Using the make command with non-source code control system (SCCS) files

Start the make command from the directory that contains the description file for the file to create.

The variable name desc-file represents the name of that description file. Then, enter the command:

make -f desc-file

If the name of the description file is makefile or Makefile, you do not have to use the -f flag. Enter macro definitions, flags, description file names, and target file names along with the make command on the command line as follows:

make [flags] [macro definitions] [targets]

The make command then examines the command-line entries to determine what to do. First, it looks at all macro definitions on the command line (entries that are enclosed in quotes and contain equal signs) and assigns values to them. If the make command finds a definition for a macro on the command line different from the definition for that macro in the description file, it uses the command-line definition for the macro.

Next, the make command looks at the flags.

Themake command expects the remaining command-line entries to be the names of target files to be created. Any shell commands enclosed in back quotes that generate target names are performed by the make command. Then the make command creates the target files in left-to-right order. Without a target file name, the make command creates the first target file named in the description file that does not begin with a period. With more than one description file specified, themake command searches the first description file for the name of the target file.