How can I configure my makefile for debug and release builds?

You can use Target-specific Variable Values. Example:

CXXFLAGS = -g3 -gdwarf2
CCFLAGS = -g3 -gdwarf2

all: executable

debug: CXXFLAGS += -DDEBUG -g
debug: CCFLAGS += -DDEBUG -g
debug: executable

executable: CommandParser.tab.o CommandParser.yy.o Command.o
    $(CXX) -o output CommandParser.yy.o CommandParser.tab.o Command.o -lfl

CommandParser.yy.o: CommandParser.l 
    flex -o CommandParser.yy.c CommandParser.l
    $(CC) -c CommandParser.yy.c

Remember to use $(CXX) or $(CC) in all your compile commands.

Then, 'make debug' will have extra flags like -DDEBUG and -g where as 'make' will not.

On a side note, you can make your Makefile a lot more concise like other posts had suggested.


This question has appeared often when searching for a similar problem, so I feel a fully implemented solution is warranted. Especially since I (and I would assume others) have struggled piecing all the various answers together.

Below is a sample Makefile which supports multiple build types in separate directories. The example illustrated shows debug and release builds.

Supports ...

  • separate project directories for specific builds
  • easy selection of a default target build
  • silent prep target to create directories needed for building the project
  • build-specific compiler configuration flags
  • GNU Make's natural method of determining if project requires a rebuild
  • pattern rules rather than the obsolete suffix rules
#
# Compiler flags
#
CC     = gcc
CFLAGS = -Wall -Werror -Wextra

#
# Project files
#
SRCS = file1.c file2.c file3.c file4.c
OBJS = $(SRCS:.c=.o)
EXE  = exefile

#
# Debug build settings
#
DBGDIR = debug
DBGEXE = $(DBGDIR)/$(EXE)
DBGOBJS = $(addprefix $(DBGDIR)/, $(OBJS))
DBGCFLAGS = -g -O0 -DDEBUG

#
# Release build settings
#
RELDIR = release
RELEXE = $(RELDIR)/$(EXE)
RELOBJS = $(addprefix $(RELDIR)/, $(OBJS))
RELCFLAGS = -O3 -DNDEBUG

.PHONY: all clean debug prep release remake

# Default build
all: prep release

#
# Debug rules
#
debug: $(DBGEXE)

$(DBGEXE): $(DBGOBJS)
    $(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(DBGCFLAGS) -o $(DBGEXE) $^

$(DBGDIR)/%.o: %.c
    $(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $(DBGCFLAGS) -o $@ $<

#
# Release rules
#
release: $(RELEXE)

$(RELEXE): $(RELOBJS)
    $(CC) $(CFLAGS) $(RELCFLAGS) -o $(RELEXE) $^

$(RELDIR)/%.o: %.c
    $(CC) -c $(CFLAGS) $(RELCFLAGS) -o $@ $<

#
# Other rules
#
prep:
    @mkdir -p $(DBGDIR) $(RELDIR)

remake: clean all

clean:
    rm -f $(RELEXE) $(RELOBJS) $(DBGEXE) $(DBGOBJS)

If by configure release/build, you mean you only need one config per makefile, then it is simply a matter and decoupling CC and CFLAGS:

CFLAGS=-DDEBUG
#CFLAGS=-O2 -DNDEBUG
CC=g++ -g3 -gdwarf2 $(CFLAGS)

Depending on whether you can use gnu makefile, you can use conditional to make this a bit fancier, and control it from the command line:

DEBUG ?= 1
ifeq ($(DEBUG), 1)
    CFLAGS =-DDEBUG
else
    CFLAGS=-DNDEBUG
endif

.o: .c
    $(CC) -c $< -o $@ $(CFLAGS)

and then use:

make DEBUG=0
make DEBUG=1

If you need to control both configurations at the same time, I think it is better to have build directories, and one build directory / config.

Tags:

Makefile

Gnu Make

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