Difference between revisions of "The Make Utility"

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m (→‎Installing make: Make "macOS" consistent with Apple branding.)
(Update for cmake)
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The ''installation'' directory is the location where the generated objects should finally end up when using ''make install''.
 
The ''installation'' directory is the location where the generated objects should finally end up when using ''make install''.
  
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For the GnuCash documentation, the make command ''must'' be used with a ''target'' argument which determines which type(s) of the documentation are built. E.g. '''make html''' builds the html files which allow the documentation to be viewed in a web browser. (If no target is specified, make does nothing because the xml files are both the source and the target which yelp needs to display the documentation.) What '''make''' actually does is specified in the contents of make files. These are files called '''Makefile''' (or '''Makefile.am''') and exist in multiple directories of the documentation repository. What they do depends on which directory is current when the ''make'' command is executed. In general, the lower down the build directory tree, the more specific the scope. By changing the current directory, ''make'' can build:
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==Generating documentation==
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* Both the Help & Guide
 
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* Either the Help or Guide
 
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* Just the Help or Guide for a specific language
 
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As building the documentation can take a while, it is best to only build what is needed for your changes.
 
  
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Typical '''targets''' of the ''make target'' command used for the documentation are: <SyntaxHighlight lang="sh">
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For the GnuCash documentation, the make command ''must'' be used with a ''target'' argument which determines which type(s) of the documentation are built. E.g. '''make html''' builds the html files which allow the documentation to be viewed in a web browser. (If no target is specified, make does nothing because the xml files are both the source and the target which yelp needs to display the documentation.)
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There are a few differences in how to use '''make''' depending on [https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Initializing_Documentation_Build_Environment the build system] you have chosen - autotools or cmake. Both systems provide a common set of high-level targets. Those are the targets you can invoke directly in the top level build directory:<SyntaxHighlight lang="sh">
 
make check                # use xmllint to validate xml files
 
make check                # use xmllint to validate xml files
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make html                # use xsltproc to build the html (web browser) documentation
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make html                # generates all documentation in html format
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make pdf                  # use xsltproc and fop to build the pdf documentation
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make pdf                  # generates all documentation in pdf format
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make mobi                # use xsltproc to build the mobi documentation
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make mobi                # generates all documentation in mobi format
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make epub                # use xsltproc to build the mobi documentation
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make epub                # generates all documentation in epub format
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</SyntaxHighlight>
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Each of these commands will generate all documentation (help and guide) in all available languages and in the requested format.
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Note there are additional installation dependencies required for building the pdf and mobi formats.
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See [https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Documentation_Release_Process#Other_documentation_formats].
 +
 
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As it can take quite some time to build all the  documentation the build system also provides ways to build only parts
 +
of the documentation. How to do that differs between the two supported build systems:
 +
 
 +
===Autotools===
 +
 
 +
With autotools one could use the same targets explained above in subdirectories as well to build only part of the documentation. Some examples:<SyntaxHighlight lang="sh">
 +
(cd guide && make html)  # generates the Concepts and Tutorial guide in all supported languages in html format
 +
(cd help/de && make pdf) # generates the help document in German in pdf format
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</SyntaxHighlight>
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===Cmake===
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In the case of cmake all make commands have to be executed in the top-level build directory. To allow to build only parts of the
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documentation, cmake offers additional targets of the form
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<code><language>-<document-name>-<format></code>
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Some examples:<SyntaxHighlight lang="sh">
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make C-gnucash-guide-html  # generates the Concepts and Tutorial guide in English in html format
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make de-gnucash-help-pdf  # generates the help document in German in pdf format
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</SyntaxHighlight>
 +
 
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A full list of available targets can be retrieved with<SyntaxHighlight lang="sh">
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make help
 
</SyntaxHighlight>
 
</SyntaxHighlight>
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There are additional installation dependencies required for building the pdf and mobi formats.
 
−
See [http://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Documentation_Release_Process#Other_documentation_formats].
 
  
 +
==Installing documentation==
 
To install the built documentation where it can be used for testing the interaction with GnuCash programs: <SyntaxHighlight lang="sh">
 
To install the built documentation where it can be used for testing the interaction with GnuCash programs: <SyntaxHighlight lang="sh">
 
make install
 
make install

Revision as of 10:08, 9 February 2021

The make utility is a tool which controls the generation of non-source files of a project from it's source files. In GnuCash it is used for the generation of the documentation and partially the website.

The Make Utility

In the make build system there are three important directories:

  • the source directory
  • the build directory
  • the installation directory (which can also be more than one directory all under a special directory called the prefix-directory)

The source directory is where your source files are. I.e. gnucash-docs (the clone of our github repository) with all its subdirectories on your system for documentation. If you want to make changes to the documentation source, you do this in the source directory structure, not the build directory structure.

The build directory is a directory used by the build system to store all files/objects that are generated by the build system. make is always executed in the build directory or a sub-directory of the build directory. Each make recipe results in at least one such file or object.

The installation directory is the location where the generated objects should finally end up when using make install.

Generating documentation

For the GnuCash documentation, the make command must be used with a target argument which determines which type(s) of the documentation are built. E.g. make html builds the html files which allow the documentation to be viewed in a web browser. (If no target is specified, make does nothing because the xml files are both the source and the target which yelp needs to display the documentation.)

There are a few differences in how to use make depending on the build system you have chosen - autotools or cmake. Both systems provide a common set of high-level targets. Those are the targets you can invoke directly in the top level build directory:
make check                # use xmllint to validate xml files
make html                 # generates all documentation in html format
make pdf                  # generates all documentation in pdf format
make mobi                 # generates all documentation in mobi format
make epub                 # generates all documentation in epub format

Each of these commands will generate all documentation (help and guide) in all available languages and in the requested format.

Note there are additional installation dependencies required for building the pdf and mobi formats. See [1].

As it can take quite some time to build all the documentation the build system also provides ways to build only parts of the documentation. How to do that differs between the two supported build systems:

Autotools

With autotools one could use the same targets explained above in subdirectories as well to build only part of the documentation. Some examples:
(cd guide && make html)  # generates the Concepts and Tutorial guide in all supported languages in html format
(cd help/de && make pdf) # generates the help document in German in pdf format

Cmake

In the case of cmake all make commands have to be executed in the top-level build directory. To allow to build only parts of the documentation, cmake offers additional targets of the form

<language>-<document-name>-<format>

Some examples:
make C-gnucash-guide-html  # generates the Concepts and Tutorial guide in English in html format
make de-gnucash-help-pdf   # generates the help document in German in pdf format
A full list of available targets can be retrieved with
make help

Installing documentation

To install the built documentation where it can be used for testing the interaction with GnuCash programs: 
make install
Note
See Test Documentation in Linux.

Installing make

Linux
make is usually already installed as part of the default installation packages.
macOS
make and git are provided by either Xcode or the Xcode command-line tools. To update the documentation, it is not necessary to install the full Xcode package which is currently a download of over 4 GBs. On OS X 10.8 and later the system should offer to install just the command line tools when you issue a command that they supply; make or git issued in Terminal should do it. If that doesn't work try xcode-select --install; if that also fails you'll need to download the appropriate command-line tools package from Apple\'s developer website where you'll need to sign in with your Apple ID and agree to some terms and conditions if you haven't already set up a developer account.
Windows
It is probably possible but complicated to update the documentation in Windows. Building on Windows may help. It may be easier to install Linux in a virtual machine like VirtualBox instead.
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