Beginner example still too complex

[jxu]

Beginner example still too complex

[theicfire]

Thank you for the nudge, should be solved! Please let me know if there's anything that's still unclear.

[jxu]

Yes, the new explanation of the purpose of makefiles helps tremendously. A few things:

• The code references file foobar but the target is called hello
• "commands" should not be in inline-code font
• I still think the echo C code into file is a little contrived for a tutorial but maybe other people can understand it well.

[theicfire]

Fixed/clarified, thank you! 5c03f15

[jxu]

After going through the tutorial again, I still think the echo into blah.c example is too contrived. What I suggested before is much more representative of a real project:

and then maybe just two rules with one dependency, for example

blah: blah.o
	cc blah.o -o blah # Runs second

blah.o: blah.c
	cc -c blah.c -o blah.o # Runs first

where blah.c exists; the echo is confusing because blah.c source would normally exist already.

We created blah.c previously in the tutorial too in "The essence of Make". I can open a PR if you'd like.

[jxu]

Maybe also worth mentioning for those that are familiar that makefiles are a form of declarative programming, in that the exact order of execution is not explicitly specified but figured out by the make implementation.

[theicfire]

Thanks for the thoughts!

Although the example is contrived, I don't think it's confusing because of the comment. I think it's helpful to keep because people can easily delete blah.c and have it recreated quickly.

I think the "declarative programming" point does not help teach Makefiles. I think it helps people that might want to connect concepts together (useful!), but I have a strong value for the project of being as succinct as possible, so I'm ok with keeping these pieces out.