pure-data/pd-lib-builder

Makefile.pdlibbuilder

Helper makefile for Pure Data external libraries. Written by Katja Vetter March-June 2015 for the public domain and since then developed as a Pd community project. No warranties. Inspired by Hans Christoph Steiner's Makefile Template and Stephan Beal's ShakeNMake.

GNU make version >= 3.81 required.

characteristics

defines build settings based on autodetected target platform
defines rules to build Pd class- or lib executables from C or C++ sources
defines rules for libdir installation
defines convenience targets for developer and user
evaluates implicit dependencies for non-clean builds

basic usage

In your Makefile, define your Pd lib name and class files, and include Makefile.pdlibbuilder at the end of the Makefile. Like so:

  # Makefile for mylib

  lib.name = mylib

  class.sources = myclass1.c myclass2.c

  datafiles = myclass1-help.pd myclass2-help.pd README.txt LICENSE.txt

  PDLIBBUILDER_DIR=.
  include $(PDLIBBUILDER_DIR)/Makefile.pdlibbuilder

For files in class.sources it is assumed that class name == source file basename. The default target builds all classes as individual executables with Pd's default extension for the platform. For anything more than the most basic usage, read the documentation sections in Makefile.pdlibbuilder.

paths

Makefile.pdlibbuilder >= v0.4.0 supports pd path variables which can be defined not only as make command argument but also in the environment, to override platform-dependent defaults:

PDDIR: Root directory of 'portable' pd package. When defined, PDINCLUDEDIR and PDBINDIR will be evaluated as $(PDDIR)/src and $(PDDIR)/bin.

PDINCLUDEDIR: Directory where Pd API m_pd.h should be found, and other Pd header files. Overrides the default search path.

PDBINDIR: Directory where pd.dll should be found for linking (Windows only). Overrides the default search path.

PDLIBDIR: Root directory for installation of Pd library directories. Overrides the default install location.

platform detection and predefined variables

Makefile.pdlibbuilder tries to detect architecture and operating system in order to define platform-specific variables. Since v0.6.0 we let the compiler report target platform, rather than taking the build machine as reference. This simplifies cross compilation. The kind of build options that are predefined:

optimizations useful for realtime DSP processing
options strictly required for the platform
options to make the build work accross a range of CPU's and OS versions

The exact choice and definition predefined variables changes over time, as new platforms arrive and older platforms become obsolete. The easiest way to get an overview for your platform is by checking the flags categories in the output of target vars. Variables written in capitals (like CFLAGS) are intentionally exposed as user variables, although technically all makefile variables can be overridden by make command arguments.

specific language versions

Makefile.pdlibbuilder handles C and C++, but can not detect if your code uses features of a specific version (like C99, C++11, C++14 etc.). In such cases your makefile should specify that version as compiler option:

cflags = -std=c++11

Also you may need to be explicit about minimum OSX version. For example, C++11 needs OSX 10.9 or higher:

define forDarwin
  cflags = -mmacosx-version-min=10.9
endef

documentation

This README.md provides only basic information. A large comment section inside Makefile.pdlibbuilder lists and explains the available user variables, default paths, and targets. The internal documentation reflects the exact functionality of the particular version. For suggestions about project maintenance and advanced compilation see tips-tricks.md.

versioning

The project is versioned in MAJOR.MINOR.BUGFIX format (see http://semver.org), and maintained at https://github.com/pure-data/pd-lib-builder. Pd lib developers are invited to regulary check for updates, and to contribute and discuss improvements here. If you really need to distribute a personalized version with your library, rename Makefile.pdlibbuilder to avoid confusion.