Makefile Basics and GCC Compiler Flags

Introduction to C Programming

• C was developed in the 1970s by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc.
• The American National Institute of Standards (ANSI) developed a standardized definition of the C language.

Makefile and Compilation

• Use I (lowercase L) to link libraries into the executable
• Use I (capital i) to ignore errors when executing command scripts
• make command executes the default target in the makefile called ‘Makefile’
• make clean command removes the executable using the makefile
• tar cvf.tar creates a tarfile, tar xf.tar extracts a tarfile

Input/Output

• #include is used for input/output operations
• fgets gets a string from the specified stream
• gcc is the compiler used to compile files
• Important flags: -g for debug, -Wall for printing all warnings, -o for specifying the executable file name, -lm for math library

Compiling Examples

• gcc -o hello hello.c -lm compiles and links hello.c to executable hello
• gcc hello.c -o hello -lm is an alternative way to compile and link
• gcc hello.c compiles and links to a default executable a.out

Makefile Creation

• A Makefile automates and manages the process of compiling programs
• Use vi Makefile or vim Makefile to create a Makefile
• Use # character for comments, and variable names like CC, CFLAGS, LIBS
• Use $ character before variable names in targets, prerequisites, and recipes

Test your understanding of Makefile basics and GCC compiler flags. Learn about the different flags and options available in GCC compiler, and how to use them effectively in your projects. From debugging to warning messages, this quiz covers it all.