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 assembler options.
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
388	1) All prerequisite files (both `*.c` and `*.h`)
389	2) `CONFIG_` options used in all prerequisite files
390	3) Command-line used to compile target
391
392	Thus, if you change an option to $(CC) all affected files will
393	be re-compiled.
394
3953.10 Special Rules
396------------------
397
398	Special rules are used when the kbuild infrastructure does
399	not provide the required support. A typical example is
400	header files generated during the build process.
401	Another example are the architecture-specific Makefiles which
402	need special rules to prepare boot images etc.
403
404	Special rules are written as normal Make rules.
405	Kbuild is not executing in the directory where the Makefile is
406	located, so all special rules shall provide a relative
407	path to prerequisite files and target files.
408
409	Two variables are used when defining special rules:
410
411	$(src)
412	    $(src) is a relative path which points to the directory
413	    where the Makefile is located. Always use $(src) when
414	    referring to files located in the src tree.
415
416	$(obj)
417	    $(obj) is a relative path which points to the directory
418	    where the target is saved. Always use $(obj) when
419	    referring to generated files.
420
421	    Example::
422
423		#drivers/scsi/Makefile
424		$(obj)/53c8xx_d.h: $(src)/53c7,8xx.scr $(src)/script_asm.pl
425			$(CPP) -DCHIP=810 - < $< | ... $(src)/script_asm.pl
426
427	    This is a special rule, following the normal syntax
428	    required by make.
429
430	    The target file depends on two prerequisite files. References
431	    to the target file are prefixed with $(obj), references
432	    to prerequisites are referenced with $(src) (because they are not
433	    generated files).
434
435	$(kecho)
436	    echoing information to user in a rule is often a good practice
437	    but when execution "make -s" one does not expect to see any output
438	    except for warnings/errors.
439	    To support this kbuild defines $(kecho) which will echo out the
440	    text following $(kecho) to stdout except if "make -s" is used.
441
442	Example::
443
444		#arch/blackfin/boot/Makefile
445		$(obj)/vmImage: $(obj)/vmlinux.gz
446			$(call if_changed,uimage)
447			@$(kecho) 'Kernel: $@ is ready'
448
449
4503.11 $(CC) support functions
451----------------------------
452
453	The kernel may be built with several different versions of
454	$(CC), each supporting a unique set of features and options.
455	kbuild provides basic support to check for valid options for $(CC).
456	$(CC) is usually the gcc compiler, but other alternatives are
457	available.
458
459    as-option
460	as-option is used to check if $(CC) -- when used to compile
461	assembler (`*.S`) files -- supports the given option. An optional
462	second option may be specified if the first option is not supported.
463
464	Example::
465
466		#arch/sh/Makefile
467		cflags-y += $(call as-option,-Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y),)
468
469	In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
470	-Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y) if it is supported by $(CC).
471	The second argument is optional, and if supplied will be used
472	if first argument is not supported.
473
474    cc-ldoption
475	cc-ldoption is used to check if $(CC) when used to link object files
476	supports the given option.  An optional second option may be
477	specified if first option are not supported.
478
479	Example::
480
481		#arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
482		vsyscall-flags += $(call cc-ldoption, -Wl$(comma)--hash-style=sysv)
483
484	In the above example, vsyscall-flags will be assigned the option
485	-Wl$(comma)--hash-style=sysv if it is supported by $(CC).
486	The second argument is optional, and if supplied will be used
487	if first argument is not supported.
488
489    as-instr
490	as-instr checks if the assembler reports a specific instruction
491	and then outputs either option1 or option2
492	C escapes are supported in the test instruction
493	Note: as-instr-option uses KBUILD_AFLAGS for assembler options
494
495    cc-option
496	cc-option is used to check if $(CC) supports a given option, and if
497	not supported to use an optional second option.
498
499	Example::
500
501		#arch/x86/Makefile
502		cflags-y += $(call cc-option,-march=pentium-mmx,-march=i586)
503
504	In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
505	-march=pentium-mmx if supported by $(CC), otherwise -march=i586.
506	The second argument to cc-option is optional, and if omitted,
507	cflags-y will be assigned no value if first option is not supported.
508	Note: cc-option uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
509
510   cc-option-yn
511	cc-option-yn is used to check if gcc supports a given option
512	and return 'y' if supported, otherwise 'n'.
513
514	Example::
515
516		#arch/ppc/Makefile
517		biarch := $(call cc-option-yn, -m32)
518		aflags-$(biarch) += -a32
519		cflags-$(biarch) += -m32
520
521	In the above example, $(biarch) is set to y if $(CC) supports the -m32
522	option. When $(biarch) equals 'y', the expanded variables $(aflags-y)
523	and $(cflags-y) will be assigned the values -a32 and -m32,
524	respectively.
525	Note: cc-option-yn uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
526
527    cc-disable-warning
528	cc-disable-warning checks if gcc supports a given warning and returns
529	the commandline switch to disable it. This special function is needed,
530	because gcc 4.4 and later accept any unknown -Wno-* option and only
531	warn about it if there is another warning in the source file.
532
533	Example::
534
535		KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-disable-warning, unused-but-set-variable)
536
537	In the above example, -Wno-unused-but-set-variable will be added to
538	KBUILD_CFLAGS only if gcc really accepts it.
539
540    cc-ifversion
541	cc-ifversion tests the version of $(CC) and equals the fourth parameter
542	if version expression is true, or the fifth (if given) if the version
543	expression is false.
544
545	Example::
546
547		#fs/reiserfs/Makefile
548		ccflags-y := $(call cc-ifversion, -lt, 0402, -O1)
549
550	In this example, ccflags-y will be assigned the value -O1 if the
551	$(CC) version is less than 4.2.
552	cc-ifversion takes all the shell operators:
553	-eq, -ne, -lt, -le, -gt, and -ge
554	The third parameter may be a text as in this example, but it may also
555	be an expanded variable or a macro.
556
557    cc-cross-prefix
558	cc-cross-prefix is used to check if there exists a $(CC) in path with
559	one of the listed prefixes. The first prefix where there exist a
560	prefix$(CC) in the PATH is returned - and if no prefix$(CC) is found
561	then nothing is returned.
562	Additional prefixes are separated by a single space in the
563	call of cc-cross-prefix.
564	This functionality is useful for architecture Makefiles that try
565	to set CROSS_COMPILE to well-known values but may have several
566	values to select between.
567	It is recommended only to try to set CROSS_COMPILE if it is a cross
568	build (host arch is different from target arch). And if CROSS_COMPILE
569	is already set then leave it with the old value.
570
571	Example::
572
573		#arch/m68k/Makefile
574		ifneq ($(SUBARCH),$(ARCH))
575		        ifeq ($(CROSS_COMPILE),)
576		               CROSS_COMPILE := $(call cc-cross-prefix, m68k-linux-gnu-)
577			endif
578		endif
579
5803.12 $(LD) support functions
581----------------------------
582
583    ld-option
584	ld-option is used to check if $(LD) supports the supplied option.
585	ld-option takes two options as arguments.
586	The second argument is an optional option that can be used if the
587	first option is not supported by $(LD).
588
589	Example::
590
591		#Makefile
592		LDFLAGS_vmlinux += $(call ld-option, -X)
593
594
5954 Host Program support
596======================
597
598Kbuild supports building executables on the host for use during the
599compilation stage.
600Two steps are required in order to use a host executable.
601
602The first step is to tell kbuild that a host program exists. This is
603done utilising the variable hostprogs-y.
604
605The second step is to add an explicit dependency to the executable.
606This can be done in two ways. Either add the dependency in a rule,
607or utilise the variable $(always).
608Both possibilities are described in the following.
609
6104.1 Simple Host Program
611-----------------------
612
613	In some cases there is a need to compile and run a program on the
614	computer where the build is running.
615	The following line tells kbuild that the program bin2hex shall be
616	built on the build host.
617
618	Example::
619
620		hostprogs-y := bin2hex
621
622	Kbuild assumes in the above example that bin2hex is made from a single
623	c-source file named bin2hex.c located in the same directory as
624	the Makefile.
625
6264.2 Composite Host Programs
627---------------------------
628
629	Host programs can be made up based on composite objects.
630	The syntax used to define composite objects for host programs is
631	similar to the syntax used for kernel objects.
632	$(<executable>-objs) lists all objects used to link the final
633	executable.
634
635	Example::
636
637		#scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
638		hostprogs-y   := lxdialog
639		lxdialog-objs := checklist.o lxdialog.o
640
641	Objects with extension .o are compiled from the corresponding .c
642	files. In the above example, checklist.c is compiled to checklist.o
643	and lxdialog.c is compiled to lxdialog.o.
644
645	Finally, the two .o files are linked to the executable, lxdialog.
646	Note: The syntax <executable>-y is not permitted for host-programs.
647
6484.3 Using C++ for host programs
649-------------------------------
650
651	kbuild offers support for host programs written in C++. This was
652	introduced solely to support kconfig, and is not recommended
653	for general use.
654
655	Example::
656
657		#scripts/kconfig/Makefile
658		hostprogs-y   := qconf
659		qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
660
661	In the example above the executable is composed of the C++ file
662	qconf.cc - identified by $(qconf-cxxobjs).
663
664	If qconf is composed of a mixture of .c and .cc files, then an
665	additional line can be used to identify this.
666
667	Example::
668
669		#scripts/kconfig/Makefile
670		hostprogs-y   := qconf
671		qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
672		qconf-objs    := check.o
673
6744.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
675--------------------------------------------------
676
677	When compiling host programs, it is possible to set specific flags.
678	The programs will always be compiled utilising $(HOSTCC) passed
679	the options specified in $(KBUILD_HOSTCFLAGS).
680	To set flags that will take effect for all host programs created
681	in that Makefile, use the variable HOST_EXTRACFLAGS.
682
683	Example::
684
685		#scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
686		HOST_EXTRACFLAGS += -I/usr/include/ncurses
687
688	To set specific flags for a single file the following construction
689	is used:
690
691	Example::
692
693		#arch/ppc64/boot/Makefile
694		HOSTCFLAGS_piggyback.o := -DKERNELBASE=$(KERNELBASE)
695
696	It is also possible to specify additional options to the linker.
697
698	Example::
699
700		#scripts/kconfig/Makefile
701		HOSTLDLIBS_qconf := -L$(QTDIR)/lib
702
703	When linking qconf, it will be passed the extra option
704	"-L$(QTDIR)/lib".
705
7064.5 When host programs are actually built
707-----------------------------------------
708
709	Kbuild will only build host-programs when they are referenced
710	as a prerequisite.
711	This is possible in two ways:
712
713	(1) List the prerequisite explicitly in a special rule.
714
715	Example::
716
717		#drivers/pci/Makefile
718		hostprogs-y := gen-devlist
719		$(obj)/devlist.h: $(src)/pci.ids $(obj)/gen-devlist
720			( cd $(obj); ./gen-devlist ) < $<
721
722	The target $(obj)/devlist.h will not be built before
723	$(obj)/gen-devlist is updated. Note that references to
724	the host programs in special rules must be prefixed with $(obj).
725
726	(2) Use $(always)
727
728	When there is no suitable special rule, and the host program
729	shall be built when a makefile is entered, the $(always)
730	variable shall be used.
731
732	Example::
733
734		#scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
735		hostprogs-y   := lxdialog
736		always        := $(hostprogs-y)
737
738	This will tell kbuild to build lxdialog even if not referenced in
739	any rule.
740
7414.6 Using hostprogs-$(CONFIG_FOO)
742---------------------------------
743
744	A typical pattern in a Kbuild file looks like this:
745
746	Example::
747
748		#scripts/Makefile
749		hostprogs-$(CONFIG_KALLSYMS) += kallsyms
750
751	Kbuild knows about both 'y' for built-in and 'm' for module.
752	So if a config symbol evaluates to 'm', kbuild will still build
753	the binary. In other words, Kbuild handles hostprogs-m exactly
754	like hostprogs-y. But only hostprogs-y is recommended to be used
755	when no CONFIG symbols are involved.
756
7575 Kbuild clean infrastructure
758=============================
759
760"make clean" deletes most generated files in the obj tree where the kernel
761is compiled. This includes generated files such as host programs.
762Kbuild knows targets listed in $(hostprogs-y), $(hostprogs-m), $(always),
763$(extra-y) and $(targets). They are all deleted during "make clean".
764Files matching the patterns "*.[oas]", "*.ko", plus some additional files
765generated by kbuild are deleted all over the kernel src tree when
766"make clean" is executed.
767
768Additional files can be specified in kbuild makefiles by use of $(clean-files).
769
770	Example::
771
772		#lib/Makefile
773		clean-files := crc32table.h
774
775When executing "make clean", the file "crc32table.h" will be deleted.
776Kbuild will assume files to be in the same relative directory as the
777Makefile, except if prefixed with $(objtree).
778
779To delete a directory hierarchy use:
780
781	Example::
782
783		#scripts/package/Makefile
784		clean-dirs := $(objtree)/debian/
785
786This will delete the directory debian in the toplevel directory, including all
787subdirectories.
788
789To exclude certain files from make clean, use the $(no-clean-files) variable.
790This is only a special case used in the top level Kbuild file:
791
792	Example::
793
794		#Kbuild
795		no-clean-files := $(bounds-file) $(offsets-file)
796
797Usually kbuild descends down in subdirectories due to "obj-* := dir/",
798but in the architecture makefiles where the kbuild infrastructure
799is not sufficient this sometimes needs to be explicit.
800
801	Example::
802
803		#arch/x86/boot/Makefile
804		subdir- := compressed/
805
806The above assignment instructs kbuild to descend down in the
807directory compressed/ when "make clean" is executed.
808
809To support the clean infrastructure in the Makefiles that build the
810final bootimage there is an optional target named archclean:
811
812	Example::
813
814		#arch/x86/Makefile
815		archclean:
816			$(Q)$(MAKE) $(clean)=arch/x86/boot
817
818When "make clean" is executed, make will descend down in arch/x86/boot,
819and clean as usual. The Makefile located in arch/x86/boot/ may use
820the subdir- trick to descend further down.
821
822Note 1: arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile cannot use "subdir-", because that file is
823included in the top level makefile, and the kbuild infrastructure
824is not operational at that point.
825
826Note 2: All directories listed in core-y, libs-y, drivers-y and net-y will
827be visited during "make clean".
828
8296 Architecture Makefiles
830========================
831
832The top level Makefile sets up the environment and does the preparation,
833before starting to descend down in the individual directories.
834The top level makefile contains the generic part, whereas
835arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile contains what is required to set up kbuild
836for said architecture.
837To do so, arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile sets up a number of variables and defines
838a few targets.
839
840When kbuild executes, the following steps are followed (roughly):
841
8421) Configuration of the kernel => produce .config
8432) Store kernel version in include/linux/version.h
8443) Updating all other prerequisites to the target prepare:
845   - Additional prerequisites are specified in arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile
8464) Recursively descend down in all directories listed in
847   init-* core* drivers-* net-* libs-* and build all targets.
848   - The values of the above variables are expanded in arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
8495) All object files are then linked and the resulting file vmlinux is
850   located at the root of the obj tree.
851   The very first objects linked are listed in head-y, assigned by
852   arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
8536) Finally, the architecture-specific part does any required post processing
854   and builds the final bootimage.
855   - This includes building boot records
856   - Preparing initrd images and the like
857
858
8596.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
860--------------------------------------------------------
861
862    LDFLAGS
863	Generic $(LD) options
864
865	Flags used for all invocations of the linker.
866	Often specifying the emulation is sufficient.
867
868	Example::
869
870		#arch/s390/Makefile
871		LDFLAGS         := -m elf_s390
872
873	Note: ldflags-y can be used to further customise
874	the flags used. See chapter 3.7.
875
876    LDFLAGS_vmlinux
877	Options for $(LD) when linking vmlinux
878
879	LDFLAGS_vmlinux is used to specify additional flags to pass to
880	the linker when linking the final vmlinux image.
881	LDFLAGS_vmlinux uses the LDFLAGS_$@ support.
882
883	Example::
884
885		#arch/x86/Makefile
886		LDFLAGS_vmlinux := -e stext
887
888    OBJCOPYFLAGS
889	objcopy flags
890
891	When $(call if_changed,objcopy) is used to translate a .o file,
892	the flags specified in OBJCOPYFLAGS will be used.
893	$(call if_changed,objcopy) is often used to generate raw binaries on
894	vmlinux.
895
896	Example::
897
898		#arch/s390/Makefile
899		OBJCOPYFLAGS := -O binary
900
901		#arch/s390/boot/Makefile
902		$(obj)/image: vmlinux FORCE
903			$(call if_changed,objcopy)
904
905	In this example, the binary $(obj)/image is a binary version of
906	vmlinux. The usage of $(call if_changed,xxx) will be described later.
907
908    KBUILD_AFLAGS
909	Assembler flags
910
911	Default value - see top level Makefile
912	Append or modify as required per architecture.
913
914	Example::
915
916		#arch/sparc64/Makefile
917		KBUILD_AFLAGS += -m64 -mcpu=ultrasparc
918
919    KBUILD_CFLAGS
920	$(CC) compiler flags
921
922	Default value - see top level Makefile
923	Append or modify as required per architecture.
924
925	Often, the KBUILD_CFLAGS variable depends on the configuration.
926
927	Example::
928
929		#arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
930		cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_32) := -march=i386
931		cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_64) := -mcmodel=small
932		KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(cflags-y)
933
934	Many arch Makefiles dynamically run the target C compiler to
935	probe supported options::
936
937		#arch/x86/Makefile
938
939		...
940		cflags-$(CONFIG_MPENTIUMII)     += $(call cc-option,\
941						-march=pentium2,-march=i686)
942		...
943		# Disable unit-at-a-time mode ...
944		KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-option,-fno-unit-at-a-time)
945		...
946
947
948	The first example utilises the trick that a config option expands
949	to 'y' when selected.
950
951    KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL
952	Assembler options specific for built-in
953
954	$(KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
955	resident kernel code.
956
957    KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE
958	Assembler options specific for modules
959
960	$(KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
961	are used for assembler.
962
963	From commandline AFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.txt).
964
965    KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL
966	$(CC) options specific for built-in
967
968	$(KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
969	resident kernel code.
970
971    KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE
972	Options for $(CC) when building modules
973
974	$(KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
975	are used for $(CC).
976	From commandline CFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.txt).
977
978    KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE
979	Options for $(LD) when linking modules
980
981	$(KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options
982	used when linking modules. This is often a linker script.
983
984	From commandline LDFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.txt).
985
986    KBUILD_ARFLAGS   Options for $(AR) when creating archives
987
988	$(KBUILD_ARFLAGS) set by the top level Makefile to "D" (deterministic
989	mode) if this option is supported by $(AR).
990
991    ARCH_CPPFLAGS, ARCH_AFLAGS, ARCH_CFLAGS   Overrides the kbuild defaults
992
993	These variables are appended to the KBUILD_CPPFLAGS,
994	KBUILD_AFLAGS, and KBUILD_CFLAGS, respectively, after the
995	top-level Makefile has set any other flags. This provides a
996	means for an architecture to override the defaults.
997
998
9996.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders
1000------------------------------------
1001
1002	The archheaders: rule is used to generate header files that
1003	may be installed into user space by "make header_install".
1004
1005	It is run before "make archprepare" when run on the
1006	architecture itself.
1007
1008
10096.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare
1010------------------------------------
1011
1012	The archprepare: rule is used to list prerequisites that need to be
1013	built before starting to descend down in the subdirectories.
1014	This is usually used for header files containing assembler constants.
1015
1016	Example::
1017
1018		#arch/arm/Makefile
1019		archprepare: maketools
1020
1021	In this example, the file target maketools will be processed
1022	before descending down in the subdirectories.
1023	See also chapter XXX-TODO that describe how kbuild supports
1024	generating offset header files.
1025
1026
10276.4 List directories to visit when descending
1028---------------------------------------------
1029
1030	An arch Makefile cooperates with the top Makefile to define variables
1031	which specify how to build the vmlinux file.  Note that there is no
1032	corresponding arch-specific section for modules; the module-building
1033	machinery is all architecture-independent.
1034
1035
1036	head-y, init-y, core-y, libs-y, drivers-y, net-y
1037	    $(head-y) lists objects to be linked first in vmlinux.
1038
1039	    $(libs-y) lists directories where a lib.a archive can be located.
1040
1041	    The rest list directories where a built-in.a object file can be
1042	    located.
1043
1044	    $(init-y) objects will be located after $(head-y).
1045
1046	    Then the rest follows in this order:
1047
1048		$(core-y), $(libs-y), $(drivers-y) and $(net-y).
1049
1050	    The top level Makefile defines values for all generic directories,
1051	    and arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile only adds architecture-specific
1052	    directories.
1053
1054	    Example::
1055
1056		#arch/sparc64/Makefile
1057		core-y += arch/sparc64/kernel/
1058		libs-y += arch/sparc64/prom/ arch/sparc64/lib/
1059		drivers-$(CONFIG_OPROFILE)  += arch/sparc64/oprofile/
1060
1061
10626.5 Architecture-specific boot images
1063-------------------------------------
1064
1065	An arch Makefile specifies goals that take the vmlinux file, compress
1066	it, wrap it in bootstrapping code, and copy the resulting files
1067	somewhere. This includes various kinds of installation commands.
1068	The actual goals are not standardized across architectures.
1069
1070	It is common to locate any additional processing in a boot/
1071	directory below arch/$(ARCH)/.
1072
1073	Kbuild does not provide any smart way to support building a
1074	target specified in boot/. Therefore arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile shall
1075	call make manually to build a target in boot/.
1076
1077	The recommended approach is to include shortcuts in
1078	arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile, and use the full path when calling down
1079	into the arch/$(ARCH)/boot/Makefile.
1080
1081	Example::
1082
1083		#arch/x86/Makefile
1084		boot := arch/x86/boot
1085		bzImage: vmlinux
1086			$(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=$(boot) $(boot)/$@
1087
1088	"$(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=<dir>" is the recommended way to invoke
1089	make in a subdirectory.
1090
1091	There are no rules for naming architecture-specific targets,
1092	but executing "make help" will list all relevant targets.
1093	To support this, $(archhelp) must be defined.
1094
1095	Example::
1096
1097		#arch/x86/Makefile
1098		define archhelp
1099		  echo  '* bzImage      - Image (arch/$(ARCH)/boot/bzImage)'
1100		endif
1101
1102	When make is executed without arguments, the first goal encountered
1103	will be built. In the top level Makefile the first goal present
1104	is all:.
1105	An architecture shall always, per default, build a bootable image.
1106	In "make help", the default goal is highlighted with a '*'.
1107	Add a new prerequisite to all: to select a default goal different
1108	from vmlinux.
1109
1110	Example::
1111
1112		#arch/x86/Makefile
1113		all: bzImage
1114
1115	When "make" is executed without arguments, bzImage will be built.
1116
11176.6 Building non-kbuild targets
1118-------------------------------
1119
1120    extra-y
1121	extra-y specifies additional targets created in the current
1122	directory, in addition to any targets specified by `obj-*`.
1123
1124	Listing all targets in extra-y is required for two purposes:
1125
1126	1) Enable kbuild to check changes in command lines
1127
1128	   - When $(call if_changed,xxx) is used
1129
1130	2) kbuild knows what files to delete during "make clean"
1131
1132	Example::
1133
1134		#arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
1135		extra-y := head.o init_task.o
1136
1137	In this example, extra-y is used to list object files that
1138	shall be built, but shall not be linked as part of built-in.a.
1139
1140    header-test-y
1141
1142	header-test-y specifies headers (*.h) in the current directory that
1143	should be compile tested to ensure they are self-contained,
1144	i.e. compilable as standalone units. If CONFIG_HEADER_TEST is enabled,
1145	this builds them as part of extra-y.
1146
1147    header-test-pattern-y
1148
1149	This works as a weaker version of header-test-y, and accepts wildcard
1150	patterns. The typical usage is:
1151
1152		  header-test-pattern-y += *.h
1153
1154	This specifies all the files that matches to '*.h' in the current
1155	directory, but the files in 'header-test-' are excluded.
1156
11576.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
1158---------------------------------------------
1159
1160    Kbuild provides a few macros that are useful when building a
1161    boot image.
1162
1163    if_changed
1164	if_changed is the infrastructure used for the following commands.
1165
1166	Usage::
1167
1168		target: source(s) FORCE
1169			$(call if_changed,ld/objcopy/gzip/...)
1170
1171	When the rule is evaluated, it is checked to see if any files
1172	need an update, or the command line has changed since the last
1173	invocation. The latter will force a rebuild if any options
1174	to the executable have changed.
1175	Any target that utilises if_changed must be listed in $(targets),
1176	otherwise the command line check will fail, and the target will
1177	always be built.
1178	Assignments to $(targets) are without $(obj)/ prefix.
1179	if_changed may be used in conjunction with custom commands as
1180	defined in 6.8 "Custom kbuild commands".
1181
1182	Note: It is a typical mistake to forget the FORCE prerequisite.
1183	Another common pitfall is that whitespace is sometimes
1184	significant; for instance, the below will fail (note the extra space
1185	after the comma)::
1186
1187		target: source(s) FORCE
1188
1189	**WRONG!**	$(call if_changed, ld/objcopy/gzip/...)
1190
1191        Note:
1192	      if_changed should not be used more than once per target.
1193              It stores the executed command in a corresponding .cmd
1194
1195        file and multiple calls would result in overwrites and
1196        unwanted results when the target is up to date and only the
1197        tests on changed commands trigger execution of commands.
1198
1199    ld
1200	Link target. Often, LDFLAGS_$@ is used to set specific options to ld.
1201
1202	Example::
1203
1204		#arch/x86/boot/Makefile
1205		LDFLAGS_bootsect := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary
1206		LDFLAGS_setup    := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary -e begtext
1207
1208		targets += setup setup.o bootsect bootsect.o
1209		$(obj)/setup $(obj)/bootsect: %: %.o FORCE
1210			$(call if_changed,ld)
1211
1212	In this example, there are two possible targets, requiring different
1213	options to the linker. The linker options are specified using the
1214	LDFLAGS_$@ syntax - one for each potential target.
1215	$(targets) are assigned all potential targets, by which kbuild knows
1216	the targets and will:
1217
1218		1) check for commandline changes
1219		2) delete target during make clean
1220
1221	The ": %: %.o" part of the prerequisite is a shorthand that
1222	frees us from listing the setup.o and bootsect.o files.
1223
1224	Note:
1225	      It is a common mistake to forget the "targets :=" assignment,
1226	      resulting in the target file being recompiled for no
1227	      obvious reason.
1228
1229    objcopy
1230	Copy binary. Uses OBJCOPYFLAGS usually specified in
1231	arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
1232	OBJCOPYFLAGS_$@ may be used to set additional options.
1233
1234    gzip
1235	Compress target. Use maximum compression to compress target.
1236
1237	Example::
1238
1239		#arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
1240		$(obj)/vmlinux.bin.gz: $(vmlinux.bin.all-y) FORCE
1241			$(call if_changed,gzip)
1242
1243    dtc
1244	Create flattened device tree blob object suitable for linking
1245	into vmlinux. Device tree blobs linked into vmlinux are placed
1246	in an init section in the image. Platform code *must* copy the
1247	blob to non-init memory prior to calling unflatten_device_tree().
1248
1249	To use this command, simply add `*.dtb` into obj-y or targets, or make
1250	some other target depend on `%.dtb`
1251
1252	A central rule exists to create `$(obj)/%.dtb` from `$(src)/%.dts`;
1253	architecture Makefiles do no need to explicitly write out that rule.
1254
1255	Example::
1256
1257		targets += $(dtb-y)
1258		DTC_FLAGS ?= -p 1024
1259
12606.8 Custom kbuild commands
1261--------------------------
1262
1263	When kbuild is executing with KBUILD_VERBOSE=0, then only a shorthand
1264	of a command is normally displayed.
1265	To enable this behaviour for custom commands kbuild requires
1266	two variables to be set::
1267
1268		quiet_cmd_<command>	- what shall be echoed
1269		      cmd_<command>	- the command to execute
1270
1271	Example::
1272
1273		#
1274		quiet_cmd_image = BUILD   $@
1275		      cmd_image = $(obj)/tools/build $(BUILDFLAGS) \
1276		                                     $(obj)/vmlinux.bin > $@
1277
1278		targets += bzImage
1279		$(obj)/bzImage: $(obj)/vmlinux.bin $(obj)/tools/build FORCE
1280			$(call if_changed,image)
1281			@echo 'Kernel: $@ is ready'
1282
1283	When updating the $(obj)/bzImage target, the line:
1284
1285		BUILD    arch/x86/boot/bzImage
1286
1287	will be displayed with "make KBUILD_VERBOSE=0".
1288
1289
1290--- 6.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
1291
1292	When the vmlinux image is built, the linker script
1293	arch/$(ARCH)/kernel/vmlinux.lds is used.
1294	The script is a preprocessed variant of the file vmlinux.lds.S
1295	located in the same directory.
1296	kbuild knows .lds files and includes a rule `*lds.S` -> `*lds`.
1297
1298	Example::
1299
1300		#arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
1301		always := vmlinux.lds
1302
1303		#Makefile
1304		export CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds += -P -C -U$(ARCH)
1305
1306	The assignment to $(always) is used to tell kbuild to build the
1307	target vmlinux.lds.
1308	The assignment to $(CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds) tells kbuild to use the
1309	specified options when building the target vmlinux.lds.
1310
1311	When building the `*.lds` target, kbuild uses the variables::
1312
1313		KBUILD_CPPFLAGS	: Set in top-level Makefile
1314		cppflags-y	: May be set in the kbuild makefile
1315		CPPFLAGS_$(@F)  : Target-specific flags.
1316				Note that the full filename is used in this
1317				assignment.
1318
1319	The kbuild infrastructure for `*lds` files is used in several
1320	architecture-specific files.
1321
13226.10 Generic header files
1323-------------------------
1324
1325	The directory include/asm-generic contains the header files
1326	that may be shared between individual architectures.
1327	The recommended approach how to use a generic header file is
1328	to list the file in the Kbuild file.
1329	See "7.2 generic-y" for further info on syntax etc.
1330
13316.11 Post-link pass
1332-------------------
1333
1334	If the file arch/xxx/Makefile.postlink exists, this makefile
1335	will be invoked for post-link objects (vmlinux and modules.ko)
1336	for architectures to run post-link passes on. Must also handle
1337	the clean target.
1338
1339	This pass runs after kallsyms generation. If the architecture
1340	needs to modify symbol locations, rather than manipulate the
1341	kallsyms, it may be easier to add another postlink target for
1342	.tmp_vmlinux? targets to be called from link-vmlinux.sh.
1343
1344	For example, powerpc uses this to check relocation sanity of
1345	the linked vmlinux file.
1346
13477 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
1348------------------------------------
1349
1350The kernel includes a set of headers that is exported to userspace.
1351Many headers can be exported as-is but other headers require a
1352minimal pre-processing before they are ready for user-space.
1353The pre-processing does:
1354
1355- drop kernel-specific annotations
1356- drop include of compiler.h
1357- drop all sections that are kernel internal (guarded by `ifdef __KERNEL__`)
1358
1359All headers under include/uapi/, include/generated/uapi/,
1360arch/<arch>/include/uapi/ and arch/<arch>/include/generated/uapi/
1361are exported.
1362
1363A Kbuild file may be defined under arch/<arch>/include/uapi/asm/ and
1364arch/<arch>/include/asm/ to list asm files coming from asm-generic.
1365See subsequent chapter for the syntax of the Kbuild file.
1366
13677.1 no-export-headers
1368---------------------
1369
1370	no-export-headers is essentially used by include/uapi/linux/Kbuild to
1371	avoid exporting specific headers (e.g. kvm.h) on architectures that do
1372	not support it. It should be avoided as much as possible.
1373
13747.2 generic-y
1375-------------
1376
1377	If an architecture uses a verbatim copy of a header from
1378	include/asm-generic then this is listed in the file
1379	arch/$(ARCH)/include/asm/Kbuild like this:
1380
1381		Example::
1382
1383			#arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1384			generic-y += termios.h
1385			generic-y += rtc.h
1386
1387	During the prepare phase of the build a wrapper include
1388	file is generated in the directory::
1389
1390		arch/$(ARCH)/include/generated/asm
1391
1392	When a header is exported where the architecture uses
1393	the generic header a similar wrapper is generated as part
1394	of the set of exported headers in the directory::
1395
1396		usr/include/asm
1397
1398	The generated wrapper will in both cases look like the following:
1399
1400		Example: termios.h::
1401
1402			#include <asm-generic/termios.h>
1403
14047.3 generated-y
1405---------------
1406
1407	If an architecture generates other header files alongside generic-y
1408	wrappers, generated-y specifies them.
1409
1410	This prevents them being treated as stale asm-generic wrappers and
1411	removed.
1412
1413		Example::
1414
1415			#arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1416			generated-y += syscalls_32.h
1417
14187.4 mandatory-y
1419---------------
1420
1421	mandatory-y is essentially used by include/(uapi/)asm-generic/Kbuild
1422	to define the minimum set of ASM headers that all architectures must have.
1423
1424	This works like optional generic-y. If a mandatory header is missing
1425	in arch/$(ARCH)/include/(uapi/)/asm, Kbuild will automatically generate
1426	a wrapper of the asm-generic one.
1427
1428	The convention is to list one subdir per line and
1429	preferably in alphabetic order.
1430
14318 Kbuild Variables
1432==================
1433
1434The top Makefile exports the following variables:
1435
1436    VERSION, PATCHLEVEL, SUBLEVEL, EXTRAVERSION
1437	These variables define the current kernel version.  A few arch
1438	Makefiles actually use these values directly; they should use
1439	$(KERNELRELEASE) instead.
1440
1441	$(VERSION), $(PATCHLEVEL), and $(SUBLEVEL) define the basic
1442	three-part version number, such as "2", "4", and "0".  These three
1443	values are always numeric.
1444
1445	$(EXTRAVERSION) defines an even tinier sublevel for pre-patches
1446	or additional patches.	It is usually some non-numeric string
1447	such as "-pre4", and is often blank.
1448
1449    KERNELRELEASE
1450	$(KERNELRELEASE) is a single string such as "2.4.0-pre4", suitable
1451	for constructing installation directory names or showing in
1452	version strings.  Some arch Makefiles use it for this purpose.
1453
1454    ARCH
1455	This variable defines the target architecture, such as "i386",
1456	"arm", or "sparc". Some kbuild Makefiles test $(ARCH) to
1457	determine which files to compile.
1458
1459	By default, the top Makefile sets $(ARCH) to be the same as the
1460	host system architecture.  For a cross build, a user may
1461	override the value of $(ARCH) on the command line::
1462
1463	    make ARCH=m68k ...
1464
1465
1466    INSTALL_PATH
1467	This variable defines a place for the arch Makefiles to install
1468	the resident kernel image and System.map file.
1469	Use this for architecture-specific install targets.
1470
1471    INSTALL_MOD_PATH, MODLIB
1472	$(INSTALL_MOD_PATH) specifies a prefix to $(MODLIB) for module
1473	installation.  This variable is not defined in the Makefile but
1474	may be passed in by the user if desired.
1475
1476	$(MODLIB) specifies the directory for module installation.
1477	The top Makefile defines $(MODLIB) to
1478	$(INSTALL_MOD_PATH)/lib/modules/$(KERNELRELEASE).  The user may
1479	override this value on the command line if desired.
1480
1481    INSTALL_MOD_STRIP
1482	If this variable is specified, it will cause modules to be stripped
1483	after they are installed.  If INSTALL_MOD_STRIP is '1', then the
1484	default option --strip-debug will be used.  Otherwise, the
1485	INSTALL_MOD_STRIP value will be used as the option(s) to the strip
1486	command.
1487
1488
14899 Makefile language
1490===================
1491
1492The kernel Makefiles are designed to be run with GNU Make.  The Makefiles
1493use only the documented features of GNU Make, but they do use many
1494GNU extensions.
1495
1496GNU Make supports elementary list-processing functions.  The kernel
1497Makefiles use a novel style of list building and manipulation with few
1498"if" statements.
1499
1500GNU Make has two assignment operators, ":=" and "=".  ":=" performs
1501immediate evaluation of the right-hand side and stores an actual string
1502into the left-hand side.  "=" is like a formula definition; it stores the
1503right-hand side in an unevaluated form and then evaluates this form each
1504time the left-hand side is used.
1505
1506There are some cases where "=" is appropriate.  Usually, though, ":="
1507is the right choice.
1508
150910 Credits
1510==========
1511
1512- Original version made by Michael Elizabeth Chastain, <mailto:mec@shout.net>
1513- Updates by Kai Germaschewski <kai@tp1.ruhr-uni-bochum.de>
1514- Updates by Sam Ravnborg <sam@ravnborg.org>
1515- Language QA by Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@gmx.de>
1516
151711 TODO
1518=======
1519
1520- Describe how kbuild supports shipped files with _shipped.
1521- Generating offset header files.
1522- Add more variables to section 7?
1523