compiling on Windows and Linux

Question

I am just looking for some guidelines, as this might seem like a very open question.

I have a project that has been compiled using Visual Studio 2008 sp1. I have to compile so it will run linux using gcc 4.4.1 C99.

It is a demo application that I didn't write myself.

The source code is written so it can be cross-platform (linux, windows), so the code will compile and run on linux. However, has it has been developed using VS, I don't have any makefile to use.

I could write a make file. But I am not sure about the dependences as there are about 20 files all together (*.c and *.h).

I am just wondering how can I write a makefile from a visual studio project? Is there any settings I can use? and what depends on what? Anything else?

Many thanks for any suggestions,

Answer 1

One tool that you can use is CMake. CMake can generate a VS.net solution file, and it can generate a Unix makefile. This way is not easy, nor is it the without its bumps in the road. (Especially when the build sequence gets complex)

Answer 2

The makedepend utility will scan the C files you give it, using C preprocessing rules to determine their dependencies and output them to a Makefile.

This should do most of what you want.

Answer 3

Start with a very simple Makefile:

theapp: *.c *.h Makefile
    gcc *.c -o theapp

Those two lines will get you 90% of the way there (and, in a lot of cases, 100% of the way).

Now you can make and run your app in Unix simply with:

$ make && ./theapp

I don't recommend that you use those complex Makefile generators like automake unless you plan on releasing this stuff to the world.

For private projects, keep your makefiles simple and clean.