1Linux Kernel Makefiles
2
3This document describes the Linux kernel Makefiles.
4
5=== Table of Contents
6
7	=== 1 Overview
8	=== 2 Who does what
9	=== 3 The kbuild files
10	   --- 3.1 Goal definitions
11	   --- 3.2 Built-in object goals - obj-y
12	   --- 3.3 Loadable module goals - obj-m
13	   --- 3.4 Objects which export symbols
14	   --- 3.5 Library file goals - lib-y
15	   --- 3.6 Descending down in directories
16	   --- 3.7 Compilation flags
17	   --- 3.8 Command line dependency
18	   --- 3.9 Dependency tracking
19	   --- 3.10 Special Rules
20	   --- 3.11 $(CC) support functions
21	   --- 3.12 $(LD) support functions
22
23	=== 4 Host Program support
24	   --- 4.1 Simple Host Program
25	   --- 4.2 Composite Host Programs
26	   --- 4.3 Using C++ for host programs
27	   --- 4.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
28	   --- 4.5 When host programs are actually built
29	   --- 4.6 Using hostprogs-$(CONFIG_FOO)
30
31	=== 5 Kbuild clean infrastructure
32
33	=== 6 Architecture Makefiles
34	   --- 6.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
35	   --- 6.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders:
36	   --- 6.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare:
37	   --- 6.4 List directories to visit when descending
38	   --- 6.5 Architecture-specific boot images
39	   --- 6.6 Building non-kbuild targets
40	   --- 6.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
41	   --- 6.8 Custom kbuild commands
42	   --- 6.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
43	   --- 6.10 Generic header files
44
45	=== 7 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
46		--- 7.1 header-y
47		--- 7.2 genhdr-y
48		--- 7.3 destination-y
49		--- 7.4 generic-y
50
51	=== 8 Kbuild Variables
52	=== 9 Makefile language
53	=== 10 Credits
54	=== 11 TODO
55
56=== 1 Overview
57
58The Makefiles have five parts:
59
60	Makefile		the top Makefile.
61	.config			the kernel configuration file.
62	arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile	the arch Makefile.
63	scripts/Makefile.*	common rules etc. for all kbuild Makefiles.
64	kbuild Makefiles	there are about 500 of these.
65
66The top Makefile reads the .config file, which comes from the kernel
67configuration process.
68
69The top Makefile is responsible for building two major products: vmlinux
70(the resident kernel image) and modules (any module files).
71It builds these goals by recursively descending into the subdirectories of
72the kernel source tree.
73The list of subdirectories which are visited depends upon the kernel
74configuration. The top Makefile textually includes an arch Makefile
75with the name arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile. The arch Makefile supplies
76architecture-specific information to the top Makefile.
77
78Each subdirectory has a kbuild Makefile which carries out the commands
79passed down from above. The kbuild Makefile uses information from the
80.config file to construct various file lists used by kbuild to build
81any built-in or modular targets.
82
83scripts/Makefile.* contains all the definitions/rules etc. that
84are used to build the kernel based on the kbuild makefiles.
85
86
87=== 2 Who does what
88
89People have four different relationships with the kernel Makefiles.
90
91*Users* are people who build kernels.  These people type commands such as
92"make menuconfig" or "make".  They usually do not read or edit
93any kernel Makefiles (or any other source files).
94
95*Normal developers* are people who work on features such as device
96drivers, file systems, and network protocols.  These people need to
97maintain the kbuild Makefiles for the subsystem they are
98working on.  In order to do this effectively, they need some overall
99knowledge about the kernel Makefiles, plus detailed knowledge about the
100public interface for kbuild.
101
102*Arch developers* are people who work on an entire architecture, such
103as sparc or ia64.  Arch developers need to know about the arch Makefile
104as well as kbuild Makefiles.
105
106*Kbuild developers* are people who work on the kernel build system itself.
107These people need to know about all aspects of the kernel Makefiles.
108
109This document is aimed towards normal developers and arch developers.
110
111
112=== 3 The kbuild files
113
114Most Makefiles within the kernel are kbuild Makefiles that use the
115kbuild infrastructure. This chapter introduces the syntax used in the
116kbuild makefiles.
117The preferred name for the kbuild files are 'Makefile' but 'Kbuild' can
118be used and if both a 'Makefile' and a 'Kbuild' file exists, then the 'Kbuild'
119file will be used.
120
121Section 3.1 "Goal definitions" is a quick intro, further chapters provide
122more details, with real examples.
123
124--- 3.1 Goal definitions
125
126	Goal definitions are the main part (heart) of the kbuild Makefile.
127	These lines define the files to be built, any special compilation
128	options, and any subdirectories to be entered recursively.
129
130	The most simple kbuild makefile contains one line:
131
132	Example:
133		obj-y += foo.o
134
135	This tells kbuild that there is one object in that directory, named
136	foo.o. foo.o will be built from foo.c or foo.S.
137
138	If foo.o shall be built as a module, the variable obj-m is used.
139	Therefore the following pattern is often used:
140
141	Example:
142		obj-$(CONFIG_FOO) += foo.o
143
144	$(CONFIG_FOO) evaluates to either y (for built-in) or m (for module).
145	If CONFIG_FOO is neither y nor m, then the file will not be compiled
146	nor linked.
147
148--- 3.2 Built-in object goals - obj-y
149
150	The kbuild Makefile specifies object files for vmlinux
151	in the $(obj-y) lists.  These lists depend on the kernel
152	configuration.
153
154	Kbuild compiles all the $(obj-y) files.  It then calls
155	"$(LD) -r" to merge these files into one built-in.o file.
156	built-in.o is later linked into vmlinux by the parent Makefile.
157
158	The order of files in $(obj-y) is significant.  Duplicates in
159	the lists are allowed: the first instance will be linked into
160	built-in.o and succeeding instances will be ignored.
161
162	Link order is significant, because certain functions
163	(module_init() / __initcall) will be called during boot in the
164	order they appear. So keep in mind that changing the link
165	order may e.g. change the order in which your SCSI
166	controllers are detected, and thus your disks are renumbered.
167
168	Example:
169		#drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
170		# Makefile for the kernel ISDN subsystem and device drivers.
171		# Each configuration option enables a list of files.
172		obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_I4L)         += isdn.o
173		obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
174
175--- 3.3 Loadable module goals - obj-m
176
177	$(obj-m) specifies object files which are built as loadable
178	kernel modules.
179
180	A module may be built from one source file or several source
181	files. In the case of one source file, the kbuild makefile
182	simply adds the file to $(obj-m).
183
184	Example:
185		#drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
186		obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) += isdn_bsdcomp.o
187
188	Note: In this example $(CONFIG_ISDN_PPP_BSDCOMP) evaluates to 'm'
189
190	If a kernel module is built from several source files, you specify
191	that you want to build a module in the same way as above; however,
192	kbuild needs to know which object files you want to build your
193	module from, so you have to tell it by setting a $(<module_name>-y)
194	variable.
195
196	Example:
197		#drivers/isdn/i4l/Makefile
198		obj-$(CONFIG_ISDN_I4L) += isdn.o
199		isdn-y := isdn_net_lib.o isdn_v110.o isdn_common.o
200
201	In this example, the module name will be isdn.o. Kbuild will
202	compile the objects listed in $(isdn-y) and then run
203	"$(LD) -r" on the list of these files to generate isdn.o.
204
205	Due to kbuild recognizing $(<module_name>-y) for composite objects,
206	you can use the value of a CONFIG_ symbol to optionally include an
207	object file as part of a composite object.
208
209	Example:
210		#fs/ext2/Makefile
211	        obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2.o
212		ext2-y := balloc.o dir.o file.o ialloc.o inode.o ioctl.o \
213			  namei.o super.o symlink.o
214	        ext2-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR) += xattr.o xattr_user.o \
215						xattr_trusted.o
216
217	In this example, xattr.o, xattr_user.o and xattr_trusted.o are only
218	part of the composite object ext2.o if $(CONFIG_EXT2_FS_XATTR)
219	evaluates to 'y'.
220
221	Note: Of course, when you are building objects into the kernel,
222	the syntax above will also work. So, if you have CONFIG_EXT2_FS=y,
223	kbuild will build an ext2.o file for you out of the individual
224	parts and then link this into built-in.o, as you would expect.
225
226--- 3.4 Objects which export symbols
227
228	No special notation is required in the makefiles for
229	modules exporting symbols.
230
231--- 3.5 Library file goals - lib-y
232
233	Objects listed with obj-* are used for modules, or
234	combined in a built-in.o for that specific directory.
235	There is also the possibility to list objects that will
236	be included in a library, lib.a.
237	All objects listed with lib-y are combined in a single
238	library for that directory.
239	Objects that are listed in obj-y and additionally listed in
240	lib-y will not be included in the library, since they will
241	be accessible anyway.
242	For consistency, objects listed in lib-m will be included in lib.a.
243
244	Note that the same kbuild makefile may list files to be built-in
245	and to be part of a library. Therefore the same directory
246	may contain both a built-in.o and a lib.a file.
247
248	Example:
249		#arch/x86/lib/Makefile
250		lib-y    := delay.o
251
252	This will create a library lib.a based on delay.o. For kbuild to
253	actually recognize that there is a lib.a being built, the directory
254	shall be listed in libs-y.
255	See also "6.4 List directories to visit when descending".
256
257	Use of lib-y is normally restricted to lib/ and arch/*/lib.
258
259--- 3.6 Descending down in directories
260
261	A Makefile is only responsible for building objects in its own
262	directory. Files in subdirectories should be taken care of by
263	Makefiles in these subdirs. The build system will automatically
264	invoke make recursively in subdirectories, provided you let it know of
265	them.
266
267	To do so, obj-y and obj-m are used.
268	ext2 lives in a separate directory, and the Makefile present in fs/
269	tells kbuild to descend down using the following assignment.
270
271	Example:
272		#fs/Makefile
273		obj-$(CONFIG_EXT2_FS) += ext2/
274
275	If CONFIG_EXT2_FS is set to either 'y' (built-in) or 'm' (modular)
276	the corresponding obj- variable will be set, and kbuild will descend
277	down in the ext2 directory.
278	Kbuild only uses this information to decide that it needs to visit
279	the directory, it is the Makefile in the subdirectory that
280	specifies what is modular and what is built-in.
281
282	It is good practice to use a CONFIG_ variable when assigning directory
283	names. This allows kbuild to totally skip the directory if the
284	corresponding CONFIG_ option is neither 'y' nor 'm'.
285
286--- 3.7 Compilation flags
287
288    ccflags-y, asflags-y and ldflags-y
289	These three flags apply only to the kbuild makefile in which they
290	are assigned. They are used for all the normal cc, as and ld
291	invocations happening during a recursive build.
292	Note: Flags with the same behaviour were previously named:
293	EXTRA_CFLAGS, EXTRA_AFLAGS and EXTRA_LDFLAGS.
294	They are still supported but their usage is deprecated.
295
296	ccflags-y specifies options for compiling with $(CC).
297
298	Example:
299		# drivers/acpi/Makefile
300		ccflags-y := -Os
301		ccflags-$(CONFIG_ACPI_DEBUG) += -DACPI_DEBUG_OUTPUT
302
303	This variable is necessary because the top Makefile owns the
304	variable $(KBUILD_CFLAGS) and uses it for compilation flags for the
305	entire tree.
306
307	asflags-y specifies options for assembling with $(AS).
308
309	Example:
310		#arch/sparc/kernel/Makefile
311		asflags-y := -ansi
312
313	ldflags-y specifies options for linking with $(LD).
314
315	Example:
316		#arch/cris/boot/compressed/Makefile
317		ldflags-y += -T $(srctree)/$(src)/decompress_$(arch-y).lds
318
319    subdir-ccflags-y, subdir-asflags-y
320	The two flags listed above are similar to ccflags-y and asflags-y.
321	The difference is that the subdir- variants have effect for the kbuild
322	file where they are present and all subdirectories.
323	Options specified using subdir-* are added to the commandline before
324	the options specified using the non-subdir variants.
325
326	Example:
327		subdir-ccflags-y := -Werror
328
329    CFLAGS_$@, AFLAGS_$@
330
331	CFLAGS_$@ and AFLAGS_$@ only apply to commands in current
332	kbuild makefile.
333
334	$(CFLAGS_$@) specifies per-file options for $(CC).  The $@
335	part has a literal value which specifies the file that it is for.
336
337	Example:
338		# drivers/scsi/Makefile
339		CFLAGS_aha152x.o =   -DAHA152X_STAT -DAUTOCONF
340		CFLAGS_gdth.o    = # -DDEBUG_GDTH=2 -D__SERIAL__ -D__COM2__ \
341				     -DGDTH_STATISTICS
342
343	These two lines specify compilation flags for aha152x.o and gdth.o.
344
345	$(AFLAGS_$@) is a similar feature for source files in assembly
346	languages.
347
348	Example:
349		# arch/arm/kernel/Makefile
350		AFLAGS_head.o        := -DTEXT_OFFSET=$(TEXT_OFFSET)
351		AFLAGS_crunch-bits.o := -Wa,-mcpu=ep9312
352		AFLAGS_iwmmxt.o      := -Wa,-mcpu=iwmmxt
353
354
355--- 3.9 Dependency tracking
356
357	Kbuild tracks dependencies on the following:
358	1) All prerequisite files (both *.c and *.h)
359	2) CONFIG_ options used in all prerequisite files
360	3) Command-line used to compile target
361
362	Thus, if you change an option to $(CC) all affected files will
363	be re-compiled.
364
365--- 3.10 Special Rules
366
367	Special rules are used when the kbuild infrastructure does
368	not provide the required support. A typical example is
369	header files generated during the build process.
370	Another example are the architecture-specific Makefiles which
371	need special rules to prepare boot images etc.
372
373	Special rules are written as normal Make rules.
374	Kbuild is not executing in the directory where the Makefile is
375	located, so all special rules shall provide a relative
376	path to prerequisite files and target files.
377
378	Two variables are used when defining special rules:
379
380    $(src)
381	$(src) is a relative path which points to the directory
382	where the Makefile is located. Always use $(src) when
383	referring to files located in the src tree.
384
385    $(obj)
386	$(obj) is a relative path which points to the directory
387	where the target is saved. Always use $(obj) when
388	referring to generated files.
389
390	Example:
391		#drivers/scsi/Makefile
392		$(obj)/53c8xx_d.h: $(src)/53c7,8xx.scr $(src)/script_asm.pl
393			$(CPP) -DCHIP=810 - < $< | ... $(src)/script_asm.pl
394
395	This is a special rule, following the normal syntax
396	required by make.
397	The target file depends on two prerequisite files. References
398	to the target file are prefixed with $(obj), references
399	to prerequisites are referenced with $(src) (because they are not
400	generated files).
401
402    $(kecho)
403	echoing information to user in a rule is often a good practice
404	but when execution "make -s" one does not expect to see any output
405	except for warnings/errors.
406	To support this kbuild defines $(kecho) which will echo out the
407	text following $(kecho) to stdout except if "make -s" is used.
408
409	Example:
410		#arch/blackfin/boot/Makefile
411		$(obj)/vmImage: $(obj)/vmlinux.gz
412			$(call if_changed,uimage)
413			@$(kecho) 'Kernel: $@ is ready'
414
415
416--- 3.11 $(CC) support functions
417
418	The kernel may be built with several different versions of
419	$(CC), each supporting a unique set of features and options.
420	kbuild provides basic support to check for valid options for $(CC).
421	$(CC) is usually the gcc compiler, but other alternatives are
422	available.
423
424    as-option
425	as-option is used to check if $(CC) -- when used to compile
426	assembler (*.S) files -- supports the given option. An optional
427	second option may be specified if the first option is not supported.
428
429	Example:
430		#arch/sh/Makefile
431		cflags-y += $(call as-option,-Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y),)
432
433	In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
434	-Wa$(comma)-isa=$(isa-y) if it is supported by $(CC).
435	The second argument is optional, and if supplied will be used
436	if first argument is not supported.
437
438    cc-ldoption
439	cc-ldoption is used to check if $(CC) when used to link object files
440	supports the given option.  An optional second option may be
441	specified if first option are not supported.
442
443	Example:
444		#arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
445		vsyscall-flags += $(call cc-ldoption, -Wl$(comma)--hash-style=sysv)
446
447	In the above example, vsyscall-flags will be assigned the option
448	-Wl$(comma)--hash-style=sysv if it is supported by $(CC).
449	The second argument is optional, and if supplied will be used
450	if first argument is not supported.
451
452    as-instr
453	as-instr checks if the assembler reports a specific instruction
454	and then outputs either option1 or option2
455	C escapes are supported in the test instruction
456	Note: as-instr-option uses KBUILD_AFLAGS for $(AS) options
457
458    cc-option
459	cc-option is used to check if $(CC) supports a given option, and if
460	not supported to use an optional second option.
461
462	Example:
463		#arch/x86/Makefile
464		cflags-y += $(call cc-option,-march=pentium-mmx,-march=i586)
465
466	In the above example, cflags-y will be assigned the option
467	-march=pentium-mmx if supported by $(CC), otherwise -march=i586.
468	The second argument to cc-option is optional, and if omitted,
469	cflags-y will be assigned no value if first option is not supported.
470	Note: cc-option uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
471
472   cc-option-yn
473	cc-option-yn is used to check if gcc supports a given option
474	and return 'y' if supported, otherwise 'n'.
475
476	Example:
477		#arch/ppc/Makefile
478		biarch := $(call cc-option-yn, -m32)
479		aflags-$(biarch) += -a32
480		cflags-$(biarch) += -m32
481
482	In the above example, $(biarch) is set to y if $(CC) supports the -m32
483	option. When $(biarch) equals 'y', the expanded variables $(aflags-y)
484	and $(cflags-y) will be assigned the values -a32 and -m32,
485	respectively.
486	Note: cc-option-yn uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
487
488    cc-option-align
489	gcc versions >= 3.0 changed the type of options used to specify
490	alignment of functions, loops etc. $(cc-option-align), when used
491	as prefix to the align options, will select the right prefix:
492	gcc < 3.00
493		cc-option-align = -malign
494	gcc >= 3.00
495		cc-option-align = -falign
496
497	Example:
498		KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(cc-option-align)-functions=4
499
500	In the above example, the option -falign-functions=4 is used for
501	gcc >= 3.00. For gcc < 3.00, -malign-functions=4 is used.
502	Note: cc-option-align uses KBUILD_CFLAGS for $(CC) options
503
504    cc-disable-warning
505	cc-disable-warning checks if gcc supports a given warning and returns
506	the commandline switch to disable it. This special function is needed,
507	because gcc 4.4 and later accept any unknown -Wno-* option and only
508	warn about it if there is another warning in the source file.
509
510	Example:
511		KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-disable-warning, unused-but-set-variable)
512
513	In the above example, -Wno-unused-but-set-variable will be added to
514	KBUILD_CFLAGS only if gcc really accepts it.
515
516    cc-version
517	cc-version returns a numerical version of the $(CC) compiler version.
518	The format is <major><minor> where both are two digits. So for example
519	gcc 3.41 would return 0341.
520	cc-version is useful when a specific $(CC) version is faulty in one
521	area, for example -mregparm=3 was broken in some gcc versions
522	even though the option was accepted by gcc.
523
524	Example:
525		#arch/x86/Makefile
526		cflags-y += $(shell \
527		if [ $(cc-version) -ge 0300 ] ; then \
528			echo "-mregparm=3"; fi ;)
529
530	In the above example, -mregparm=3 is only used for gcc version greater
531	than or equal to gcc 3.0.
532
533    cc-ifversion
534	cc-ifversion tests the version of $(CC) and equals the fourth parameter
535	if version expression is true, or the fifth (if given) if the version
536	expression is false.
537
538	Example:
539		#fs/reiserfs/Makefile
540		ccflags-y := $(call cc-ifversion, -lt, 0402, -O1)
541
542	In this example, ccflags-y will be assigned the value -O1 if the
543	$(CC) version is less than 4.2.
544	cc-ifversion takes all the shell operators:
545	-eq, -ne, -lt, -le, -gt, and -ge
546	The third parameter may be a text as in this example, but it may also
547	be an expanded variable or a macro.
548
549    cc-fullversion
550	cc-fullversion is useful when the exact version of gcc is needed.
551	One typical use-case is when a specific GCC version is broken.
552	cc-fullversion points out a more specific version than cc-version does.
553
554	Example:
555		#arch/powerpc/Makefile
556		$(Q)if test "$(cc-fullversion)" = "040200" ; then \
557			echo -n '*** GCC-4.2.0 cannot compile the 64-bit powerpc ' ; \
558			false ; \
559		fi
560
561	In this example for a specific GCC version the build will error out
562	explaining to the user why it stops.
563
564    cc-cross-prefix
565	cc-cross-prefix is used to check if there exists a $(CC) in path with
566	one of the listed prefixes. The first prefix where there exist a
567	prefix$(CC) in the PATH is returned - and if no prefix$(CC) is found
568	then nothing is returned.
569	Additional prefixes are separated by a single space in the
570	call of cc-cross-prefix.
571	This functionality is useful for architecture Makefiles that try
572	to set CROSS_COMPILE to well-known values but may have several
573	values to select between.
574	It is recommended only to try to set CROSS_COMPILE if it is a cross
575	build (host arch is different from target arch). And if CROSS_COMPILE
576	is already set then leave it with the old value.
577
578	Example:
579		#arch/m68k/Makefile
580		ifneq ($(SUBARCH),$(ARCH))
581		        ifeq ($(CROSS_COMPILE),)
582		               CROSS_COMPILE := $(call cc-cross-prefix, m68k-linux-gnu-)
583			endif
584		endif
585
586--- 3.12 $(LD) support functions
587
588    ld-option
589	ld-option is used to check if $(LD) supports the supplied option.
590	ld-option takes two options as arguments.
591	The second argument is an optional option that can be used if the
592	first option is not supported by $(LD).
593
594	Example:
595		#Makefile
596		LDFLAGS_vmlinux += $(call ld-option, -X)
597
598
599=== 4 Host Program support
600
601Kbuild supports building executables on the host for use during the
602compilation stage.
603Two steps are required in order to use a host executable.
604
605The first step is to tell kbuild that a host program exists. This is
606done utilising the variable hostprogs-y.
607
608The second step is to add an explicit dependency to the executable.
609This can be done in two ways. Either add the dependency in a rule,
610or utilise the variable $(always).
611Both possibilities are described in the following.
612
613--- 4.1 Simple Host Program
614
615	In some cases there is a need to compile and run a program on the
616	computer where the build is running.
617	The following line tells kbuild that the program bin2hex shall be
618	built on the build host.
619
620	Example:
621		hostprogs-y := bin2hex
622
623	Kbuild assumes in the above example that bin2hex is made from a single
624	c-source file named bin2hex.c located in the same directory as
625	the Makefile.
626
627--- 4.2 Composite Host Programs
628
629	Host programs can be made up based on composite objects.
630	The syntax used to define composite objects for host programs is
631	similar to the syntax used for kernel objects.
632	$(<executable>-objs) lists all objects used to link the final
633	executable.
634
635	Example:
636		#scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
637		hostprogs-y   := lxdialog
638		lxdialog-objs := checklist.o lxdialog.o
639
640	Objects with extension .o are compiled from the corresponding .c
641	files. In the above example, checklist.c is compiled to checklist.o
642	and lxdialog.c is compiled to lxdialog.o.
643	Finally, the two .o files are linked to the executable, lxdialog.
644	Note: The syntax <executable>-y is not permitted for host-programs.
645
646--- 4.3 Using C++ for host programs
647
648	kbuild offers support for host programs written in C++. This was
649	introduced solely to support kconfig, and is not recommended
650	for general use.
651
652	Example:
653		#scripts/kconfig/Makefile
654		hostprogs-y   := qconf
655		qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
656
657	In the example above the executable is composed of the C++ file
658	qconf.cc - identified by $(qconf-cxxobjs).
659
660	If qconf is composed of a mixture of .c and .cc files, then an
661	additional line can be used to identify this.
662
663	Example:
664		#scripts/kconfig/Makefile
665		hostprogs-y   := qconf
666		qconf-cxxobjs := qconf.o
667		qconf-objs    := check.o
668
669--- 4.4 Controlling compiler options for host programs
670
671	When compiling host programs, it is possible to set specific flags.
672	The programs will always be compiled utilising $(HOSTCC) passed
673	the options specified in $(HOSTCFLAGS).
674	To set flags that will take effect for all host programs created
675	in that Makefile, use the variable HOST_EXTRACFLAGS.
676
677	Example:
678		#scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
679		HOST_EXTRACFLAGS += -I/usr/include/ncurses
680
681	To set specific flags for a single file the following construction
682	is used:
683
684	Example:
685		#arch/ppc64/boot/Makefile
686		HOSTCFLAGS_piggyback.o := -DKERNELBASE=$(KERNELBASE)
687
688	It is also possible to specify additional options to the linker.
689
690	Example:
691		#scripts/kconfig/Makefile
692		HOSTLOADLIBES_qconf := -L$(QTDIR)/lib
693
694	When linking qconf, it will be passed the extra option
695	"-L$(QTDIR)/lib".
696
697--- 4.5 When host programs are actually built
698
699	Kbuild will only build host-programs when they are referenced
700	as a prerequisite.
701	This is possible in two ways:
702
703	(1) List the prerequisite explicitly in a special rule.
704
705	Example:
706		#drivers/pci/Makefile
707		hostprogs-y := gen-devlist
708		$(obj)/devlist.h: $(src)/pci.ids $(obj)/gen-devlist
709			( cd $(obj); ./gen-devlist ) < $<
710
711	The target $(obj)/devlist.h will not be built before
712	$(obj)/gen-devlist is updated. Note that references to
713	the host programs in special rules must be prefixed with $(obj).
714
715	(2) Use $(always)
716	When there is no suitable special rule, and the host program
717	shall be built when a makefile is entered, the $(always)
718	variable shall be used.
719
720	Example:
721		#scripts/lxdialog/Makefile
722		hostprogs-y   := lxdialog
723		always        := $(hostprogs-y)
724
725	This will tell kbuild to build lxdialog even if not referenced in
726	any rule.
727
728--- 4.6 Using hostprogs-$(CONFIG_FOO)
729
730	A typical pattern in a Kbuild file looks like this:
731
732	Example:
733		#scripts/Makefile
734		hostprogs-$(CONFIG_KALLSYMS) += kallsyms
735
736	Kbuild knows about both 'y' for built-in and 'm' for module.
737	So if a config symbol evaluates to 'm', kbuild will still build
738	the binary. In other words, Kbuild handles hostprogs-m exactly
739	like hostprogs-y. But only hostprogs-y is recommended to be used
740	when no CONFIG symbols are involved.
741
742=== 5 Kbuild clean infrastructure
743
744"make clean" deletes most generated files in the obj tree where the kernel
745is compiled. This includes generated files such as host programs.
746Kbuild knows targets listed in $(hostprogs-y), $(hostprogs-m), $(always),
747$(extra-y) and $(targets). They are all deleted during "make clean".
748Files matching the patterns "*.[oas]", "*.ko", plus some additional files
749generated by kbuild are deleted all over the kernel src tree when
750"make clean" is executed.
751
752Additional files can be specified in kbuild makefiles by use of $(clean-files).
753
754	Example:
755		#lib/Makefile
756		clean-files := crc32table.h
757
758When executing "make clean", the two files "devlist.h classlist.h" will be
759deleted. Kbuild will assume files to be in the same relative directory as the
760Makefile, except if prefixed with $(objtree).
761
762To delete a directory hierarchy use:
763
764	Example:
765		#scripts/package/Makefile
766		clean-dirs := $(objtree)/debian/
767
768This will delete the directory debian in the toplevel directory, including all
769subdirectories.
770
771To exclude certain files from make clean, use the $(no-clean-files) variable.
772This is only a special case used in the top level Kbuild file:
773
774	Example:
775		#Kbuild
776		no-clean-files := $(bounds-file) $(offsets-file)
777
778Usually kbuild descends down in subdirectories due to "obj-* := dir/",
779but in the architecture makefiles where the kbuild infrastructure
780is not sufficient this sometimes needs to be explicit.
781
782	Example:
783		#arch/x86/boot/Makefile
784		subdir- := compressed/
785
786The above assignment instructs kbuild to descend down in the
787directory compressed/ when "make clean" is executed.
788
789To support the clean infrastructure in the Makefiles that build the
790final bootimage there is an optional target named archclean:
791
792	Example:
793		#arch/x86/Makefile
794		archclean:
795			$(Q)$(MAKE) $(clean)=arch/x86/boot
796
797When "make clean" is executed, make will descend down in arch/x86/boot,
798and clean as usual. The Makefile located in arch/x86/boot/ may use
799the subdir- trick to descend further down.
800
801Note 1: arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile cannot use "subdir-", because that file is
802included in the top level makefile, and the kbuild infrastructure
803is not operational at that point.
804
805Note 2: All directories listed in core-y, libs-y, drivers-y and net-y will
806be visited during "make clean".
807
808=== 6 Architecture Makefiles
809
810The top level Makefile sets up the environment and does the preparation,
811before starting to descend down in the individual directories.
812The top level makefile contains the generic part, whereas
813arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile contains what is required to set up kbuild
814for said architecture.
815To do so, arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile sets up a number of variables and defines
816a few targets.
817
818When kbuild executes, the following steps are followed (roughly):
8191) Configuration of the kernel => produce .config
8202) Store kernel version in include/linux/version.h
8213) Updating all other prerequisites to the target prepare:
822   - Additional prerequisites are specified in arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile
8234) Recursively descend down in all directories listed in
824   init-* core* drivers-* net-* libs-* and build all targets.
825   - The values of the above variables are expanded in arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
8265) All object files are then linked and the resulting file vmlinux is
827   located at the root of the obj tree.
828   The very first objects linked are listed in head-y, assigned by
829   arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
8306) Finally, the architecture-specific part does any required post processing
831   and builds the final bootimage.
832   - This includes building boot records
833   - Preparing initrd images and the like
834
835
836--- 6.1 Set variables to tweak the build to the architecture
837
838    LDFLAGS		Generic $(LD) options
839
840	Flags used for all invocations of the linker.
841	Often specifying the emulation is sufficient.
842
843	Example:
844		#arch/s390/Makefile
845		LDFLAGS         := -m elf_s390
846	Note: ldflags-y can be used to further customise
847	the flags used. See chapter 3.7.
848
849    LDFLAGS_MODULE	Options for $(LD) when linking modules
850
851	LDFLAGS_MODULE is used to set specific flags for $(LD) when
852	linking the .ko files used for modules.
853	Default is "-r", for relocatable output.
854
855    LDFLAGS_vmlinux	Options for $(LD) when linking vmlinux
856
857	LDFLAGS_vmlinux is used to specify additional flags to pass to
858	the linker when linking the final vmlinux image.
859	LDFLAGS_vmlinux uses the LDFLAGS_$@ support.
860
861	Example:
862		#arch/x86/Makefile
863		LDFLAGS_vmlinux := -e stext
864
865    OBJCOPYFLAGS	objcopy flags
866
867	When $(call if_changed,objcopy) is used to translate a .o file,
868	the flags specified in OBJCOPYFLAGS will be used.
869	$(call if_changed,objcopy) is often used to generate raw binaries on
870	vmlinux.
871
872	Example:
873		#arch/s390/Makefile
874		OBJCOPYFLAGS := -O binary
875
876		#arch/s390/boot/Makefile
877		$(obj)/image: vmlinux FORCE
878			$(call if_changed,objcopy)
879
880	In this example, the binary $(obj)/image is a binary version of
881	vmlinux. The usage of $(call if_changed,xxx) will be described later.
882
883    KBUILD_AFLAGS		$(AS) assembler flags
884
885	Default value - see top level Makefile
886	Append or modify as required per architecture.
887
888	Example:
889		#arch/sparc64/Makefile
890		KBUILD_AFLAGS += -m64 -mcpu=ultrasparc
891
892    KBUILD_CFLAGS		$(CC) compiler flags
893
894	Default value - see top level Makefile
895	Append or modify as required per architecture.
896
897	Often, the KBUILD_CFLAGS variable depends on the configuration.
898
899	Example:
900		#arch/x86/boot/compressed/Makefile
901		cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_32) := -march=i386
902		cflags-$(CONFIG_X86_64) := -mcmodel=small
903		KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(cflags-y)
904
905	Many arch Makefiles dynamically run the target C compiler to
906	probe supported options:
907
908		#arch/x86/Makefile
909
910		...
911		cflags-$(CONFIG_MPENTIUMII)     += $(call cc-option,\
912						-march=pentium2,-march=i686)
913		...
914		# Disable unit-at-a-time mode ...
915		KBUILD_CFLAGS += $(call cc-option,-fno-unit-at-a-time)
916		...
917
918
919	The first example utilises the trick that a config option expands
920	to 'y' when selected.
921
922    KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL	$(AS) options specific for built-in
923
924	$(KBUILD_AFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
925	resident kernel code.
926
927    KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE   Options for $(AS) when building modules
928
929	$(KBUILD_AFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
930	are used for $(AS).
931	From commandline AFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.txt).
932
933    KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL	$(CC) options specific for built-in
934
935	$(KBUILD_CFLAGS_KERNEL) contains extra C compiler flags used to compile
936	resident kernel code.
937
938    KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE   Options for $(CC) when building modules
939
940	$(KBUILD_CFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options that
941	are used for $(CC).
942	From commandline CFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.txt).
943
944    KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE   Options for $(LD) when linking modules
945
946	$(KBUILD_LDFLAGS_MODULE) is used to add arch-specific options
947	used when linking modules. This is often a linker script.
948	From commandline LDFLAGS_MODULE shall be used (see kbuild.txt).
949
950    KBUILD_ARFLAGS   Options for $(AR) when creating archives
951
952	$(KBUILD_ARFLAGS) set by the top level Makefile to "D" (deterministic
953	mode) if this option is supported by $(AR).
954
955    ARCH_CPPFLAGS, ARCH_AFLAGS, ARCH_CFLAGS   Overrides the kbuild defaults
956
957	These variables are appended to the KBUILD_CPPFLAGS,
958	KBUILD_AFLAGS, and KBUILD_CFLAGS, respectively, after the
959	top-level Makefile has set any other flags. This provides a
960	means for an architecture to override the defaults.
961
962
963--- 6.2 Add prerequisites to archheaders:
964
965	The archheaders: rule is used to generate header files that
966	may be installed into user space by "make header_install" or
967	"make headers_install_all".  In order to support
968	"make headers_install_all", this target has to be able to run
969	on an unconfigured tree, or a tree configured for another
970	architecture.
971
972	It is run before "make archprepare" when run on the
973	architecture itself.
974
975
976--- 6.3 Add prerequisites to archprepare:
977
978	The archprepare: rule is used to list prerequisites that need to be
979	built before starting to descend down in the subdirectories.
980	This is usually used for header files containing assembler constants.
981
982		Example:
983		#arch/arm/Makefile
984		archprepare: maketools
985
986	In this example, the file target maketools will be processed
987	before descending down in the subdirectories.
988	See also chapter XXX-TODO that describe how kbuild supports
989	generating offset header files.
990
991
992--- 6.4 List directories to visit when descending
993
994	An arch Makefile cooperates with the top Makefile to define variables
995	which specify how to build the vmlinux file.  Note that there is no
996	corresponding arch-specific section for modules; the module-building
997	machinery is all architecture-independent.
998
999
1000    head-y, init-y, core-y, libs-y, drivers-y, net-y
1001
1002	$(head-y) lists objects to be linked first in vmlinux.
1003	$(libs-y) lists directories where a lib.a archive can be located.
1004	The rest list directories where a built-in.o object file can be
1005	located.
1006
1007	$(init-y) objects will be located after $(head-y).
1008	Then the rest follows in this order:
1009	$(core-y), $(libs-y), $(drivers-y) and $(net-y).
1010
1011	The top level Makefile defines values for all generic directories,
1012	and arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile only adds architecture-specific directories.
1013
1014	Example:
1015		#arch/sparc64/Makefile
1016		core-y += arch/sparc64/kernel/
1017		libs-y += arch/sparc64/prom/ arch/sparc64/lib/
1018		drivers-$(CONFIG_OPROFILE)  += arch/sparc64/oprofile/
1019
1020
1021--- 6.5 Architecture-specific boot images
1022
1023	An arch Makefile specifies goals that take the vmlinux file, compress
1024	it, wrap it in bootstrapping code, and copy the resulting files
1025	somewhere. This includes various kinds of installation commands.
1026	The actual goals are not standardized across architectures.
1027
1028	It is common to locate any additional processing in a boot/
1029	directory below arch/$(ARCH)/.
1030
1031	Kbuild does not provide any smart way to support building a
1032	target specified in boot/. Therefore arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile shall
1033	call make manually to build a target in boot/.
1034
1035	The recommended approach is to include shortcuts in
1036	arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile, and use the full path when calling down
1037	into the arch/$(ARCH)/boot/Makefile.
1038
1039	Example:
1040		#arch/x86/Makefile
1041		boot := arch/x86/boot
1042		bzImage: vmlinux
1043			$(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=$(boot) $(boot)/$@
1044
1045	"$(Q)$(MAKE) $(build)=<dir>" is the recommended way to invoke
1046	make in a subdirectory.
1047
1048	There are no rules for naming architecture-specific targets,
1049	but executing "make help" will list all relevant targets.
1050	To support this, $(archhelp) must be defined.
1051
1052	Example:
1053		#arch/x86/Makefile
1054		define archhelp
1055		  echo  '* bzImage      - Image (arch/$(ARCH)/boot/bzImage)'
1056		endif
1057
1058	When make is executed without arguments, the first goal encountered
1059	will be built. In the top level Makefile the first goal present
1060	is all:.
1061	An architecture shall always, per default, build a bootable image.
1062	In "make help", the default goal is highlighted with a '*'.
1063	Add a new prerequisite to all: to select a default goal different
1064	from vmlinux.
1065
1066	Example:
1067		#arch/x86/Makefile
1068		all: bzImage
1069
1070	When "make" is executed without arguments, bzImage will be built.
1071
1072--- 6.6 Building non-kbuild targets
1073
1074    extra-y
1075
1076	extra-y specifies additional targets created in the current
1077	directory, in addition to any targets specified by obj-*.
1078
1079	Listing all targets in extra-y is required for two purposes:
1080	1) Enable kbuild to check changes in command lines
1081	   - When $(call if_changed,xxx) is used
1082	2) kbuild knows what files to delete during "make clean"
1083
1084	Example:
1085		#arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
1086		extra-y := head.o init_task.o
1087
1088	In this example, extra-y is used to list object files that
1089	shall be built, but shall not be linked as part of built-in.o.
1090
1091
1092--- 6.7 Commands useful for building a boot image
1093
1094	Kbuild provides a few macros that are useful when building a
1095	boot image.
1096
1097    if_changed
1098
1099	if_changed is the infrastructure used for the following commands.
1100
1101	Usage:
1102		target: source(s) FORCE
1103			$(call if_changed,ld/objcopy/gzip/...)
1104
1105	When the rule is evaluated, it is checked to see if any files
1106	need an update, or the command line has changed since the last
1107	invocation. The latter will force a rebuild if any options
1108	to the executable have changed.
1109	Any target that utilises if_changed must be listed in $(targets),
1110	otherwise the command line check will fail, and the target will
1111	always be built.
1112	Assignments to $(targets) are without $(obj)/ prefix.
1113	if_changed may be used in conjunction with custom commands as
1114	defined in 6.8 "Custom kbuild commands".
1115
1116	Note: It is a typical mistake to forget the FORCE prerequisite.
1117	Another common pitfall is that whitespace is sometimes
1118	significant; for instance, the below will fail (note the extra space
1119	after the comma):
1120		target: source(s) FORCE
1121	#WRONG!#	$(call if_changed, ld/objcopy/gzip/...)
1122
1123    ld
1124	Link target. Often, LDFLAGS_$@ is used to set specific options to ld.
1125
1126    objcopy
1127	Copy binary. Uses OBJCOPYFLAGS usually specified in
1128	arch/$(ARCH)/Makefile.
1129	OBJCOPYFLAGS_$@ may be used to set additional options.
1130
1131    gzip
1132	Compress target. Use maximum compression to compress target.
1133
1134	Example:
1135		#arch/x86/boot/Makefile
1136		LDFLAGS_bootsect := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary
1137		LDFLAGS_setup    := -Ttext 0x0 -s --oformat binary -e begtext
1138
1139		targets += setup setup.o bootsect bootsect.o
1140		$(obj)/setup $(obj)/bootsect: %: %.o FORCE
1141			$(call if_changed,ld)
1142
1143	In this example, there are two possible targets, requiring different
1144	options to the linker. The linker options are specified using the
1145	LDFLAGS_$@ syntax - one for each potential target.
1146	$(targets) are assigned all potential targets, by which kbuild knows
1147	the targets and will:
1148		1) check for commandline changes
1149		2) delete target during make clean
1150
1151	The ": %: %.o" part of the prerequisite is a shorthand that
1152	frees us from listing the setup.o and bootsect.o files.
1153	Note: It is a common mistake to forget the "targets :=" assignment,
1154	      resulting in the target file being recompiled for no
1155	      obvious reason.
1156
1157    dtc
1158	Create flattened device tree blob object suitable for linking
1159	into vmlinux. Device tree blobs linked into vmlinux are placed
1160	in an init section in the image. Platform code *must* copy the
1161	blob to non-init memory prior to calling unflatten_device_tree().
1162
1163	To use this command, simply add *.dtb into obj-y or targets, or make
1164	some other target depend on %.dtb
1165
1166	A central rule exists to create $(obj)/%.dtb from $(src)/%.dts;
1167	architecture Makefiles do no need to explicitly write out that rule.
1168
1169	Example:
1170		targets += $(dtb-y)
1171		clean-files += *.dtb
1172		DTC_FLAGS ?= -p 1024
1173
1174--- 6.8 Custom kbuild commands
1175
1176	When kbuild is executing with KBUILD_VERBOSE=0, then only a shorthand
1177	of a command is normally displayed.
1178	To enable this behaviour for custom commands kbuild requires
1179	two variables to be set:
1180	quiet_cmd_<command>	- what shall be echoed
1181	      cmd_<command>	- the command to execute
1182
1183	Example:
1184		#
1185		quiet_cmd_image = BUILD   $@
1186		      cmd_image = $(obj)/tools/build $(BUILDFLAGS) \
1187		                                     $(obj)/vmlinux.bin > $@
1188
1189		targets += bzImage
1190		$(obj)/bzImage: $(obj)/vmlinux.bin $(obj)/tools/build FORCE
1191			$(call if_changed,image)
1192			@echo 'Kernel: $@ is ready'
1193
1194	When updating the $(obj)/bzImage target, the line
1195
1196	BUILD    arch/x86/boot/bzImage
1197
1198	will be displayed with "make KBUILD_VERBOSE=0".
1199
1200
1201--- 6.9 Preprocessing linker scripts
1202
1203	When the vmlinux image is built, the linker script
1204	arch/$(ARCH)/kernel/vmlinux.lds is used.
1205	The script is a preprocessed variant of the file vmlinux.lds.S
1206	located in the same directory.
1207	kbuild knows .lds files and includes a rule *lds.S -> *lds.
1208
1209	Example:
1210		#arch/x86/kernel/Makefile
1211		always := vmlinux.lds
1212
1213		#Makefile
1214		export CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds += -P -C -U$(ARCH)
1215
1216	The assignment to $(always) is used to tell kbuild to build the
1217	target vmlinux.lds.
1218	The assignment to $(CPPFLAGS_vmlinux.lds) tells kbuild to use the
1219	specified options when building the target vmlinux.lds.
1220
1221	When building the *.lds target, kbuild uses the variables:
1222	KBUILD_CPPFLAGS	: Set in top-level Makefile
1223	cppflags-y	: May be set in the kbuild makefile
1224	CPPFLAGS_$(@F)  : Target-specific flags.
1225	                  Note that the full filename is used in this
1226	                  assignment.
1227
1228	The kbuild infrastructure for *lds files is used in several
1229	architecture-specific files.
1230
1231--- 6.10 Generic header files
1232
1233	The directory include/asm-generic contains the header files
1234	that may be shared between individual architectures.
1235	The recommended approach how to use a generic header file is
1236	to list the file in the Kbuild file.
1237	See "7.4 generic-y" for further info on syntax etc.
1238
1239=== 7 Kbuild syntax for exported headers
1240
1241The kernel includes a set of headers that is exported to userspace.
1242Many headers can be exported as-is but other headers require a
1243minimal pre-processing before they are ready for user-space.
1244The pre-processing does:
1245- drop kernel-specific annotations
1246- drop include of compiler.h
1247- drop all sections that are kernel internal (guarded by ifdef __KERNEL__)
1248
1249Each relevant directory contains a file name "Kbuild" which specifies the
1250headers to be exported.
1251See subsequent chapter for the syntax of the Kbuild file.
1252
1253	--- 7.1 header-y
1254
1255	header-y specifies header files to be exported.
1256
1257		Example:
1258			#include/linux/Kbuild
1259			header-y += usb/
1260			header-y += aio_abi.h
1261
1262	The convention is to list one file per line and
1263	preferably in alphabetic order.
1264
1265	header-y also specifies which subdirectories to visit.
1266	A subdirectory is identified by a trailing '/' which
1267	can be seen in the example above for the usb subdirectory.
1268
1269	Subdirectories are visited before their parent directories.
1270
1271	--- 7.2 genhdr-y
1272
1273	genhdr-y specifies generated files to be exported.
1274	Generated files are special as they need to be looked
1275	up in another directory when doing 'make O=...' builds.
1276
1277		Example:
1278			#include/linux/Kbuild
1279			genhdr-y += version.h
1280
1281	--- 7.3 destination-y
1282
1283	When an architecture has a set of exported headers that needs to be
1284	exported to a different directory destination-y is used.
1285	destination-y specifies the destination directory for all exported
1286	headers in the file where it is present.
1287
1288		Example:
1289			#arch/xtensa/platforms/s6105/include/platform/Kbuild
1290			destination-y := include/linux
1291
1292	In the example above all exported headers in the Kbuild file
1293	will be located in the directory "include/linux" when exported.
1294
1295	--- 7.4 generic-y
1296
1297	If an architecture uses a verbatim copy of a header from
1298	include/asm-generic then this is listed in the file
1299	arch/$(ARCH)/include/asm/Kbuild like this:
1300
1301		Example:
1302			#arch/x86/include/asm/Kbuild
1303			generic-y += termios.h
1304			generic-y += rtc.h
1305
1306	During the prepare phase of the build a wrapper include
1307	file is generated in the directory:
1308
1309		arch/$(ARCH)/include/generated/asm
1310
1311	When a header is exported where the architecture uses
1312	the generic header a similar wrapper is generated as part
1313	of the set of exported headers in the directory:
1314
1315		usr/include/asm
1316
1317	The generated wrapper will in both cases look like the following:
1318
1319		Example: termios.h
1320			#include <asm-generic/termios.h>
1321
1322=== 8 Kbuild Variables
1323
1324The top Makefile exports the following variables:
1325
1326    VERSION, PATCHLEVEL, SUBLEVEL, EXTRAVERSION
1327
1328	These variables define the current kernel version.  A few arch
1329	Makefiles actually use these values directly; they should use
1330	$(KERNELRELEASE) instead.
1331
1332	$(VERSION), $(PATCHLEVEL), and $(SUBLEVEL) define the basic
1333	three-part version number, such as "2", "4", and "0".  These three
1334	values are always numeric.
1335
1336	$(EXTRAVERSION) defines an even tinier sublevel for pre-patches
1337	or additional patches.	It is usually some non-numeric string
1338	such as "-pre4", and is often blank.
1339
1340    KERNELRELEASE
1341
1342	$(KERNELRELEASE) is a single string such as "2.4.0-pre4", suitable
1343	for constructing installation directory names or showing in
1344	version strings.  Some arch Makefiles use it for this purpose.
1345
1346    ARCH
1347
1348	This variable defines the target architecture, such as "i386",
1349	"arm", or "sparc". Some kbuild Makefiles test $(ARCH) to
1350	determine which files to compile.
1351
1352	By default, the top Makefile sets $(ARCH) to be the same as the
1353	host system architecture.  For a cross build, a user may
1354	override the value of $(ARCH) on the command line:
1355
1356	    make ARCH=m68k ...
1357
1358
1359    INSTALL_PATH
1360
1361	This variable defines a place for the arch Makefiles to install
1362	the resident kernel image and System.map file.
1363	Use this for architecture-specific install targets.
1364
1365    INSTALL_MOD_PATH, MODLIB
1366
1367	$(INSTALL_MOD_PATH) specifies a prefix to $(MODLIB) for module
1368	installation.  This variable is not defined in the Makefile but
1369	may be passed in by the user if desired.
1370
1371	$(MODLIB) specifies the directory for module installation.
1372	The top Makefile defines $(MODLIB) to
1373	$(INSTALL_MOD_PATH)/lib/modules/$(KERNELRELEASE).  The user may
1374	override this value on the command line if desired.
1375
1376    INSTALL_MOD_STRIP
1377
1378	If this variable is specified, it will cause modules to be stripped
1379	after they are installed.  If INSTALL_MOD_STRIP is '1', then the
1380	default option --strip-debug will be used.  Otherwise, the
1381	INSTALL_MOD_STRIP value will be used as the option(s) to the strip
1382	command.
1383
1384
1385=== 9 Makefile language
1386
1387The kernel Makefiles are designed to be run with GNU Make.  The Makefiles
1388use only the documented features of GNU Make, but they do use many
1389GNU extensions.
1390
1391GNU Make supports elementary list-processing functions.  The kernel
1392Makefiles use a novel style of list building and manipulation with few
1393"if" statements.
1394
1395GNU Make has two assignment operators, ":=" and "=".  ":=" performs
1396immediate evaluation of the right-hand side and stores an actual string
1397into the left-hand side.  "=" is like a formula definition; it stores the
1398right-hand side in an unevaluated form and then evaluates this form each
1399time the left-hand side is used.
1400
1401There are some cases where "=" is appropriate.  Usually, though, ":="
1402is the right choice.
1403
1404=== 10 Credits
1405
1406Original version made by Michael Elizabeth Chastain, <mailto:mec@shout.net>
1407Updates by Kai Germaschewski <kai@tp1.ruhr-uni-bochum.de>
1408Updates by Sam Ravnborg <sam@ravnborg.org>
1409Language QA by Jan Engelhardt <jengelh@gmx.de>
1410
1411=== 11 TODO
1412
1413- Describe how kbuild supports shipped files with _shipped.
1414- Generating offset header files.
1415- Add more variables to section 7?
1416
1417
1418
1419