFLAGS_$@ syntax - one for each potential target.
1214	$(targets) are assigned all potential targets, by which kbuild knows
1215	the targets and will:
1216
1217		1) check for commandline changes
1218		2) delete target during make clean
1219
1220	The ": %: %.o" part of the prerequisite is a shorthand that
1221	frees us from listing the setup.o and bootsect.o files.
1222
1223	Note:
1224	      It is a common mistake to forget the "targets :=" assignment,
1225	      resulting in the target file being recompiled for no
1226	      obvious reason.
1227
1228    objcopy
1229	Copy binary. Uses OBJCOPYFLAGS usually specified in
1230	arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
1231	OBJCOPYFLAGS_$@ may be used to set additional options.
1232
1233    gzip
1234	Compress target. Use maximum compression to compress target.
1235
1236	Example::
1237
1238		#arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
1239		$(obj)/vmlinux.bin.gz: $(vmlinux.bin.all-y) FORCE
1240			$(call if_changed,gzip)
1241
1242    dtc
1243	Create flattened device tree blob object suitable for linking
1244	into vmlinux. Device tree blobs linked into vmlinux are placed
1245	in an init section in the image. Platform code *must* copy the
1246	blob to non-init memory prior to calling unflatten_device_tree().
1247
1248	To use this command, simply add `*.dtb` into obj-y or targets, or make
1249	some other target depend on `%.dtb`
1250
1251	A central rule exists to create `$(obj)/%.dtb` from `$(src)/%.dts`;
1252	architecture Makefiles do no need to explicitly write out that rule.
1253
1254	Example::
1255
1256		targets += $(dtb-y)
1257		DTC_FLAGS ?= -p 1024
1258
12596.8 Custom kbuild commands
1260--------------------------
1261
1262	When kbuild is executing with KBUILD_VERBOSE=0, then only a shorthand
1263	of a command is normally displayed.
1264	To enable this behaviour for custom commands kbuild requires
1265	two variables to be set::
1266
1267		quiet_cmd_<command>	- what shall be echoed
1268		      cmd_<command>	- the command to execute
1269
1270	Example::
1271
1272		#
1273		quiet_cmd_image = BUILD   $@
1274		      cmd_image = $(obj)/tools/build $(BUILDFLAGS) \
1275		                                     $(obj)/vmlinux.bin > $@
1276
1277		targets += bzImage
1278		$(obj)/bzImage: $(obj)/vmlinux.bin $(obj)/tools/build FORCE
1279			$(call if_changed,image)
1280			@echo 'Kernel: $@ is ready'
1281
1282	When updating the $(obj)/bzImage target, the line:
1283
1284		BUILD    arch/x86/boot/bzImage
1285
1286	will be displayed with "make KBUILD_VERBOSE=0".
1287
1288
1289--- 6.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
1290
1291	When the vmlinux image is built, the linker script
1292	arch/$(ARCH)/kernel/vmlinux.lds is used.
1293	The script is a preprocessed variant of the file vmlinux.lds.S
1294	located in the same directory.
1295	kbuild knows .lds files and includes a rule `*lds.S` -> `*lds`.
1296
1297	Example::
1298
1299		#arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
1300		always := vmlinux.lds
1301
1302		#Makefile
1303		export CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds += -P -C -U$(ARCH)
1304
1305	The assignment to $(always) is used to tell kbuild to build the
1306	target vmlinux.lds.
1307	The assignment to $(CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds) tells kbuild to use the
1308	specified options when building the target vmlinux.lds.
1309
1310	When building the `*.lds` target, kbuild uses the variables::
1311
1312		KBUILD_CPPFLAGS	: Set in top-level Makefile
1313		cppflags-y	: May be set in the kbuild makefile
1314		CPPFLAGS_$(@F)  : Target-specific flags.
1315				Note that the full filename is used in this
1316				assignment.
1317
1318	The kbuild infrastructure for `*lds` files is used in several
1319	architecture-specific files.
1320
13216.10 Generic header files
1322-------------------------
1323
1324	The directory include/asm-generic contains the header files
1325	that may be shared between individual architectures.
1326	The recommended approach how to use a generic header file is
1327	to list the file in the Kbuild file.
1328	See "7.2 generic-y" for further info on syntax etc.
1329
13306.11 Post-link pass
1331-------------------
1332
1333	If the file arch/xxx/Makefile.postlink exists, this makefile
1334	will be invoked for post-link objects (vmlinux and modules.ko)
1335	for architectures to run post-link passes on. Must also handle
1336	the clean target.
1337
1338	This pass runs after kallsyms generation. If the architecture
1339	needs to modify symbol locations, rather than manipulate the
1340	kallsyms, it may be easier to add another postlink target for
1341	.tmp_vmlinux? targets to be called from link-vmlinux.sh.
1342
1343	For example, powerpc uses this to check relocation sanity of
1344	the linked vmlinux file.
1345
13467 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
1347------------------------------------
1348
1349The kernel includes a set of headers that is exported to userspace.
1350Many headers can be exported as-is but other headers require a
1351minimal pre-processing before they are ready for user-space.
1352The pre-processing does:
1353
1354- drop kernel-specific annotations
1355- drop include of compiler.h
1356- drop all sections that are kernel internal (guarded by `ifdef __KERNEL__`)
1357
1358All headers under include/uapi/, include/generated/uapi/,
1359arch/<arch>/include/uapi/ and arch/<arch>/include/generated/uapi/
1360are exported.
1361
1362A Kbuild file may be defined under arch/<arch>/include/uapi/asm/ and
1363arch/<arch>/include/asm/ to list asm files coming from asm-generic.
1364See subsequent chapter for the syntax of the Kbuild file.
1365
13667.1 no-export-headers
1367---------------------
1368
1369	no-export-headers is essentially used by include/uapi/linux/Kbuild to
1370	avoid exporting specific headers (e.g. kvm.h) on architectures that do
1371	not support it. It should be avoided as much as possible.
1372
13737.2 generic-y
1374-------------
1375
1376	If an architecture uses a verbatim copy of a header from
1377	include/asm-generic then this is listed in the file
1378	arch/$(ARCH)/include/asm/Kbuild like this:
1379
1380		Example::
1381
1382			#arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1383			generic-y += termios.h
1384			generic-y += rtc.h
1385
1386	During the prepare phase of the build a wrapper include
1387	file is generated in the directory::
1388
1389		arch/$(ARCH)/include/generated/asm
1390
1391	When a header is exported where the architecture uses
1392	the generic header a similar wrapper is generated as part
1393	of the set of exported headers in the directory::
1394
1395		usr/include/asm
1396
1397	The generated wrapper will in both cases look like the following:
1398
1399		Example: termios.h::
1400
1401			#include <asm-generic/termios.h>
1402
14037.3 generated-y
1404---------------
1405
1406	If an architecture generates other header files alongside generic-y
1407	wrappers, generated-y specifies them.
1408
1409	This prevents them being treated as stale asm-generic wrappers and
1410	removed.
1411
1412		Example::
1413
1414			#arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1415			generated-y += syscalls_32.h
1416
14177.4 mandatory-y
1418---------------
1419
1420	mandatory-y is essentially used by include/(uapi/)asm-generic/Kbuild
1421	to define the minimum set of ASM headers that all architectures must have.
1422
1423	This works like optional generic-y. If a mandatory header is missing
1424	in arch/$(ARCH)/include/(uapi/)/asm, Kbuild will automatically generate
1425	a wrapper of the asm-generic one.
1426
1427	The convention is to list one subdir per line and
1428	preferably in alphabetic order.
1429
14308 Kbuild Variables
1431==================
1432
1433The top Makefile exports the following variables:
1434
1435    VERSION, PATCHLEVEL, SUBLEVEL, EXTRAVERSION
1436	These variables define the current kernel version.  A few arch
1437	Makefiles actually use these values directly; they should use
1438	$(KERNELRELEASE) instead.
1439
1440	$(VERSION), $(PATCHLEVEL), and $(SUBLEVEL) define the basic
1441	three-part version number, such as "2", "4", and "0".  These three
1442	values are always numeric.
1443
1444	$(EXTRAVERSION) defines an even tinier sublevel for pre-patches
1445	or additional patches.	It is usually some non-numeric string
1446	such as "-pre4", and is often blank.
1447
1448    KERNELRELEASE
1449	$(KERNELRELEASE) is a single string such as "2.4.0-pre4", suitable
1450	for constructing installation directory names or showing in
1451	version strings.  Some arch Makefiles use it for this purpose.
1452
1453    ARCH
1454	This variable defines the target architecture, such as "i386",
1455	"arm", or "sparc". Some kbuild Makefiles test $(ARCH) to
1456	determine which files to compile.
1457
1458	By default, the top Makefile sets $(ARCH) to be the same as the
1459	host system architecture.  For a cross build, a user may
1460	override the value of $(ARCH) on the command line::
1461
1462	    make ARCH=m68k ...
1463
1464
1465    INSTALL_PATH
1466	This variable defines a place for the arch Makefiles to install
1467	the resident kernel image and System.map file.
1468	Use this for architecture-specific install targets.
1469
1470    INSTALL_MOD_PATH, MODLIB
1471	$(INSTALL_MOD_PATH) specifies a prefix to $(MODLIB) for module
1472	installation.  This variable is not defined in the Makefile but
1473	may be passed in by the user if desired.
1474
1475	$(MODLIB) specifies the directory for module installation.
1476	The top Makefile defines $(MODLIB) to
1477	$(INSTALL_MOD_PATH)/lib/modules/$(KERNELRELEASE).  The user may
1478	override this value on the command line if desired.
1479
1480    INSTALL_MOD_STRIP
1481	If this variable is specified, it will cause modules to be stripped
1482	after they are installed.  If INSTALL_MOD_STRIP is '1', then the
1483	default option --strip-debug will be used.  Otherwise, the
1484	INSTALL_MOD_STRIP value will be used as the option(s) to the strip
1485	command.
1486
1487
14889 Makefile language
1489===================
1490
1491The kernel Makefiles are designed to be run with GNU Make.  The Makefiles
1492use only the documented features of GNU Make, but they do use many
1493GNU extensions.
1494
1495GNU Make supports elementary list-processing functions.  The kernel
1496Makefiles use a novel style of list building and manipulation with few
1497"if" statements.
1498
1499GNU Make has two assignment operators, ":=" and "=".  ":=" performs
1500immediate evaluation of the right-hand side and stores an actual string
1501into the left-hand side.  "=" is like a formula definition; it stores the
1502right-hand side in an unevaluated form and then evaluates this form each
1503time the left-hand side is used.
1504
1505There are some cases where "=" is appropriate.  Usually, though, ":="
1506is the right choice.
1507
150810 Credits
1509==========
1510
1511- Original version made by Michael Elizabeth Chastain, <mailto:mec@shout.net>
1512- Updates by Kai Germaschewski <kai@tp1.ruhr-uni-bochum.de>
1513- Updates by Sam Ravnborg <sam@ravnborg.org>
1514- Language QA by Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@gmx.de>
1515
151611 TODO
1517=======
1518
1519- Describe how kbuild supports shipped files with _shipped.
1520- Generating offset header files.
1521- Add more variables to section 7?
1522