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Another Style of Makefile

When the objects of a makefile are created only by implicit rules, an alternative style of makefile is possible. In this style of makefile, you group entries by their dependencies instead of by their targets.

The following is what one resembles. ‘defs.h’ is given as a dependency of all the object files; ‘command.h’ and ‘buffer.h’ are dependencies of the specific object files listed for them.

objects = main.o kbd.o command.o display.o \
insert.o search.o files.o utils.o
edit : $(objects)
cc -o edit $(objects)
$(objects) : defs.h
kbd.o command.o files.o : command.h
display.o insert.o search.o files.o : buffer.h

Whether this is better is a matter of taste: it is more compact, but some people dislike it because they find it clearer to put all the information about each target in one place.