utility for directing compilation
GNU Make is a utility which controls the generation of executables
and other target files of a program from the program's source
files. It determines automatically which pieces of a large program
need to be (re)created, and issues the commands to (re)create
them. Make can be used to organize any task in which targets (files)
are to be automatically updated based on input files whenever the
corresponding input is newer --- it is not limited to building
computer programs. Indeed, Make is a general purpose dependency
solver.
