# book suggestion



## fluca1978 (Oct 30, 2012)

Hi,
I'd like to read a book to improve my skills on make and build tools, with possibly something related also to cmake. Anyone can suggest me a good book on this subject?


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## jb_fvwm2 (Oct 30, 2012)

I've a .htm detailing "Gnu Make Unleashed." (An older GCC book I've put away in a box somewhere, one of the thick (apress?) ones.)


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## drhowarddrfine (Oct 30, 2012)

jb_fvwm2 said:
			
		

> I've a .htm


That's a Windows-ism that makes my skin crawl. But anything Windows related makes my skin crawl.


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## kpedersen (Oct 30, 2012)

Surely it is .chm that is the stupid Windows format?

.htm is just a html page renamed for the limitations of early DOS?


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## AlexJ (Oct 30, 2012)

fluca1978 said:
			
		

> ...improve my skills on make and build tools, with possibly something related also to cmake.



Before you jump on this wagon, you need to know that make(1) isn't universal.
BSD used in fact _*pmake*_ and majority of books will reference you to GNU make aka gmake(1). While both of them some kinda has common things (until you don't use advance feature, so compare them as sh(1) against bash(1)).
I can't say the same about cmake(1), which will looks like comparison between Windows and Unix.

Start first from wiki, it gives you main point what make(1) does. Check also this and then just make(1). It isn't so difficult to get what it does, so I'm not sure if you need some books at all. As about other "build tools", just ask Google about "gnu build tools tutorial".
BTW, some "GNU make"  tricks can be used with BSD's make.


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## jrm@ (Oct 30, 2012)

Or maybe this will be the future on FreeBSD?

http://lists.dragonflybsd.org/pipermail/users/2012-October/017630.html


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## AlexJ (Oct 30, 2012)

jrm said:
			
		

> Or maybe this will be the future on FreeBSD?


AFAIK bmake use GNU's autoconf. If so, don't dream about it, because FreeBSD is all about blind freedom. Sorry for the irony.


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## jb_fvwm2 (Oct 30, 2012)

drhowarddrfine said:
			
		

> That's a Windows-ism that makes my skin crawl. But anything Windows related makes my skin crawl.


Sorry! Before windows existed, (2 floppy era), the Peter Norton book (ms-dos) explained the 8.3 convention (8 characters before, 3 characters after) and I was used to that long before windows 3.1 appeared... I read the entire book even before getting the 2-floppy computer. (For all I know, even .html did not exist yet either...)


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## AlexJ (Nov 1, 2012)

jb_fvwm2 said:
			
		

> Sorry! Before windows existed,


It would be better for everybody if they keep that 8.3 standard for themselves.
I'm curious, does they know meaning of the word - "name" when they named files in the c:\WINDOWS\WinSxS\?! Looks like they speak to each other on md5(1) language...


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